Over the brink

It's started -- the new year of Lean Eating.  Well, not exactly ... they re-branded slightly and instead of it being called "Lean Eating" it's "Precision Nutrition Coaching".  Toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe.  I kind of dig the name change.  I like saying that I'm in a coaching program than just "Lean Eating" which sounds a little dorky.  Not that dorky isn't in my wheelhouse.

Going into this I was worried that it was going to be a repeat of last year, but so far there have been a number of noticeable changes, all for the better as far as I'm concerned.  My coach Jen has already been in touch with me a few times via email, which has been awesome and a switch from last year. And I'm determined not to feel like I'm "bothering her" since, you know, it isn't actually true and even if it were, it's her job to be bothered by the likes of me.

The first habit is different than last year -- instead of doing supplements and such, it's an even easier habit designed to prep us for the year ahead.  Every day I need to decide on a 5-minute action that will help me move towards my goals, or get something done that's been on my list, etc.  I've done things like get podcasts on my phone for my walks, going through the refrigerator and cleaning out food and starting up some shoulder stretches for my perpetually tight shoulders.  As always, baby steps.  Just do a little better than I did yesterday.

Remember the green check marks?
Those haven't changed, thank God.

Oh - and a big change:  no more skinfold testing! The consensus was that using calipers -- even by professionals -- was sketchy and not necessarily accurate.  So now it's just scale weight and body girth measurements and photos.  I'm considering still doing the skinfold measurements every 3 months just for kicks and grins (since my in-house roommate/trainer does it for me), but we'll see. It's not a fun process; something about another person squeezing your body fat is a little off-putting, ya know?

And on that note, time for bed!

Sticker mania

Just in case you were wondering about the status of my 4-week, can't-miss-a-workout challenge to myself, it's going great, thanks.  So far I'm two weeks in and still on track to meet my goal and gift myself dual computer monitors. I'm even being smart about planning workouts around days when I know I'll be too lazy to fit something in.  Impressive, I know.

Now here's my confession:  I've started using a motivational tool that I'm a little embarrassed about...

And yes, that's me there on the 3rd.  My birthday.  This calendar is my sister's creation and she
was nice enough to note my age (even though she didn't do that FOR ANYONE ELSE IN THE
ENTIRE CALENDAR). Still, isn't it pretty?  And luckily on the 3rd I was still in a walking
boot so I didn't have to put a sticker over my face.  Though that'd be kind of funny...

Yup, stickers.  I feel a little like I'm back in 3rd grade when stickers were THE COOLEST THING EVER and if I wasn't spending my money on candy, I was spending it on stickers.  I even kept them all in an album for safekeeping and easy perusal (yes, I was/is a geek).

So, yea, each day that I complete a workout, I get to put a sticker on that day.  Note that Sundays are typically days off for me, so the empty 23rd and 30th are totally legit, just so's ya know.  And this really does motivate me!  I love seeing the pretty colors and it's a little pressure to get the workout in so I don't have a lonely, blank day (that screams "FAILURE!!" and "YOU SUCK!") in the middle of my week.

I'm telling you -- it works.  Give it a try!  Just make sure you get cool stickers.

New Habit Monday: Fitness Media Fast

The new habit for the next two weeks?  Boycott fitness media -- no facebook articles, no blogs, no magazines, no inspirational Pinterest posters, no nothing (really, I shouldn't be posting here either, but I'm more whiny than fitness-y).

The premise is sound:  we are bombarded with information and choices from all sides, but this overload doesn't necessarily do us any good.  The change is in the doing, not the reading about the doing, amiright?  And that's what we're tasked with -- focusing on consistently making good nutrition choices and getting in all the workouts without worrying about what everyone else has to say about it.

So, yea.  That's it.  Not much to it, is there? I won't be all that impacted by this -- while I certainly do my fair share of reading about fitness, I have more than enough other stuff to keep my brain busy.  I'll also say that since I started LE, I haven't paid as much attention to the articles and blogs that I used to because I already know what I'm doing and I'm not looking for anything new to take on. I'm easily distracted, you know.

And really, there's only one diet that produces results -- the one that you stick with and create a lifestyle around. 

