Walking the dog, thinking about heart health

Got the dog all walked already, did it as soon as I woke up. It always feels great to be out and about in the morning, getting stuff done. Sometimes I forget that when I am in a warm and cozy bed. But I am always grateful to myself when I get out of the comfy bed and hit the day full on.

Still a little cold here in Albany, but spring is coming, for sure. Temps will be in the upper 30s and low 40s for the next few days.... can't wait till the temps are in the upper 40s and 50s!! I can't wait for flip flops, tshirts, etc. Makes jumping out of bed to get the dog walked so much easier :)

On the dog walk today, I listened to a Jillian Michaels' podcast from last month. She was talking about heart health, describing a news article she had read of a 35 year old woman who was pregnant who had a heart attack... with no symptoms or idea that she had heart disease.

Jillian had on a guest doctor and they talked about how women sometimes present symptoms of a heart attack differently that men AND they are not forceful enough with doctors to let them know they think something is wrong (whereas a doctor might write their symptoms off as anxiety or indigestion when they are really signs of impending heart troubles). Because of social and cultural norms, women are less likely to be heard or to try to make themselves heard. They will even write off their own worries as silly anxiety....

Scary stuff!

It's our health and our bodies and women need to feel like they have the right to be in control of it.

So while I am talking about heart health, I thought I would link to some information to keep YOUR hearts healthy out there!

FIve medication-free ways to keep your heart healthy (this one reminded me that even though coconut oils are healthy fats... I still have to consume them in moderation, it IS a saturated fat)

The CDC's list of risks and preventions

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

As I get older, hear about women in my age-bracket who are suffering from heart disease or having a heart attack... I think about this more and more.

I do my best to mitigate the risks. And as I heard on Jillian's podcast, heart disease is a MAJOR killer of women and ALSO one of the most preventable. So eat healthy, limit trans fats in your diet, keep moving, don't smoke and don't drink excessively!

Namaste <3

Keeping up the pace - great hike!

As I said, yesterday I went hiking - the High Peaks, for the first time since my dad passed away.

I was finally jealous of Chris going hiking all this winter. He had come home on Saturday with GLORIOUS pictures of a long, blue sky, winter hike with a friend of ours (and Koda!). I felt like a loser for not going. I felt like I was missing out on life.

So I said, that's the sign! You're ready! I have been more physical and active this month than any of the past five months. And the past two weeks, with slightly warmer weather, I have been itching to go outside.

Monday was a great day in the Adirondacks for March! It was in the upper 40s and I hiked in a very thin base layer and t-shirt. Amazing :D 

I chose Cascade mountain, which is only about a 5 mile hike round trip (didn't want to overdo it on my first day out in snowshoes in a while) but half the hike is straight up! I was so proud of myself, we did the whole hike in FOUR hours (and that's including all of our chilling out, taking photos, etc). That's my old hiking pace!!!!!

I still got it :D

I was seriously so happy. I felt alive and exhilarated.

Remember when I said I was back??

I so am!

I am a little sore today, used some muscles that haven't been used in a while. But the happiness bled over into today. I feel great!

It was SUPER windy at the summit... see how his fur is all messed up?

Couldn't get a good picture of me because of the wind!!

My guys!!

Had to slide down some of the steeper parts :D

And that was my day yesterday :D

Feeling ready to take on the world today!

Lessons learned, mountains to climb

Pretty excited. Tomorrow, I am heading back to the mountains!

Since my dad's passing, I've kind of shied away from the activities that have brought me so much joy, like hiking and skiing. I haven't had the heart or the energy to engage in those super physical, super engaged activities!

But, Chris went out on a GORGEOUS hike this past weekend with a friend of ours (and Koda, too!) and I found myself super, super jealous.

I wanted to be on the top of a mountain, under blue skies with thick white clouds. I wanted to be red cheeked from the cold and exertion. I wanted the fresh air. I wished my blood was rushing with the thrill of summating!

So I am heading out tomorrow, which is supposed to be a warm and beautiful day in the Adirondacks, and hitting the mountains. :D

Which is why I am posting this now, because I will be too busy to post tomorrow! So excited :) :)

Like I said: I feel like I am fully back into this now.

I regained my life and my happiness. And though it is still tough and still very sad at times, I made it through. I made it through without gaining a ton of weight. I made it through whole. I didn't have to suffer like I suffered when my mom passed. I just mourned. I was sad. I withdrew a little. But it didn't turn into a situation like before - where I spent a decade overweight, isolated, and depressed.

