Romantic Date Outfit, Weigh-in

Losing followers like whoa... guess my no-chemicals-no-GMO-no-MFing-excuses stance isn't super popular. People want to eat their processed junk foods, and that's about that. Ah, well.

Oh, and as an update: weighed in at 125.8 today! Scale went down after three days of eating paleo (surprise, surprise! It's not like this happens every single time or anything).

It's plainly obvious when my body is the healthiest, most efficient, and happiest: eating paleo, eating clean, and highly reduced alcohol consumption.

I know all this logically and I follow it more and more as time goes on. I want to feel GOOD.

So, in other news, we have a romantic date night planned (where I plan to eat on plan by eating a filet mignon and vegetables from a fancy restaurant, mMMMmmmMmMmMM... I made room in my caloric budget for it!).

And this is my lovely little outfit that I am so proud of:










Dress from Old Navy
Shoes from DSW
Bracelet from my fiance ;)















Alright, good night and have a lovely weekend, friends!

Your Food Is Changing Who YOU Are

You might be eating Genetically modified food and not even know it! GMOs were "found" on an Oregon wheat farm:

  Japan Suspends Imports of US Wheat

It says something to me that a whole country reacts to this by shutting down imports. They don't want to feed their people GMOs. Here I sit, wondering why our government isn't protecting us in the same way. In fact, our government is voting AGAINST labels letting the consumer know if foods are genetically modified or not, even though a majority of consumers would like those labels.

I don't know too many people, when faced with a GMO watermelon and a regular watermelon, would eagerly go for the GMO one.

Here is an article describing research that shows we are taking in the genetic CODE of these organisms when we eat them and its irrevocably changing OUR genetic makeup:

Very Real Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods

"New research shows that when we eat we're consuming more than just vitamins and protein. Our bodies are absorbing information, or microRNA."

Scary. Scary stuff.

We are humans of this earth. And if you don't believe in evolution, well, I don't have much to say to you. But we co-evolved on this earth, with all it's animals and plants and ecosystems, and the foods that occur naturally on this earth are the foods that we are meant to eat. What we put into our mouths and our bodies can fuel/sustain/heal us OR hurt us. Food is the best preventative measure.

There was a march against Monsanto recently in the States, similar to the one that happened in March. Monsanto is an agriculture giant that is doing WHATEVER-the-fuck they want to our food, changing who we are at a very base level.

In this article about the marches and GMOs, March Against Monsanto, "David Murphy, founder of Food Democracy Now!, claims that 70 percent of the processed foods we eat contain genetically engineered foods and chemical weedkillers."

Now, whether that claim is true or not (70% seems scarily high, I am hoping it is exaggerated).

My answer to this problem???

Don't eat processed foods.

Seriously.

No little debbies, no ho-hos, no reese's cups, no snickers, no doritos, no special K, no frosted flakes, no McDonald's, no Burger King, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. NOTHING, none of it.

I'm firm on this in my own life. At my lowest and in my depression, I fell back into eating some processed foods at social events and I could FEEL the difference in my body, the lethargy, the inflammation, the disease (but I was so depressed I didn't really care).

I care now.

We buy organic as often as possible, sticking to the Clean 15 when we can't. We buy local and from trusted farmers. We frequent our co-op. I won't support the big business of food.

I will continue to make posts like this from time to time, to hope that I can help inform just one other person. Information is our weapon. If we won't stand for this, if we let our MONEY do the talking, companies like Monsanto will have to give in.

Fuel yourselves well today,

Namaste.

From obesity to mountain climber - what it means to me.

So I wanted to write a post about what becoming a 46er means to me, because I talk about it a lot on this blog. It is a huge milestone in my life, not just an accomplishment, but signifies that I am a changed woman.

So, an Adirondack 46er is someone who has climbed all of New York's 46 official High Peaks. In order to be considered a High Peak, a mountain must be over 4000 feet (though later, more accurate measurement systems showed a couple of the peaks are just under 4000.. but due to tradition have remained on the list).

View of some of the High Peaks from Noonmark Mountain

When I was obese, I was even more of a dreamer than I am now. I used to imagine myself a cool, tough chick who was completely at home in the woods, capable of surviving on her own, strong and independent - a real bad ass, really! But in reality, I was overweight or obese (at different times), sitting at home - alone, eating, scared and sad and completely UNadventurous.

What a 180 degree turn.

I've hiked the most rugged, isolated and tough mountains in New York. Some of them several times. I am one of just over 7000 people to become a 46er. I am proud.

