House Hunters and a Weekend Challenge

I love a challenge that holds you accountable to something. Here is a fun challenge that I decided to do....to slow it down for the weekend - in whatever way you should interpret it.

For ME the major challenges of weekends come on Sundays. I really dislike my job, and often I turn to binging to get my mind off of going back to work the next day. So I'm challenging myself to keep busy tomorrow and to not fall into that trap. Wish me luck! :-)

On an exciting note - I'm going house hunting today! I've finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a home. It's very scary and overwhelming, but hopefully it will be a pain-free process!

Kettle...hell?

Day 1...complete!

Well, I didn't wake up early as promised to work out yesterday, but I did work out after I got home last night. I kept it light and very easy, just doing about 30 minutes of some free weights, ab work, and using my new kettlebell. This kettlebell thing KICKED my ass. I feel like a wimp and a half (mainly because I just got the 10 lb. one), but I did 3 sets of the squats and I am FEELING it today. It's that "Oh, yeah, I'm sore because I actually did something good" feeling. I love that feeling. I miss that feeling!

Tomorrow I'm going to do the same routine in the morning, and I'm going to either bike or walk. I am also going tomorrow at lunch to buy a yoga DVD at Tarjay (my fancy pronunciation of "Target" - I want to kiss the person who made this store...it completes me).

What is that saying, "Slow and steady wins the race?" (My mom has a billion of these sayings, and I guess I'm officially turning into her because I say them ALL the time). Anyway, hopefully that saying is right and I'll be back on the treadmill (or the elliptical!) in no time. :-)

After All....Tomorrow is Another Day

You know when you take time off from something, and then the idea of going back to it seems so daunting? THAT is how I feel about working out again! Grr.

I used to be so disciplined: waking up at 5 a.m. and working out for 75 minutes. Now I can’t even get my lazy butt out of bed at 7:10 a.m. – without working out!

It’s been 5 weeks since I’ve worked out – I mean, really worked out – and the idea of going back seems so intimidating. I think, too, a part of me is terrified that my hip pain will flare up again.

So I’m officially starting tomorrow morning – no, really, I am. :-) I’ve done some research on strength training and went out and bought a kettlebell, so hopefully that will be a good start.

On a good note, I’ve gone 4 weeks without cookie dough (I mean, like a serious cookie dough binge). Hey, that's gotta count for something…right?

Dog Paddle or Downward Dog?

I have taken a 4+ week sabbatical from working out, in an attempt to let my hip heal. In good news, my hip has been feeling great for the last week or two, aside from some minor aches. (Hooray!!!!) So I feel like my time off has been justified (or so I'm telling myself.....)

I think it’s time to slloooowly get back into working out. I’d like to start lifting, because it’s something I’ve never really done (other than some lifting with free weights at home occasionally), but I would also like to get involved in something else. Oh, how I wish I could do cardio! But, I don’t think my hip would like that too much. So I’ve narrowed it down to two choices: yoga or swimming.

I can only afford to do one right now because I have to either pay money for the classes or to join a pool. I think both activities would be good to do while I’m letting my hip do whatever it has to do in order to get better. But which of the two is better? Any thoughts? Miss Indecisive here looking for any opinions you might have!

The Hip.

It all started 11 months ago.

I was training for what would have been my 4th marathon. Now, I had taken some time off in the winter and spring and probably jumped back into running too quickly (translation: I ate a lot of cookies in the winter time and got lazy). But the first half of my training went so smoothly...all until that 17 mile run one day in September.

I noticed my hip was a little achy after that run. Immediately I diagnosed myself with bursitis (every doctor must really hate WebMD, thanks to people like me). I've diagnosed myself with it before, and after taking off a week or two, taking ibuprofen, and icing my hip, I had been just fine. So, I did just that. Only....it didn't get better. I tried to do an 18 mile run the next Saturday and made it only a half mile down the road before bursting into tears. I knew something was wrong.

I couldn't afford to skip too many long runs, but I took another week off. STILL not better. The first sports medicine doctor told me it was bursitis. Ha! I knew it! I should be a consultant for WebMD! Or maybe go to Med School?? He gave me a cortisone shot, told me to do Physical Therapy, and sent me on my way. He said no running, but the elliptical and/or walking was okay. I was bummed about the marathon, but excited that I could continue my exercise.

All winter, my hip refused to get better and stay better. I went to a chiropractor who adjusted me...still not better. Went back to the doctor who gave me another shot...still not better. I even tried a different doctor to get a second opinion - he told me he didn't know what it was. His guess? A muscle strain. Sigh. What is this, an episode of "House" or something?? If so, were is Dr. Chase? I would like to be examined by HIM.

The one thing that has brought some relief in all of this is acupuncture. I am not getting the "traditional" acupuncture, but electroacupuncture. The needles are inserted directly into the areas that are painful, hooked up to electrodes, and varying electrical pulses are then sent to that area for about 10 minutes. This doctor (also a chiropractor) also gave me a lift to wear in my left shoe, because that leg is shorter.

I've also decided to take time off from the only cardio I had been doing (the elliptical and walking). It will be 4 weeks tomorrow. I'm itching to get back in the gym, but I am terrified that it will make my hip worse again.