I had to mourn for him. I still am. I always will.

But I didn't have to lose myself in the process. It's a lesson HARD learned from my mother's passing.

Life is happening. It is here and now. And I hope to be joyful, standing on the top of the world tomorrow :)

Namaste!!

Yoga, a crazy fiancé and a cat

I printed three yoga sequences (one done by a very adorable little bunny, haha) and posted them in my bedroom to help me be inspired to do 15 minutes of yoga every morning. It's a good way to get the blood flowing and your body warmed up and flexible for the day!

I have very tight hamstrings (to the point I cannot bend over and touch my toes!... I used to think I couldn't touch my toes because I was fat and the fat got in the way, turns out no matter how thin I am, I still need to work on flexibility) and want them loosened up. Daily stretching is really the only way!

Anyway, in other news: my fiance is crazy. CRAZY!

He left last night at midnight to go hiking. In the snow. On a mountain. At night. With the dog. CRAZY :D

But, I love him and I totally understand. He wants to see the sunrise on a mountaintop. It's lovely :) We attempted it last summer, but we were completely clouded in, so he's trying again.

Personally. TOO COLD AND DARK!!! Not for me. He is going with a friend of ours, though, for which I am grateful. I don't like worrying about him out there on a mountain all by himself at night, even if he is a more than capable outdoorsman.

So, yes, he's totally nutso. But I love it. He loves being active! Really, truly loves it. It matters to his spirit. A love like that is going to keep us active well into our elder years :)

And, I leave you with a picture of my cat by my bedroom window (with his precious plastic frog). I love his cat silhouette!

My plan, progress, I AM BACK!

Looks like I am going to be slogging through some snow on my dog walk today! I am totally committed to these walks - for Koda's health AND mine! It is an excellent way to get in my miles and is usually enjoyable. But, wow, I sure can't wait for spring to come. I am day-dreaming about being able to ditch all the layers, just slip on some flip-flops, and head out the door with my pup!

So, update on how my plan to get back on track is going:

Pretty well!!

Vitamins have been taken everyday.

Dog walked every day (like I said, it's an hour long, almost 3 mile walk every time, not just an "around the block so you can pee" walk!).

Stretching/yoga done everyday.

Physical Therapy exercises for my shoulder done everyday.

..... Paleo eating? Only about 80%. I'd like that to be more like 95% in order for me to lose a little bit of weight and be totally on track!

But I think the biggest difference in this quest in the past month to get back on track..... I am totally back in the mindset of finding health and fitness. It is not to the levels I was at last year (super hardcore gym goer and 100% paleo eater).... but I am back, whole-heartedly.

The depression seems to have lessened. These days are easier for me now. I am still sad. Sometimes I lay awake at night, struggling to sleep, because I think about my dad and how much this situation sucks. I definitely will not be getting over finding him anytime soon.... I still get that super sick in my stomach when my brain even lightly remembers that moment. But the remembering is slowing down... it's not every hour, or even every day!

That's a huge change for me.... to realize a day went by and I didn't remember that bad moment about my dad. I don't want to remember him that way. I have awesome pictures up on my fireplace's mantel of my dad and mom's wedding day and of my dad with his first German Shepherd. Good things.

I am on my way, I know it.

5 months later and I can see the end of this struggle. I had felt like my whole life was ripped out from under me... and I am getting it back.

There is a lot of purposeful work involved to get back to where I was. I am glad I felt strong enough to do it.

Back on the priority list: my health/fitness, my happiness, living this life as fully as possible.

I lost all that. I didn't see the point anymore. It was too dark. But everyone was right... time was the answer. Give it time! Those months were long and painful, but here I am, alive and coming out the other side into something better.

So, agenda for today: yoga before shoveling, walking the dog, and keep on keepin' on!

Namaste :)

Exercising to reduce menstrual cramps

A little too TMI? Well, too bad. Important stuff here :)

I'm bringing it up because I woke up to my monthly round of intense cramps. I was ready to turn on some bad TV and painfully wait it out, but I know the truth from experimentation. If I get out there and MOVE, the cramps will ease.

So I looked up some basic information to share, so it's not all just my idiot opinion all over the internet :)

Exercise: SOS for Menstrual Cramps

Most of the information out there indicates that aerobic exercise (walking, biking, swimming, etc) is the best way to reduce the pain. Which would make sense, because if you are in aerobic exercise, your blood is pumping all over your body (including to your uterus).