It took just under three years for me and Chris to hike all the mountains. They are about 2 to 2.5 hours away from us and often required two or three days off in a row to hike, so we were decently limited with the number of weekends we could get up there. And sometimes, we hiked mountains we had already done just to show our friends the places we loved!

We had a five year plan to become 46ers and we beat that by over two years :)

I am fit. I am strong. I am capable. I am doing all the things the younger, sadder me dreamed about.

Becoming a 46er marks a point in my life where this change is real and FOREVER.

I will NEVER be obese again. 

I lost the weight, yes. But I went through periods of starting to regain it. I think those periods are over. I've maintained between 125-129 for six months. I have created a lifestyle for myself that is sustainable for life. I have a community of active, awesome people to rely on (the 46ers organization) to keep me active.

Becoming a 46er encompasses so much for me - a new life, a new body, a new relationship (Chris and I really fell in love while hiking), a new outlook, a new strength, a new BELIEF in MYSELF.

The best thing I can recommend for those looking to lose weight or maintain is to find something on this earth you love to do that challenges you to be better than you were.

Namaste, friends <3

The No Alcohol Rule (and pics)

Or the... Reduce the Hell Out of Your Alcohol Consumption Rule!

I always knew, but tried not to acknowledge, the fact that I could not consume more than a couple glasses of wine a week if I had any hope of maintaining the lower weight I wanted. I could easily maintain at 135 and have lots of drinks during the week. But I wanted to get rid of the slight belly, the chunky thighs, the bigger arms. I lost 70 pounds to start with... why not finish the job and have a really slamming body in my 30s?? I know it IS possible to get to the low 120s, eating has to be super clean and alcohol has to be super rare, though.

I've been doing SO well on the alcohol rule (even though I've been slipping up on the Whole30).

For example, Memorial Day weekend - Chris and I went out for dinner on Friday night, he had a beer or two and I had water. Saturday - I did not go to the lodge near our lean-to for beers and dinner, but stayed in the lean-to and had a lara bar, banana and water. Sunday - it was the banquet and I had some cranberry and vodka drinks. Monday - we ate out at a pub after our hike, Chris had a beer or two and I had water.

So 3 out of 4 chances to drink, I declined! Even though Chris did have a drink those times (it doesn't affect him or his weight as much as mine), I didn't give in to the momentary pleasure I knew having a drink would give me :)

There will be one more glass of wine in my future this week, but that is it. It's a HUGE improvement from what I have been doing the past 6-7 months (drinking myself stupid to forget about my stress and depression and anxiety).

I can live this way long term. And that's important to me. I know I will never completely stop drinking for any extended period of time (I just plain don't want to. Having a month or two of complete sobriety every year would be good for me, to remind me that I don't *need* to drink). But a glass of wine or two a week is fine, not hurtful to my long term health or weight loss or anything.

So, yay :) Just thought I'd keep you all updated on how the alcohol thing is going! Still weighing in at 127... it will take a few days of eating strict paleo to get back to 126/125.

Thought I would leave you with a few pictures from the NICE camera from my hike this weekend:

This is actually the day before, Chris is holding an umbrella over us here :)

My favorite Adirondack flower: painted trillium

Bridge over the swamp!

SNAKE - he scared me :)

Snow starting in lower altitudes than we anticipated!

Avalanche Lake

Marcy Dam

One of Chris' favorite spots on the trail

Leaving you with another trillium <3

Namaste!

List of non-GMO products

Just wanted to share this link with you all, because you know I am a big believer in eating CLEAN:

http://www.nongmoproject.org/find-non-gmo/search-participating-products/

I truly believe there is a huge link between the use of chemicals, high processed foods, and refined flours/sugars and obesity and some pretty scary diseases (ie. cancer). Also, on the weight loss front, I believe that all the chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified foods really affect our metabolisms, hunger levels, and ADDICTION to food.

When I am eating really clean (no refined white sugars or refined white grains (or really any grains at all), no dairy (because organic, non-hormone dairy is too expensive), no meats that are fed meat, no meat with antibiotics or hormones, etc).... I can actually eat MORE food, because my body isn't horrified by the foreign material in my food. My metabolism works more efficiently and I have more energy in general.

Lots of people write off this type of eating as only for wealthy people or snobby people or people on their high horses about food....