I just hope and pray I'll be able to run one day. SO many people have given me the, "Oh...well, you will have to find something else to do!" or, "Well, running IS so hard on your body! How about walking instead?" But running was my passion, where I sorted out all my problems, and the only physical thing that I feel I am good at.

Okay, I lie. I can do a kick ass tripod headstand like you wouldn't believe.

Puppy Chow Down

Now, 'round these parts, our "Puppy Chow" is a little different from others I've had. Puppy Chow (also called "Monkey Munch," "Chex Mix," "White Trash," "Cereal with Crack"...okay I made that last one up) in our family is this recipe.




But my friend who grew up only an hour from me says Puppy Chow is this recipe.





I call the latter recipe "Monkey Munch" from 'Jon and Kate Plus 8' - a show which has given me meaning in life and drives me out of bed every morning. Okay, not really, but I love it nonetheless. The nice thing about MM is that I made it safe for my nephew (allergic to gluten, dairy, potatoes, oranges and peanut butter) by using alternate butter and chocolate chips, and by using sunflower seed butter. It was actually pretty good (translation: I ended up eating most of it).

WHATEVER you call this stuff, or WHICHever recipe you use, it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I had a bowl...okay, two bowls last night. Okay, so three bowls. Whatever.

Anyway, it's real good stuff and super easy to make.

Up, Down, and All Around

I thought I would show some pictures of my weight losses/gains in the past. I've seen others do this, and it's interesting how differently people perceive themselves in photos. Often on any given day in the past 10 years I will think, "Ugh, I just look so fat in this today." Then, when looking back in pictures later I will think, "Wow! I looked pretty thin!" or, "Dang, my booty looks pretty good in that picture!" or, "Who the hell picked out your outfit that day, girl?!" You get my point. For some reason I see myself differently in photos than I do in the mirror.


To start......Here is a picture of me in high school. Yes, this is my senior picture....I don't just sit around on rocks and waterfalls for everyday pictures (unless you ask me to). This was before I really cared about calories and fat grams. My weight was about 138 at this time (I am 5'9"). This was taken about a month before my heart was broken (okay, we dated for 2 months....but that is an eternity when you are 17!) and I began to really restrict my eating.



Eeek! It is weird to look at the picture below. Here I am at my smallest weight, 110 pounds, at the end of my senior year. I remember examining my body every day in the mirror and being so excited as it became bonier. I know, I know....pretty gross. Now I can look back and see how SICK I looked. I never, ever want to be this small again! I was a size 2, but had NO booty, NO boobs, and NO period. NO thank you. Well, except for the no period part. That was kind of sweet.


Ahhh...the good ole' Freshman 15. Only mine was the Freshman 30, but whatever. Do we really have to get technical? I vividly remember discovering foods again the summer before college. I would come home late at night after being out with my friends and binge on cereal, nachos with cheese, basically anything I didn't allow myself to eat the previous year. My whole freshman year was spent being ridiculously self-conscious of my weight. Yes, I was back at my previous weight, around 138. But after being so small not that long ago, I felt huge. And THEN there was the binging and purging. I started binging and making myself get sick probably 2-3 times a day, and this lasted most of my freshman year.

Throughout college, my weight stayed between 130-135. So I'm jumping ahead a few years to 2004. The picture below is from my first marathon. Ahhh....the good ole' days. I had run for 8 years and had always wanted to do a full marathon. I fell in love with training and was hooked. My eating was the most normal it had been in a long time at this point. I was eating healthy because I was training and wanted to run well, yet it felt so good to be able to indulge in desserts without guilt, especially after those 18 mile runs. I was around 126 pounds here.

I became so hooked on my marathon training, I decided to train for another marathon in May 2008. I remember if I ran less than 8 miles, I always did the elliptical, too. I was working a LOT during this time (teaching full-time and tutoring 10 kids a week) and was definitely over-doing it. Even though I remember pigging out on the days I had long runs, I restricted on the days I felt I didn't work out "enough" (to me, that was running less than 6 or 7 miles). My weight here was around 118 pounds. Excuse my shiny face - our school wasn't air conditioned and apparently I didn't know what powder was.



I got out of teaching and over that summer gained a good ten pounds back. I was glad to be looking more healthy (and have my boobs and booty back!), but of course I still struggled with binging more than anything. I am jumping a few years ahead to the fall of 2007. It's pretty sad, but in looking back I don't have a lot of "body" shots from the last 2 years. I think mainly because I've been so self-conscious since I haven't been running or working out. I know, I know....my grand kids will look back one day and be all, "Grandma, why aren't there pictures of you when you were 25-27?" And I'll be all, "Because I was stupid." Anyhow, below is a picture from last fall when I weighed around 132. My weight got up to around 138 this winter, but between my camera being broken and the previously mentioned reason, I don't really have pictures to prove it.

Below is a recent picture, taken last month. My weight fluctuates 3-5 pounds regularly, so right now (and in this picture) I'm between 132-135.

Now, it's not my goal here to get back to the no booty/no boobs girl as seen above. This baby got back, and I happen to like it. I just need some help with the cookie dough patrol, please.