So, none of this. Like what she's doing is
even possible. Real people don't do that without their shoulders
popping right out of their sockets. And her body has totally
got to be Photoshopped, right? If not, she
definitely needs a cookie. Or 8. Yup, I think not
seeing any of this will be good for me.

Sunday Funday: Week 35 Review

35 weeks down.  It's really difficult for me to believe it -- I don't know that I've ever kept track of time for this long (you know what I mean, right?).  Maybe it's just that I've never stuck with one thing for this long, though, of course, the 35 weeks have been filled with varying degrees of commitment.

But anyway - I'm getting back into things and my Lean Eating life is back moving in the right direction.  I'm hitting the gym, pounding the pavement and putting down the donuts -- not always easy, but I'm making better decisions today than I did yesterday.

Measurements
Weight is down, measurements are stubbornly static. I'm not worried about it, though -- that'll come.  These are the things that I don't have control over.  As long as I take care of what I do have control over -- eating right, working out -- these results will show up soon enough.

Workouts
Nailed it! Schedule was a bit wonky because I got lazy on a few days, but I got everything in.  So - one week down in my quest to get myself a dual monitor setup. It wasn't as easy as I would have wanted it to be -- some days required a whole lot of oomph to get me downstairs -- but given some time, that should get better.

Habits
Still doing the 5 minute body scan every day.  I enjoy it -- kind of a way to check in with my body and emotions without attaching too much significance to it.  Almost a detached overview of how the systems are functioning.

Intermittent Fasting
Did this two days this week, and for two days this week I didn't snack after dinner. Which is kind of the point -- when I'm eating at night there's almost never a reason for it.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better
Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal
Weeks 30-31: Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)
Weeks 32-33: Modify carb intake
Weeks 34-35: Do a 5-minute body/mind scan every day

I can't help it -- I absolutely love this

Sunday Funday: Week 33/34 Review

Getting lazy in my old age, aren't I, combining Sunday reviews like this.  I was finally freed from the chains of having to study every non-working, non-sleeping moment and went a little crazy. Read a few books, caught up on some DVR'd TV, went to bed early... yup, I'm a regular rebellious spirit.

Last week it was time for photos -- oh, how I didn't want to do that. I feel like I'm back to the point where I started and preserving that wasn't high on my list of things to do. But, I very reluctantly did it anyway. Taking photos is a pretty powerful motivator to keep at this whole thing -- nothing like back fat rolls to get my butt down into the gym.

Progress has been very gradual over the past few weeks, but it's going forward nonetheless. I'm still not always making good decisions, but I'm always trying to be better than yesterday, which is really all I can ask of myself.

Measurements
Weight and measurements are down a touch from last week. I'm finally out of the clutches of hormones, so I expect that this week should be even better. Still need to consistently make better decisions, but I'm getting there.

Workouts
I actually did some workouts! Not all of them, but most. And I'm SORE. Being a study nerd for 6+ weeks did very bad things for my fitness level, for sure. I've signed up for a 5-mile race in early May, though, so I need to get things into gear. Hopefully the weather will start cooperating on a consistent basis since running outside is oh-so-much better than hitting the treadmill.

Habits
This week's habit is doing a 5-minute body/mind scan every day, which is something I was already doing on a casual, less regular basis. It's a good exercise, though, and working it into my day has been enlightening, especially this past week because I've been dealing with nonstop hormone headaches. I do it first thing in the morning -- I figure I use at least 5 minutes to convince myself to get out of bed anyway -- and it has given me insight into how much headaches affect every other area of my life.

After the scan, you answer 3 questions:  how you are you feeling physically, what are you feeling emotionally, and what you are thinking. I found that on the days that I woke up with a headache (which was every day except Friday), I started the day anxious and stressed, worried that the headache would turn into a full-blown migraine. I was concerned about how many migraine pills I was taking, worried that they might stop working. I was thinking about what I was going to do to keep the pain in check and whether it would work or not. In other words, not only was I obsessive and not very fun to be around, but pretty miserable, unmotivated and afraid to do much of anything for fear of making the headache worse.