But remember, I am an unemployed graduate student who has never made more than 15,000 dollars in a year. I do have a lot of support in my life, but I buy my own food, pay my own phone/utility/etc bills, pay my tuition, and still manage to have a few nice times all while buying really healthy food.

I refuse to support GMO foods, I stay away from Monsanto as best I can. I refuse to eat meat that is pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals. If I can't buy organic fruits/veg, I buy from the "clean 15." I also have an ethical side to it: I like to buy free range chicken eggs and grass-fed/pastured meat.

There are no excuses.

Stop putting chemicals into your bodies. It's killing all of us. And it's reducing our QUALITY of life.

Weekend wrap-up: hiking, rain/snow, eating and weight

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday weekend and made the most of it - laughed a lot, spent time with people you love, and made progress in some way! I lost a bunch of followers this weekend, haha! Sorry for not posting??? :D I truly have a great excuse... I was holed up in a lean-to for three days because of the rain! Did a LOT more sitting around than I intended to this weekend.

Basic run-down of my weekend:

Friday: Get to the High Peaks and run to lean-to with all our stuff in the rain. Sleep.

Saturday: 5 hours of trail work in the morning in the pouring rain (AND SNOW!). Lay in lean-to for rest of day reading.

Sunday: Rain. Go into Lake Placid for lunch, window shopping IN THE RAIN, go to banquet to get my certificate.

Monday: SUN! Sunny sunshine!!! Go on ten mile hike (two miles of that in the freaking SNOW!). Eat in Lake Placid. Drive home.

I am still weighing in at 127 because I didn't get to do all the hiking we had originally planned on. Saturday and Sunday were both going to have nice hikes. And basically sat around, waiting for the rain to stop, eating non-Paleo things at the banquet and for breakfast.

Now I have a month to lose 7 pounds. Hahahahahahahahaha. I realize that is not going to happen. I will just do what I can. Be whatever weight I am in a month for my dress fitting and try to be happy with it. I know I am not overweight. I just wanted to be better. But I'm not ashamed of my body, not by far.

Leaving you with some pictures I snapped with my phone over the weekend. I got to bring my nice camera on the hike on Monday, and will upload the pictures later, along with a post I am mentally writing about how it feels to go from obesity to an Adirondack 46er!

This is a picture of SNOW on Whiteface Mountain.... snow in May.

Was SUPER amped that the lodge where we ate breakfast had HFCS-free ketchup!

YEAHHHHHHH!!!

View of the High Peaks at night from the Crowne Plaza (where we did NOT stay, agh!)

Check in from the Wilderness!!

By all that is holy!

It's been two days of nonstop rain and SNOW here in the high peaks of the Adirondacks! And we've been sleeping (kind of) in a leanto, trying to dry out our hiking gear and stay warm.

More updates later, but here's some pictures till then!

Water in Scrambled Eggs

Last post before the weekend! I might be able to have internet occasionally on my little weekend trip, as they do have WiFi in Lake Placid and a little bit out at the main lodge that caretakes for the lean-to we will be sleeping in. BUT, if the weather is awesome, I might not post at all because I will be too busy enjoying the hell out of the Adirondacks :D There is a chance of snow or rain, though, so I might be requiring some inside time.

I have two nice dinners scheduled this weekend out - one romantic one with Chris and one banquet-type meal in honor of becoming 46ers. I don't plan to overdo it at EITHER dinner, as I weighed in this morning at 126 and I am eager to come home lighter on Tuesday!

The rest of the weekend besides those dinners will be mostly hiking food - hard boiled eggs, lara bars, paleo bread with sunflower butter and the like. Nothing very tempting and I will only eat as much as I need to keep hiking!

So, onto the title of this post:

I was talking to a friend who was interested in going paleo and she asked how I prepared my eggs in the morning. I said I usually just fry them on a lightly oiled skillet or scramble them up, without milk to make them fluffy.

She said, "I know a better way!" and told me that a chef friend of hers had taught her to add a little bit of water to her eggs and whisk them up good and that's how they get that nice, fluffy texture.

I tried it with my eggs this week and it totally works!!! Lovely eggs for breakfast all week! :)

Growing up, we always used to add milk to our scrambled eggs (whole milk, bleeeech). It's nice to get the same kind of big, fluffy, pretty eggs with good old tap water. Just thought I'd share the tip in case someone else out there didn't know. It was a revelation to me!!

So, in parting, I will say: enjoy nature and your family/friends this holiday weekend!! Enjoy the food you eat (I know I will!) but don't overindulge (I will try VERY hard not to!). Stay active and let's get awesome.