This study (as well as this study) states that many other studies have shown that exercises reduces painful cramping, but that there are methodological flaws with them. However, the theory is that "exercise works by improving blood flow at the pelvic level as well as stimulating the release of endorphins, which act as non-specific analgesics."

The link to the first study also has a myriad of other ways to reduce painful cramps, if you are really suffering from them. Mine only last a part of a day, so I turn to some basic pain relievers and exercise!


Anyway, researchers can't 100% say that exercise will cure the pain of cramps, but I know it HELPS mine (I still will hurt for a part of the day, but less intensely than if I laid around in bed). 

So off I go to walk the dog, get the blood moving, maybe do some yoga when I get back.

Have a light day, friends!

My early 30s...

Are off to a great start!

I indulged a little, had a silly and fun night with Chris, but didn't go overboard. It was a quiet night alone with Chris, too, which is what I wanted.

I had two sushi rolls and two drinks out at dinner with Chris. Then we each got 1/4 bar of chocolate to eat in bed while we watched Kitchen Nightmares. PERFECT. :D

I always prefer chocolate to cake, and eating 100-200 calories of chocolate is WAY easier than eating a big ol' piece of cake and then having the rest of the cake in the house all week.

Sushi = not paleo, obviously. But I ADORE sushi. It is going to be a part of my diet for the rest of my life, especially when we go to Japan in October, haha. It's not the worst food if you order it right (meaning eat the raw fish, not the tempura, don't get something drenched in wasabi mayo, etc). And I did just that. My normal portion is probably more like one, one and a half rolls... but I ate both the rolls I ordered.

Tonight is going to be where I put my foot down. It's TV night with friends, and I want to go, but I am going to eat a delicious meal at home with Chris (bunless burgers, roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed brussels sprouts) right before we go and I am NOT going to eat any treats provided by my friends (unless by some weird twilight zone world someone puts out cut up melon or carrot sticks).

I have been holding steady with average attention to food and exercise this past month. I want to see how March shapes up when I put ALL of myself into it :D

Year 31.... GO!

31, 128

I am 31 years old today. Officially in my early 30s. Whoa.

Weighed in at 128 today... not what I wanted, but I told you all yesterday how the weekend kind of dissolved into a wheat fest? Yeah. So, completely expected, anyway!

I feel kind of worse about turning 31 than about turning 30 for some reason. But I just have to look at where I am now versus a year ago in a positive light.

Differences:

- I am officially 8-9 pounds lighter than I was on my birthday last year. Even though I wanted more (if I weighed 124 like I wanted, that number would have been 12-13!), that's still pretty awesome.

- I am engaged

- I live in a paid-off house

- I have an awesome dog

- I have learned a LOT about life, death, priorities, friendship and love

- I found a way to eat that totally works for me FINALLY after 30 years.... now I just have to stick to it :)

So.. yeah. Now, there are a lot of other differences, but they are negative, and what is the use of that thinking? Not today. Not on my birthday!

Plans for the day will look like this: hour long dog walk, egg n veggie breakfast, work on my class lecture, watch Criminal Minds and do yoga stretches/physical therapy, eat a light lunch, work a little more, go out to sushi with Chris :)

It's a quiet day. Much unlike the past few birthdays I've had, but it's what I want. I want a quiet day where I focus on the things that are important to me: my fiance, my dog, my health, and my work.

Namaste, my loves!

Needing some social pressure...

I had to make the decision to make a public declaration (on social media) to tell the people who see me regularly that I am going back to eating paleo/primal.

It felt strange to do, because I kind of trend towards keeping talk about my health/fitness choices a little on the quiet side offline unless someone asks me about it. There are only a few people on the health/fitness bandwagon in my social life, so I don't like to sound preachy or anything.

But, keeping my attempts to get back to paleo to myself is backfiring! When I socialize, there is a lot of temptation and only a small voice in the back of my head cautioning me not to indulge in the beer or the bread or the chips (yesterday being an example, ayiyi). It's hard to listen to that voice. I am trying to be strong, but I need a little help. I have to be honest about my goals and my plans... if I know everyone around me knows I am eating paleo/primal, I will probably not reach for the chips so I don't look like a massive hypocrite.

Public judgement might not be the HEALTHIEST reason to abide by a dietary choice.... but these social events are my danger zone and I know it. I don't eat poorly at home. And I don't want to stop socializing. So I need to feel a little social pressure to keep on track.

I know none of my friends would think less of me for going off plan when I ate at their houses... but they would know I WAS eating off plan, and that's enough for me to stick to it. I need the support. Also, if they know this is important to me, they might help and keep the temptations to a minimum (they did in the past, and I was SO grateful!).