(note: these headaches are hormonal and have been "normal" for me for about the last 15 years ... I've been to a doctor and because of the timing, consistency and what the headaches respond to, we're pretty sure that there isn't anything more to be worried about)

Intermittent Fasting
I've been only kind of doing this, but need to get back into it since it works so well keeping me in check.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better
Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal
Weeks 30-31: Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)
Weeks 32-33: Modify carb intake

Week 34: Do a 5-minute body/mind scan every day

I missed New Habit Monday

Of course, for awhile now it hasn't really been "new" habit Monday -- it's been a rehash of habits from the days of yore. This week it's all about being smart with carb intake -- both amount and type, with an emphasis on honing in on what really works for me as an individual.

This is easy for me; I figured out awhile ago that I don't do well on a typical low-carb diet. When I have a dinner of only vegetables and lean protein, about 45 minutes later all I want to do is eat eat eat (and not vegetables and lean protein, either). By tossing some quinoa, a sweet potato or wild rice into the mix, I find that I'm far more satiated than I otherwise would have been. The issue for me is not overdoing it -- I don't need heaping portions of it, just enough to take the edge off, ya know?

On another note entirely, one of my friends today posted on Facebook on how she had looked back at her BT log on this same day the past few years (beginnertriathlete.com ... remember, that's my virtual hangout despite the fact that I don't actually do triathlons anymore) .  This got me to thinking, and so I took a trip through the way-back machine as well (I love that I've had an online home now for about 9 years ... all that history...also makes me appreciate how I can write on and on about myself).

And you know what? Not last year, but every year before that I was working out and in shape and so utterly unappreciative of the motivation I had to get things done. I took it as a matter of fact that I would be running or biking or strength training or doing something active for an hour or more most days of the week -- being lazy never involved not working out for a full week, it was more like taking 2 days off. Now that I'm out of shape and fighting injury, I realize how much I took for granted. It's going to take me a long while to work my way back there -- and it's made me regret (even more - still - again) getting to the point where I am now. 

And this was an easy workout for a Saturday
because I was racing the next day. That's something
else I used to do -- I used to race. I miss that.

Reading about the nonchalant "went out and did an easy 6.5 miles today" or "up before work to get a quick bike spin out of the way" makes me want to be that person again (I still have no desire to swim, though - that will never change, I don't think! Brrr... cold water... hate it...). I feel like somehow I've lost part of my identity the last year or so and I really need to get it back.

And I know how to do it. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. The hardest part is starting ... after that, it's simply moving forward just a little bit every day. Reading about my recent-past escapades drove home how much I like myself when I'm able to take working out for granted.

Sunday Funday: Week 30 Review

So.

Um, yea.  It's been awhile, hasn't it?

No good excuses, though I've been struggling (and losing) to keep forward momentum going.  

About 2 weeks ago, I finally made an appointment with a doctor to see about the pain that I've had in my foot since, oh, the summer or so.  The pain had never been bad, but it also never went away, and within the past month or two, it had gotten worse.  The doctor confirmed what I already suspected:  I had a stress fracture.  So, I'm in a walking boot with orders to not do much of anything.  And yes - of course I can still work out - upper body and core don't require me to use my legs - but have I?  Nope.

Stylish, eh?

And remember me talking about that long-ass Microsoft class that I had taken?  Nine days, 12 hours a day?  Well, the class is done but the exams are not.  I've taken the first one, and passed (just barely!), but still have the next two ahead of me.  One thing that's messing with my brain a bit is that I thought the first exam would be the easiest, but it was much more difficult than I thought it would be, which makes me really stress out about the next two.  I've been studying every night, and yes, I can't seem to manage to not snack while I'm doing it.  I'm usually okay with being hungry, but it's almost like when I need to focus on something, I can't also deal with a rumbling stomach -- I need to be comfortable in any way possible to facilitate the studying.  Which is really, really bad for me eating healthy.  Because along with that, no, vegetables don't count as a snack that scratches that itch.

I've got my next exam this coming weekend, and then -- assuming I pass -- the one after that is in two weeks.  Enough time to study, but not enough time to overly worry about it.

So everything health-wise is going in the wrong direction:  weight, measurements, appetite, food choices, foot, sleep and stress level.  I need to rein things in and get back on track (though I've been telling myself that for two weeks now).  Somehow I need to start small and work my way back since I seem incapable of simply returning to the habits that I held just two weeks ago.