Namaste <3

Old temptations, being a good Samaritan and SHOES

Had to wake up early this morning to get my car inspected. And joy of joys, no work needs to be done! But, alas, the car place still has it's hidden costs in the form of DOUGHNUTS:

See those Boston Cremes on the right hand side? Those are my insane, insane weakness. To the point I will have to smoosh one into the garbage to avoid eating it. They were JUST LAYING THERE, so delectable. And it was early and they were fresh and I had a mini freak out.

I went to the bathroom, got some crappy free coffee and settled down to read my book for a half hour while waiting. 

Crisis averted. I've been eating SO, so, so, so well this week. Alcohol free. 100% paleo. I didn't need to do something like eat a chemical-filled, refined flour, white sugar junk-nut.

I came home to walk the dog and had a little adventure. There was a scraggly little dog running free (never happens in this area, not a place for roaming dogs). I ALMOST just turned a corner and kept walking Koda because I saw a pedestrian down the way and thought maybe she would deal with it. But my big softy animal-loving heart couldn't do it and I waited to see what would happen.

The lady just walked by the little guy. So I tied up Koda to a pole and called the dog over. He came, had a phone number but no address. I actually recruited the other pedestrian lady to help me walk both dogs back to my house (because neither of us had phones on us), put Koda in the house, called the dog's owner and then walked the little escapee home. THEN Koda got his walk. I was kind of tired after all the activity!

I am glad I did the right thing, was the good Samaritan, and put a little bit of good into the world. I don't want to be the type of person that sees something and says "Not my problem!"

It *IS* my problem, because a fellow human being would have been devastated if they lost their canine companion. It is my problem, because we should all help each other. My spirit feels a little lighter for making it my problem, even though it was definitely tough with the two dogs, haha :)

In other news, I went to the mall last night to find some wedding shoes. I found some awesome shoes I loved and they were only 40 dollars! So I did a LITTLE more shopping for ridiculous shoes :D :D

Here is what I got:

WEDDING SHOES, woo!! They are gold even though everything else I have is silver and I DON'T CARE. So sexy and fit amazingly, which is tough for me to find with my weirdo feet :D

Okay - silver high top sneakers. Hm. They fit SO well and are SO comfy. They are going to look so cute with short-shorts or leggings or skinny jeans. Perfect for my I AM NOT AN ADULT YET AND I AM GOING TO PARTY HARD moments!

Then some super sexy cork-board style heels that go well with a TON of my outfits. So excited to wear these out for date night .)

Alright. There's my word and picture vomit for the day. I'm kind of tweaking from caffeine and the humid dog walk. Going to do some yoga to chill out and finish up some projects.

Namaste <3

Weigh in, yearly check in

Yesterday I was at 127.5, today 127.2... haha, it's progress in the right direction :)

I earned the higher weight, now I have to earn the lower one! It just takes longer to lose than to gain. I indulged for less than a few hours, total, and my weight jumped 4-5 pounds >.< Now onto the couple of weeks to lose it again!

Shame faced?

Nah :) Maybe Koda is looking a little sheepish, but I'm over it! I'm still under 130 which I have been FOR OVER A YEAR!! I got under 130 last year when I did the Whole30 and I haven't gone over it since. That is ... huge. So even though I have had fluctuations from 122-129 over this year, I haven't lost sight of the big goal - that I like my body a lot better under 130 and I deserve to take care of myself to stay there.

However, I also like my body a LOT better at 122 than 129. But it took years of self exploration and struggles to figure out how to eat like a person under 130 pounds... it will probably take me a little bit to figure out the rest of it.

This morning - egg, egg whites, half a sweet potato and salsa :)

I will drink an iced coffee (just my coffee and flax milk and ice) while babysitting this morning.

Start me off right, get to my goals. That's the plan.

Namaste!

GOMBS

Some time ago, Chris and I were following the idea of "GOMBS" before we ever tried paleo. And it worked really well for us - got us eating very heathily and almost paleo-like before we even knew about paleo!

So, GOMBS:

G- greens

O- onions

M- mushrooms

B- berries and beans

S- seeds and nuts

You can find out more about this here. But, basically, this guy, Dr. Fuhrman, developed the idea of this "anti-disease" diet that incorporates the above foods into your meals every day and made a silly little mnemonic device to remember them.

You are supposed to eat a certain amount of all of those foods every day to maintain optimal health and keep diseases at bay (the big scaries, like cancer).