If I can clean up my outside-of-the-house eating, I will stop undoing all the hard work I do at home!

This time, getting back to a paleo way of eating for me is not going to be as strict as the Whole30 rules I was adhering to last summer. It wasn't a sustainable way to eat for me, but it was close! So the only differences from strict paleo that I will have (if I stick to plan) will be:

- my one loaf of clean, gluten-free bread a week (shared with Chris)
- brown rice once or twice a month when eating out at a restaurant (rice doesn't affect me as much as wheat and isn't a trigger food for me, but I would still like to limit it in favor of proteins and veg)
- 2-3 glasses of wine a week

Food shouldn't be entertainment, and I need to stop acting like it is in order to relieve my anxieties. But I will be realistic and honest and admit to you all that I AM very anxious still, and those glasses of wine will be very much enjoyed. But there is no need to overdo it!

Last week was actually a great success with eating and exercise, weighing in still at 125 (ideal!), but this weekend was tough as it was full of celebrations. My birthday is tomorrow and I will celebrate with a healthy meal with the man I love :)

Moving forward from here on out. My birthday is tomorrow. My March 19th goal of being in a better place is approaching. Looking ahead, making good choices THIS day and all the coming days :)

Namaste <3

Great party, no overeating!

The party was an absolute hit! I actually can't sleep this morning because I am still running on excitement and happiness :D

AND it appears that the way to get me to not pig out at a party is to make me responsible for feeding everyone else! I was so concerned with making food and getting it set out that I barely thought about eating it. I also had this weird host feeling that I shouldn't eat too much because I wanted my guests to have more!

So no cheese or brownies or chips or cookies or any of the worse-for-you munchies. I had a few sweet potato-sausage skewers and bruschetta and veggies and a late night square of the pizza. Definitely didn't go over my normal dinner calorie allowance! And I ran around happily hostessing all night :)

One surprise: the veggie tray was one of the big hits of the night!! I had enough mushrooms, grape tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, and snap peas for two huge trays and it all got eaten! Yay for healthy friends haha

A lot of the food was actually lighter fare than I tend to see at parties but everyone enjoyed it! It filled me with such joy to know everything was made with my two hands from whole ingredients and with the exception of brownies-- I kept health in mind. I don't want to fill my friends with poison!!

We had about 35ish people throughout the night and it seemed like everyone had a nice time. Koda was super behaved (he made two lunges at the food in 7 hours so I count that as a win!) and let everyone pet and kiss him. He totally hammed it up and made a bunch of new friends, so awesome :)

So to sum up: successful party where I was super happy, fed the people I live good food and I didn't overeat, not by a long shot!

Total win.

Namaste <3

Party Menu Planning

I am about to drop the dog off at daycare so I can get the house clean and go grocery shopping/food prepping for my Housewarming/Birthday party tomorrow!

I have a wide range of people coming over, with a wide range of eating behaviors. There are going to Paleo-eaters there (someone besides me, yay!), vegetarians, gluten free eaters, and regular meat-n-potatoes types.

So I tried to make a menu of appetizers so that everyone would have at least two or three items that fit their dietary worlds (usually our friends with special dietary needs also bring a dish to share that they can also eat, so that's nice!).

For the paleo eaters: (nitrate free) bacon wrapped dates, veggie platter, guacamole and salsa, bruschetta, olive plate, skewers of sausage and sweet potatoes, melon and prosciutto skewers

For the gluten free eaters: mac n cheese made with rice pasta, tomato and mozzarella skewers AND everything from the paleo list above!

For the veggie-only peeps: the veggie tray, the mac n cheese, olives, the dips (and I will provide some corn tortilla chips), tomato-mozz. skewers, bruschetta, etc.

For the meat n potato lovers: well, they can eat everything I've already listed PLUS I am making a mexican flatbread pizza with taco toppings and some mini sandwiches.

I put together a list of things that are easy for me to throw together or things that I can do the night before. This party is ALSO a big huge thank you party to all our friends who helped us get into our house and made it a home. So many people helped us move, rip out carpet, put up curtains, etc, etc, etc.... AND they have just been overall supportive.

So I wanted to have nice food for everybody :) I actually have a gift card to our local supermarket that I got from Chris' parents, so money isn't an issue. I want to buy nice ingredients and serve up some lovely food. I am going to stick to the paleo menu at my own party, though :D

Lots of Love and Light!