Along with that, I need a good dose of forgiveness as well.  I can't constantly berate myself on my mistakes -- that's counter-productive when what I really need is a genuine, heart-felt, "You're okay! You can do it!" from my head.

It's funny because things were going so well.  And then, not so well.  This is a pattern -- whenever my weight starts consistently going down (and I'm using weight simply as an easily quantified measure of progress), something happens and it rockets back up.  Of course, this is life -- never the same, never easy, always challenging.  I think that if you look at the graph of anyone's journey, you'll see the same thing -- periods of good with spikes of bad.  But the thing that I have to keep in mind:  I want the trend to be downward.  There are always going to be the bubbles of not-so-good, but the important part is recognizing and moving past it.  I can't do anything about yesterday, and I can't do anything about tomorrow, but I can certainly do something about today.

So - a very short review of the past (two) week(s):

Measurements
All up.  That's what happens when you eat everything in sight and don't workout.  I've said it before, but is amazes me how quickly the weight goes on and how slowly the weight comes off.

Workouts
Since I got the walking boot, I've done exactly one workout.  It was frustrating and annoying and I kind of hated it. Of course, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be doing it.

Habits
Another New Habit Monday has passed by -- this time it's revisiting the eating to 80% full habit.  This is definitely a foundational habit that I need to be paying more attention to. For the first time in awhile, I did that yesterday and not-so-remarkably felt better. Go figure.

Intermittent Fasting
Another thing I haven't been doing. Add it to the list.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better
Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal

Week 30:  Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)

Sunday Funday: Week 28 Review

My class is over, but I have to admit -- I probably spent too much time "recovering" (meaning, not working out, not posting here, not doing anything productive).  But - I'm back!  Aren't you happy?

I'm studying for my first exam (which is this coming Saturday) and assuming that goes well, I'll schedule out the second and third.  I'm having a hard time cracking the books, but I've been pushing myself to anyway.  It'll be over soon, right?

Measurements
About the same as last week.  Again - with what I've been doing (ie nothing), I'm pretty happy with that.  I was up during the middle of the week, and brought it down by the weekend, so I'm headed in the right direction.  I'm as low as I've been for about a year, which feels pretty good.

Workouts
Um, yea.  So, I kinda dropped the ball on this one.  Monday and Tuesday I just couldn't wake up early enough before class to get it done.  Wednesday was a crazy day back at work.  And Thursday and Friday?  No excuse really, other than I didn't wanna do it.  But - tough strength training session yesterday (holy schnikey am I sore today!) and an hour on the treadmill today.  And I was peer-pressured into signing up for a half marathon on Labor Day weekend, so I suppose that means I ought to start training one of these days.

Habits
So, I missed New Habit Monday.  That's probably okay because I've been absolutely terrible at getting it done.  The habit is to have a lean protein and a vegetable at EVERY meal. Unless Pop-Tarts (actually, Trader Joe's organic equivalent) have chicken and broccoli in them, I'm pretty well sunk before I've barely even begun the day.  This is one of those "just for two weeks" habits to get you out of your comfort zone and experiment with getting more good stuff into your diet.  So far, it's not working for me, but that's because I've spent exactly 0% effort into making it happen.

Intermittent Fasting
This has been my saving grace throughout this time, I'm pretty sure.  I simply eat less (even though it's not like I'm starving myself by any means).  It might not be for everyone, but it works for me.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better

Week 28:  Lean protein and vegetables with every meal

New Habit Monday: A Little More, A Little Better (and a day late)

I'm only a day late (but not a dollar short).  Yesterday was completely swallowed up by a pretty fierce migraine headache -- for the first time in awhile, meds didn't help and it was quite a ride before it was over.  Today I've got the after-headache headache (which is like the after-party party except without the fun ... it's actually more like the after-party party hangover), but I'm mostly recovered.

Onto the matter at hand -- the new habit!  In the spirit of Lean Eating trying to launch us from the nest and get us thinking on our own, we are supposed to concentrate on picking a habit and then doing "A little more, a little better".  So, if I usually eat 3 servings of vegetables a day, I might focus on getting the full 5 servings.  Or if I don't get enough sleep, I could choose to make sure to get to bed earlier.  And I can pick a different habit every day or pick just one and stick with it. It's all in the effort to more consistently follow the guidelines that will lead me to a healthy lifestyle.