And, no matter what science will prove or disprove about those foods being disease fighters, they are undeniably very healthy foods and great in your daily diet! Also, if you work hard to eat those foods every day (especially a lot of leafy greens), you won't have a ton of room left for junk ;)

I just happened to remember us following that little "diet" (though it was more of a guideline to help me and Chris get lots of nutritious foods into our bodies) and wanted to share it!

Today was great as far as eating:

Almond milk yogurt, chicken/egg/tomato omelette, one beef meatball with baba ghanoush, small sweet potato, turkey burger with tomato/avocado/pickles, acorn squash, 1/5 a mango, and a bit of chocolate. Ate within my "weight-loss" calorie goal and am pleased :)

Will update my weight tomorrow!

The skies are raging right now-- thunder, lightning and downpouring rain!

<3 till tomorrow!

Accidentally texting your weight to a friend/Dealing with Hunger

So most mornings, I will wake up, hit the bathroom, weigh myself and throw Chris a text to update him (it's an easy way for me to stay accountable, because I don't want to lie to Chris and I also don't want him to know I'm gaining weight).

Well, this morning, I groggily texted Chris an update (I am at 127.5 because of my stupid weekend of drinking).... um, but I failed to look at the recipient line of the text. I texted one of my male friends by accident >.<

He was sweet about it, laughed and said congrats and then moved the conversation on to ask if I will babysit his kid tomorrow. So, all good. But still, pretty embarrassed.

Moving on (though I will probably think about that throughout the day and cringe a little, haha).

So I ran out of Jillian Michaels' and Dan Savage podcasts to listen to on my morning dog walks and started listening to Dr. Drew. So now I have a fitness podcast, a sexual health podcast, and a more generalized mental health (with a focus on addiction) podcast.

The Dr. Drew podcast I just listened to actually focused on body builders, fitness and weight loss, though. And it was interesting to hear Dr. Drew and his guests talk about it!

One topic that stuck out to me is when Dr. Drew talked about when he needs to lose weight, the way he knows for sure he is being successful is when he is consistently a little bit hungry, that that is his weight loss "sweet spot." They went on to discuss that one of the most important things Americans need to learn is how to be hungry and to be okay with, as well as to understand what TRUE hunger is (not boredom/thirst/cravings/etc).

They talk about how children have a really good understanding of their own bodies and hunger- they eat when they are hungry, don't eat when they aren't. It's why a lot of young kids don't want to eat at mealtimes. And it is the forcing of kids to eat full meals at three previously specified times a day (and clean their plates, damnit!) that messes with us in later years because we no longer rely on body cues to eat but to eat at breakfast-lunch-dinner, regardless.

I thought that was all very interesting. And valid - it wasn't until I had a more "free" schedule, whether I was teaching or unemployed or whatever that I learned I don't always need three meals a day, sometimes more smaller meals or fewer larger meals or grazing throughout the day or my meals at weird times. I've started to understand what real hunger is because I have the option to down a glass of water or to just wait it out and see if it WAS boredom or anxiety or something.

The past year or two, Chris and I have both gotten more comfortable with being hungry. We don't like to be REALLY hungry (as in, lightheaded or low blood sugar), but to feel some hunger pains for a while and it just isn't a big deal.

Good stuff.

Ate an almond milk yogurt this morning, a snack so that I don't get TRULY hungry on my dog walk I'm about to go on. Will probably eat some eggs with roasted chicken and raw tomato slices later.

Have a great day,

Namaste!

Secrets to a great roast chicken dinner ;)

I am very lucky to have Chris around when we are roasting meat- he is very good at it and getting better every year! We've roasted a lot of chickens in the four-ish years we've been together and last night was definitely the best. Super flavorful, really tender and juicy... perfect!

He always says the secret is to roast the bird low and slowwwww (which is why he is the good cook in this regard, I am often impatient waiting for things to cook, heh).

We also put the chicken on a bed of delicious root veggies and apples, which cook in the chicken's juices and get really tender and lovely. This time we used what we had around - just sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and apples. Usually when we plan ahead, we will throw in some other veggie like parsnip.

Chris is also really good at using herbs on the veggies and chicken (he sometimes shoves sprigs of rosemary under the chicken skin, mmm! or he slits the meat a little to get the spices into the meat). This you can use whatever herbs and spices YOU love.