I like this one.  Like last week, which was "do anything you want" week, it plays into getting me to think more about real life. I need to figure out how these Lean Eating tenets will form a solid foundation that will allow me to live and eat and play without even thinking about it.  Work on the habits until they become (duh) habitual.

There are a few I'm going to concentrate on.  First -- eating slowly.  I only sporadically pay attention to this one, and it's all too easy to sit down with a full plate of food and then POOF! it's gone. How'd that happen? Just taking my time and, you know, tasting my food helps me make better decisions about my hunger level.

Second, I'm going to go back and do the food recording.  That habit happened during the week where my grandma's health failed and she passed away, so I didn't really do it the right way.  I'm not worrying about calories at all, but just keep track of everything that goes in my mouth so I can get a true picture of what could be improved.

Third -- and this is the habit/practice that is possibly the most critical -- simply be mindful.  Don't shut my brain off when I'm shopping and I want cookies.  Just think about it. Do I really want the cookies?  Or, more to the point, do I really want the setback that those cookies represent (because you know I'm not just having a few, I'm eating the whole box)?  MINDFUL.  That's the key to everything.

New Habit Monday: There are no new habits!

Surprise! It's like a midterm exam:  LE is letting us completely loose for the week!  No assigned workouts, no new habit, no nutritional guidelines.  As they say, you don't have to have a program to be active, a diet to eat healthy or big brother to keep you accountable -- real life isn't going to be like that, so why not practice real life for awhile, right?

I'm curious to see how this goes.  As far as the workouts go, I'm going to nail it. I'll keep to the same basic structure -- 3 strength training sessions, 2 HIIT workouts, 1 longer cardio workout -- but only do stuff that I like doing.  In other words, side planks?  Not on my agenda. Shoulder press?  Not for me!  Lots of whole-body compound movements:  squats, deadlifts, benchpress, split squats, pushups and perhaps a regular plank or two.

Nutrition will be "easy" -- mostly what I've already been doing.  Most meals are pretty clean, some meals aren't, but the most important thing will be to go back to the foundations and eat slowly and don't eat too much.  If I can do those two things, life will be good. The proof will be in the measurements on Saturday, or as we like to say here in the Lean Eating world, the proof is in the pudding you don't eat.

We'll see what else LE springs on us this week -- I can't imagine that they'll just leave us entirely alone for a full 7 days, but who knows?  Maybe they trust us now?

New year, resolution time!

2014 Resolutions:  Be me, be happy.  Simple.

I’m looking forward to the new year -- don’t I always? -- but instead of a lot of new things to do, most of what I’m planning are continuations from last year, working on myself and writing my own personal Owner’s Manual.

Not a lot of rhetoric, just laying out some guidelines for the rest of the year (really:  the rest of my life).