We ate a hearty dinner last night and have tons of leftovers for the week - this is why that 80 dollars at the grocery store goes so far. We have enough for dinners, lunches and breakfast AND we always have leftovers from dinner (the roast chicken especially makes a lot of leftovers). The food goes really far if you are buying good food, are mindful of prices, and eat sensibly - meaning if you buy junk and binge on it, the money isn't going to go very far.

I used to spend a lot of money on food when I was obese - I would get a fourth meal at a fast food place or buy a bag of Doritos to polish off in a night. Food costs were ridiculous. Buying eggs, meat, veg and fruit is really affordable in comparison.

Off to walk the dog, hoping to hear about possible jobs, continue address my wedding invites, etc, etc...

Have a beautiful day <3

80 Dollars at the Grocery Store and an Article

The wedding went alright last night. We left a little early and hit the hay... I don't have the desire to rage it all weekend all the time like I did a few years ago. I need my sleep!!

Unfortunately, Chris has allergies, and he breathes really hard and loud while sleeping and I am an insanely light sleeper, so my sleep has been kind of erratic the last two nights. Trying not to let the tiredness make me eat more than I should - had a sensible breakfast and lunch so far today and dinner is going to be roast chicken with sweet potatoes, carrots and apples. It's one of my favorite dinners in the world - expect me to take pictures if the chicken turns out all lovely and golden brown like we always try :)

It's a little rainy and dark here in Albany. I'm a little tired and regretting having the drinks I had last night. Pretty lazy day. We already did our shopping, food prep and house cleaning and I am going to chill HARD for the rest of the evening.

And just as a point of what 80 dollars gets you at the supermarket of healthy food:

5 sweet potatoes
5 onions
5 tomatoes
An acorn squash
6 bananas
1 lb ground buffalo meat
1 lb beef
1 lb ground chicken
An entire chicken
1 lb chicken thighs
6 almond milk yogurts
3 organic chocolate bars
A dozen eggs
Carton of egg whites
Almonds
1/2 lb raisins
1/2 lb dates
Big bag of mushrooms
1/2 gallon of flax milk
Turkey bacon

To me, that's not bad! I do spend a little more on the meat and eggs (I get the grass fed/no antibiotic meats and eggs for my peace of mind - cancer is a scary thing). But that food is going to feed us (as well as the leftover food from last week - carrots, avocado, apples, pulled pork, cabbage, strawberries, etc - and we only spent 90 on groceries last week).

I just don't like hearing that it costs too much to eat healthy - we feed two grown adults for ~90 dollars a week, and we also spend about 20 dollars of random stuff throughout the week.

Forgot to weigh in this morning, it was a toughie of a wake up because of the erratic sleep. I'll keep you updated tomorrow :)

I will leave you with this article that sparked my interest (and scared me):

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/the-10-worst-hidden-toxins-in-vitamins-and-health-foods

Namaste!!

Eating when not hungry?

So, before I get to my topic of the day, I just wanted to update you on how last night went. I did NOT drink alcohol. I went to the bar with about 6 people, ordered seltzer with a splash of cranberry juice twice and sipped on them all evening. It was great! My hands and mouth were occupied and I never felt a desire to get an alcoholic drink instead. Beer is the enemy of my weight loss!

I did not eat paleo at the Greek place, but I ate smartly and put a lot of healthy fats and protein into me (olives, baba ghanoush, salad with oil, and I did eat a falafel as my main part of my meal, mmm).

Anyway, onto my question/topic:

From research, it seems the most common advice is to eat SOMETHING within an hour of waking up and to eat a generally well-rounded (good fats, good protein, nutritious) breakfast. Gets your metabolism working and keeps you from binging later in the day.

The past few days, I wake up completely NOT hungry. Not a bit. And I will go up to four or five hours before eating. I never get to that low blood sugar I-am-desperate-to-eat state. I just make food when I feel like it since I am home and have the ability to eat whenever I want.

Wondering if this is messing with my body and metabolism? Or if it is really no big deal?

Any thoughts?

Before I sign off for the day, wanted to share my lovely walk with Koda today (gosh, the weather is to DIE for!) that I took around 11 AM after running a ton of errands (got favors for the wedding, returned library books, got K9 Advantix for Koda - that stuff is EXPENSIVE, etc).

Koda will not take a good "selfie" with me :)

So I had to get him in the background!

Geese babies!!!

Things I Love and Stuff I Eat

Yesterday was a good, busy day. Babysitting was actually fun, I don't hang around little kids a lot anymore. Still *pretty* sure I want one of my own!

Anyway, even though yesterday threw my schedule (both food and exercise - wise) way off, I did really well. Great paleo breakfast, lunch (shown below), and dinner and a snack of pitted dates (too much like candy, whoa).

As the title says, here are some pictures of things I love and stuff I ate:

Really, really addicted to seltzer.... and the new flavors!

Seltzer has definitely become a vice for me... trying to hydrate while satisfying the need for a little sweet flavor! Love the bubbles, too :)

Egg/egg white, 1/4 avocado and 1/3 sweet potato, mm!

Walter the Cat wanting some belly rubs - it kills me

Lunch was a light Indian curry cabbage slaw (amazing), tomato and a turkey burger!

Loving my sweet little homey kitchen :)

Annnnnnd another picture of Walter, because he's awesome!

Very simple but delicious food throughout the day. Eating healthy is NOT hard, is it NOT expensive (I buy stuff seasonally and on sale), and it IS totally delicious.

No excuses - not for me and not for you :)

Dinner was pulled pork, homemade coleslaw (Chris makes a great version that is super tasty and not heavy on the dressing), and mashed sweet potatoes. My friend brought over fudge, which I did eat >.< So not a PERFECT day, but a great day. I eat MOST of the time like is shown in the pictures, which is why I AM maintaining a low weight, despite some of the mistakes I make.

Still weighing in at 126 this morning, which is a good weight for me, though I want to have it lower for the summer and my wedding - and I know it WOULD be lower if I could stop doing thing like eating fudge that wasn't in my day's plan.

Battle tonight: going to a Greek place with a friend and I will have to NOT eat the pita or hummus or falafel (mmm, I love Greek food) in order to stay paleo. Had no drinks last night and will not tonight, either!

Have a great day,

Namaste <3

Building momentum

Enthusiasm is the energy and force that builds literal momentum of the human soul and mind - Bryant McGill

I applied for a job. Nerves!! I've, weirdly, never had to really apply for a job before. I've definitely never been interviewed before. The archaeology world is small - I knew people and got hired for field work or for teaching without much fuss.

But now I have an official letter of application, resume and references sitting on someone's desk!

And it is just for an administrative assistant, but paying more than I've ever been paid in my life, so I kind of really want the job. It would give me the means to pay my bills and put money into savings and retirement while I look for the dream job.

Trying not to get my hopes up, but I am all kind of giddy and enthusiastic and excited. I'll keep you updated.

I also have a babysitting job this morning!

Feeling good, like I am taking care of business. Ever since I lost my summer job and all the work I did preparing for teaching for the class while I've been unemployed became USELESS, I felt like a big waste. Like I didn't contribute anything to the household this year. But now, I am moving forward. Doing what I have to do to be a good partner and a good homeowner and a good dog owner. Making good steps that will lead to other good steps and then I will be rolling fast with momentum.

I've heard from someone (maybe on a Jillian Michaels' podcast?) that people aren't lucky or unlucky... there are just those who have made themselves and their lives READY so that when opportunity comes along, they can grab it and not let it pass them by.

Taking care of business in this manner is so weirdly related to the mental state that I need to be in to take care of my health and fitness, as well.

I am in a good place right now. Confident and optimistic. That leads me to do what I KNOW needs to be done, whether it be applying for jobs or eating a clean, paleo dinner. (BTW, dinner was awesome last night - ground turkey burgers with tomato and avocado and no buns and zucchini with mushrooms and onions).

Plans for the day:

Dog goes to daycare
Babysit
Farmer's Market
Workout (I want to do a Jillian Michaels DVD this afternoon)
Work on doing calligraphy for wedding invitations
Have friends over for dinner (a totally paleo dinner for me, yay!)

On track, trying to get some good momentum of great choices as I go into a busy weekend full of opportunities to undo all my hard work! The more good choices I make now predicts I will make more good choices in the future :)

So much love and light to all of you out there struggling, I am there with you and trying to get out of it-

Namaste <3

Social obligations, wine calories

This week is full of them! And I want to stay accountable and make good choices, so I'm putting it out there:

Tomorrow: we are making dinner for friends - good because we will be serving pork, coleslaw (made *our* way, not drenched in mayo), and roasted sweet potatoes.

Thursday: dinner out with another friend who also lost her summer job teaching - will rely on the fact that no matter where we go, I can order a salad with chicken and get dressing on the side.