1. Focus on the last 6 months of Lean Eating.  I’m paying for it, I shouldn’t ignore it or skate by and not do the mental and physical work involved to make the program a success. It’s completely up to me -- the program gives me the tools, but I still have to do the heavy lifting.
2. Start posting on my blog daily again.  I don’t always feel like I’ve got a lot to say (or what I’m saying is at all interesting), but making it a daily habit keeps me focused on where I’m headed and what I’m trying to accomplish.  It’s another form of being held accountable.
3. Attend at least two Lean Eating Google Hangouts a month.  I always have a small amount of dread before the video calls with my Lean Eating pals -- I really don’t enjoy talking through that medium for so long -- but like training, I never regret having done it. Creating a connection between friends who are going through the same thing will be a big factor in my success.
4. Schedule at least one call with Coach Veronica.  Because she’s got about 300 clients to work with, there’s not a lot of individual attention from her unless you ask for it.  I have a tendency to think, “I don’t have any big issues, I shouldn’t bother her…”, but, of course, I’m paying to be allowed to bother her.  And from everyone I’ve talked to, she’s an amazing person one-on-one and it’s a resource that I should definitely be taking advantage of.  This also falls under the heading of “Asking for help even when I don’t think I should be bothering someone”.
5. Read 20 books.  This shouldn’t be difficult -- I really enjoy reading.  The only barrier to doing it is finding the time. And the time isn’t the issue as much as turning off the distractions.  I’m thinking of creating a reading nook in the house, where the TV and computer won’t be able to lure me in.
6. Do more dog training.  I really want well-trained dogs who will always obey a recall and act cute on command (not that they aren’t always cute!).  Belle’s a bit of a bully, and that needs to be stopped in its tracks, and Clarke is just a weird dog with weird habits that need to be corralled as best as possible.  As much trouble as they can be, though, I wouldn’t give either of them up for the world. They’re both good dogs, just have some quirks that are going to drive me to drink.
7. Journal, follow progress of goals and write just a little about each day.  I’ve been doing this since November and have found that it helps me to get things out of my brain before going to sleep.  The payback is more valuable than the few minutes a night I spend doing it. And looking at my goals every day will be good for me.  I don’t want to lose sight of what’s important to me.
8. 5k steps on weekdays, 10k steps on weekend.  I have both a FitBit and Withings Pulse to keep my tech geek brain occupied for the next few months.  This isn’t “real” training, but being cognizant of how much I’ve moved over the course of the day seems to make me want to move more to hit specific goals. And - honestly - this will be a stretch goal for me during the winter.  In the summer I get out a lot with the pups, but when it’s bitter cold, windy and snowy, neither me or the dogs want to be out there.
9. TV can go on no earlier than 6pm on weekdays.  There is nothing on before that time that needs to be watched.  Instead, read, listen to music or work on the computer (computer time must be reading or writing or working… not just browsing Facebook).  Frankly, cut down on TV time altogether as well.  There is very little on TV that’s going to change my life if I don’t watch it.
10. Do a month of not falling asleep to the TV as an experiment.  I’ve always turned on the TV when going to bed, putting the timer on and letting it lull me to sleep. However, there is research out there that shows that even if you’re not watching the TV, the light emanating from it causes your sleep to be less restful. So - reading and music will become part of my bedtime ritual.  Can’t hurt to try.
11. More music!  Because music is just the most awesome thing in the world. Just like I forget that working out makes me feel good, I forget that listening to music really lifts my mood. It really is amazing the effect it has on me:  I relax, can get lost in the beat and lyrics, let go of whatever was bothering me.  And singing along -- LOUDLY! -- is a great stress reliever (as much as it might cause stress for those who have to listen to me).

Really, this list is just another expression of “be me, be happy”.  Which, I think is going to be my motto for every year from now on.  I really can’t go wrong if that’s what I’m striving for, right?  Welcome, 2014. It's gonna be a good one.

Sunday Funday: Week 23 Review

Holiday week, and all the food and indulging that goes along with it.  Oh, and the requisite illness that also seems to go along with the holidays.  Christmas Eve and Day were a good time spent with family, though I could have done without the cold/sinus infection that made me pretty miserable.

Really the most notable thing about this week is that it's the week before the halfway point, which means pictures and skinfold measurements.  Yikes.  I'm really not ready for that.

Measurements
Weight is -- remarkably, for everything I ate -- about the same as last week.  Measurements are down a touch.  Will wonders ever cease?

Workouts
Um, yea.  Didn't really happen.  Between being festive and being sick, I did little more than strength train once or twice.  Totally getting back into it.  Really.  I mean it this time.

Habits
Did I tell y'all about the new habit?  I don't think I did... so, the new habit is to eat nothing but whole foods for two weeks.  My diet on the whole is pretty clean, though I can't say that I eat nothing but whole foods.  Aside from the holidays, I've been trying to do this for at least two of three meals for the day.  It's hard to do this 100% -- and except for a two-week experiment, I don't think it's something that fits into my lifestyle.

Intermittent Fasting
I've fallen off this wagon a bit, though I still do it at least a few days a week.  I still think this is beneficial for me.

Habit Log:
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies

Week 23:  Eat only whole foods

New Habit "Monday": Use a Targeted Recovery Strategy

On their best behavior while I was working.
You can barely see the bandages on his tail.

Okay, okay... so I'm a few days late.  It's been a weird week, made weirder by my weird dog that chewed a chunk off of his tail which required a vet visit.  The best part is that now he gets to wear a Donut of Shame (much like the Cone of Shame, but a little more dog-friendly).