Friday: "Girl's Night" - this is a toughie because all my girlfriends are getting together to drink wine and sing karaoke at my friend's house. I don't want to drink wine for my health - but I am going to be sorely tempted, surrounded by drinking people (and I won't be able to sing in front of them if I am sober!)

Saturday: A wedding that is going to be kind of weird and stuffy and it's local - a lot of our friends are planning to drink hard and take cabs home. Hm. Another time when I am going to be awfully tempted to over-drink.

The drinking is a tough one for me.

It's been good for three weeks now, laying off the drinking. I've felt so much better.

But I haven't been as tempted as I am going to be these coming days. I will definitely not drink tomorrow, that's absolutely certain. I will conquer that and move on from there.

I will just look at this to remember what I am doing to my body... that just because it's a drink doesn't mean its not full of calories, sugar and potentially bad mornings!

I won't quit, I want more!

I just wanted to share with you a lyric from a song that reminds me totally of my fiance and his ability to push his body to the limit:

"My body tells me no but I won't quit because I want more!" - Young the Giant

I heard this song and automatically thought of Chris and what a bad-ass hiker he is.

And what a bad-ass hiker I am :) The hike this past weekend reminded me that I LOVE it and I'm good at it. It made me remember the Northville-Placid trail where Chris and I covered 120 miles in 10 days. How I've climbed 46 of NY's tallest mountains, many of them multiple times. It made me remember all those times I wanted to quit - and didn't.

Faced with my biggest fear, rock climbing a vertical wall with just a few cracks and handholds available, I wanted to quit so bad. But I did it.

My body trembling from exhaustion at the end of some really huge hiking weekends - Chris and I made it a point to hold our heads up and have big, huge smiles at the end.

It makes me look at my fitness goals, my weight goals, and even though they seem hard sometimes......

I won't quit this. I want more :)

I have a goal here. To have the best body I've ever had by my wedding. To be proud of myself as I stand up in the most expensive dress I'll ever own.

And I am so close. The new scale weighed me in at 126 this morning. Six pounds is a HUGE deal to lose when I am at this weight. When I was 198 - the first six pounds came off in about a week! But to go from 126 to 120 in two months? Errr.... it's doable! I won't let my body tell me no :)

Now, to meet my goal, I've got to be near perfect in my choices and behaviors. Yesterday was great and paleo and clean and moderate - all things I like. Today will be the same. Off to walk the dog and eat some eggs.

Love and Light to you!

My weekend: hiking, new scale, twitter

So, boring things first to get them out of the way. I got on twitter finally, just out of curiosity, and it's a strange beast. I'm going to give it a try. And though I don't share my facebook on my blog (or my blog on facebook), twitter is a different animal, so if you are on twitter, I am at https://twitter.com/Wolf_4_Life.

Next, I finally bought a new scale (I was using two kind of old ones, neither of which really weighed in any consistent manner). So now I have one, new scale which will be my new measuring stick. So I am weighing in at 127 this morning.... sigh. Combination of the new scale actually weighing me properly and the fact that I ate a really late dinner last night that included some definitively non-paleo food (potato and bread >.<).

Sorry I am a totally ass when it comes to doing the Whole30 this time around. It is much harder this time, I don't feel as supported for a bunch of reasons, I feel INSANELY more stressed, as well. My fat-girl behaviors just keep rearing their ugly head. Boo.

Will start this day with the same intentions I start every day and will work on maintaining vigilance to KEEP those promises to myself.

Back to better and happier topics!

So on Saturday, we were going on a hike come rain or not (friends from Long Island had a vacation and were coming up to hike with us, so we couldn't exactly reschedule). And the rain was definitely coming. But we soldiered on.

Seems like we always get rewarded when we head out into the world to hike, even if the forecast is bad. We only got rained on for about an hour of eight hours of hiking!! We also got some great views from the tops of the two mountains we hiked (Round Mountain and Noonmark). I will let the pictures tell the story:

First views!

Red Efts coming out :D

Koda finds water to play in right away, of course

Happy :D

Chris and Koda always having to be daredevils- makes me nervous!

I snapped this as Koda was jumping a crevasse, but he missed! He was slowly sliding back- I had to go over and grab his collar to help lift him up, aghhh, scary!

First Trillium flower - sure sign of spring in the ADK!

Panoramic from Noonmark

Koda getting his treat at the summit :)

Very happy!

View from Noonmark

Ahhh, man and dog

Great hike, great memories.

Namaste :)