Now that all of us Lean Eaters are into the swing of eating healthy and working out on a regular basis, the next step is to start thinking about recovering from those workouts to maximize the gains we're working so hard to get.

PN lays out three strategies:

1. Take BCAAs after workouts
2. Eat an LE-friendly postworkout meal
3. Do another form of purposeful recovery

I'm not entirely sure what I make of #1.  I know I made a promise to keep an open mind about anything that the program throws at me, but I'm feeling some resistance and push-back from my head on this one.  Mostly it's saying:  "But you don't work out hard enough to warrant supplements!".  So, I don't know.  I haven't run out to buy any to try out yet, so that gives you an idea of where I stand on that at the moment.

(to be fair, I'm working from home this week, so aside from the vet visit, I haven't actually left the house once, so a run to get supplements isn't in the future)

The other two?  Sure, they make sense to me.  Eating a good protein + smart carbs after working out is something that I've had in my bag of tricks for awhile now.  And as far as #3 goes, more recovery in the form of stretching, foam rolling, meditation, etc can never hurt.

I'm not convinced about the BCAAs but I'm going to noodle the idea around for awhile and once I decide to leave the house, maybe I'll swing by my local GNC and pick up a bottle just to try it out.  I'm not paying money for coaching advice to ignore it -- I need to keep reminding myself of that.

New Habit Monday: Drink Only Calorie-Free Beverages

Another easy(ish) habit for me -- don't drink anything that has calories in it.  With the exception of my protein shake in the morning (which I drink *because* of the calories), I don't really drink my calories these days.  Occasionally a Gatorade after a particularly difficult workout (which hasn't really happened in the past few months), but that's about it.

Of course, the next step after that is eliminating all soda pop.  Um, yea.  That's going to be tougher.  I ran out of my beloved Diet Pepsi yesterday and decided not to replenish the supply.  And then this morning I was especially tired and cranky after not getting a good night's sleep due to a headache, and by mid-morning I broke down and got a Diet Coke from the vending machine (that tells you how desperate I was ... I really don't like Diet Coke all that much).

What can I say -- it's not even the caffeine, really, it's that I just love the taste.  And it must be a dialed-back version of what a smoker feels like when they light up -- my entire body just goes, "Ahhhhhh....." and sighs with happiness with that first swallow.

That said, I'll be able to follow the letter of the habit without too much trouble, but I do want to start working on eliminating the diet pop from my day.  I'm also guilty of having a more-than-occasional glass of diet root beer in the evening.  It satisfies my sweet tooth without me chowing down on chocolate or something worse for me (not that I have those things in my house anymore...).

Like I've been talking about -- my new habit is really eating Primally(ish) and that's what I'm going to be working on.  I just bought another 6-pack of Diet Pepsi, so I'll consider doing away with it again once I've run out and see how long I last...

New Habit Monday: Create and Use a Sleep Ritual

Monday!  Again!  How does this keep happening?  The new habit this week is all about getting your zzzz's -- or, at least, doing everything you can to facilitate getting the zzzz's. And, about 3 years ago, I had this epiphany that getting enough sleep was pretty much the cure all.  In fact, I wrote a blog post about it (on a long-stale blog), which I'm going to steal and reprint here (because why reinvent the wheel, ya know?).  So, without further ado, my September 2010 take on sleep:

I'll let you in on a secret: I've figured out the answer to all of life's problems.
Get enough sleep. And not just on the weekends, or a good night of it here and there, but consistently, almost every night, get enough sleep.

I bet you expected something funnier, eh?

You might be one of the Sleep Blessed: one of those chosen few who feel really good after just 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. That’s all you need to get your batteries recharged, recover from the previous day of stress or workouts and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to hop out of bed and face the day.

Me? I’m not so blessed. I’ve mentioned it before – it takes 8-10 hours of sleep a night to transform me into someone you’d want to be around. I can get by on 7 a night for a while, but it wears on me and makes me a touch cranky. And 6 hours a night (which is about what I had been averaging)? Really – take my word for it – don’t come near me. Especially if you’re one of those perky-with-5-hours-a-night type people. I just might accidentally run over you with my car. Twice.

For so long — years, really — I’ve been chronically sleep-deprived. It’s one of those things that I joked about but knew on some level that it was reality. But I never fully realized how profoundly this impacted me every single day. When I talked about always being tired, that was the god’s honest truth: I could sleep anywhere. Given an opportunity to nap? Minutes and I was out cold. And a nap wasn’t usually 20 minutes — it was 1-2 hours.

Fitting training into this equation has always been difficult for me — an epic struggle between hitting the street and hitting the couch. And? The couch usually won that battle, at least more often than not.

And then about 6 weeks ago after having weeks of sleep-related issues, I started going to bed at 8pm. Yes – the sun was still shining and I was trying to fall asleep – but the result? I now get a luxurious 8 hours of sleep a night during the week. And then on the weekends? In bed early (sometimes as early as 8-9pm) and up early, but with no alarm and usually I’ll manage 9-10 hours of deep, refreshing sleep. Now that’s livin’ right!

You know what happened? After about a week of getting enough zzz’s, I turned into a sleep evangelist (or for the more secular, a late-night Sleep Is Awesome!! infomercial in my best Billy Mays voice) — I felt so incredibly good and couldn’t stop talking about how such a basic thing as sleep could make everything all rainbows and sunshine and butterflies (perhaps I went a touch overboard…). I couldn’t wait to tell everyone that I knew how damn easy it was to feel like you could conquer anything that life had to throw at you (fine print: I have no kids or husband or social life to get in the way of getting enough sleep, so “easy” might be somewhat subjective, and, of course, your mileage may vary).

Truthfully, I haven’t felt this over-the-top awesome in years. YEARS. Literally. It’s not like my problems have gone anywhere, but my ability to deal with them? So much better than before. Now that I spend my days more awake (without the aid of huge caffeine boosts), my thinking is clearer, I have more energy, and I’m ready to grab life by the tail and shake it around a little, just for grins.

It amazes me that it took me so damn long to put this together. I mean, sure, I’m no rocket scientist, but you’d think that falling asleep during, well, everything, would have been a clue. Or perhaps the fact that I could ingest barrels of caffeine and not have it even make a dent in my nonstop yawning. Perhaps I was too tired to make the connection.

I know, I know – I sound a little insane, don’t I? Again – I just can’t seem to find the words to convey how good things are now. I feel like I’ve spent the past 4+ years walking around in a fog, rarely feeling anything more than just okay, instead of regularly feeling good. My friends and family have noticed my improved mood and positive attitude. My boss even noticed that I didn’t look nearly as worn out as I usually do (he’s one of the good guys, but occasionally manages to put his foot in his mouth).

And while going to bed before the good TV shows even start might make me a bit of a loser, now that I know this secret, I don’t think I can go back. I’m hooked on feeling awake and alive and energetic and – basically – awesome all the time. Who needs a social life, right?

See, I'm like a Lean Eating seer or something, aren't I? It's like I wrote that post 3 years ago just waiting for this moment to recycle it. I'm nothing if not environmentally friendly.

Anyway - my sleep ritual has developed over the years, and now I regularly head to the bedroom early and get ready for bed, then foam roll and stretch, write in my journal, cuddle with the dogs and then 10 minutes later I'm asleep. And I get close to 7-8 hours a night fairly consistently (and feel like crap when I don't). The ritual helps; it gives me time to slow down and relax before climbing into bed, so that when I do I'm ready to close my eyes.

It makes a difference, it really does. Give it a try if you don't already.

New Habit Monday: Record what you eat

Pretty straightforward -- for the next two weeks, I need to record what I'm eating.  Seems simple enough, right?

I have to say, I'm a little apprehensive about this habit.  In the past, I have always been very successful at losing weight when I log all of my food and recorded every calorie.  The problem was that I was very UNsuccessful once I stopped doing it -- without that governor in place, I was a mess.  One of the parts of Lean Eating that attracted me was the promise of being able to eat without worrying about counting calories; the idea of learning how to eat and live in a healthy manner that would keep me at an ideal weight without tracking sounds pretty dang awesome to me.

This is the detox salad that I
mentioned in another post. And Clarke.
And Belle.  Completely zonked out.

So since I can't use my normal method for recording what I eat, I'm working out how to follow the habit while not making myself all type-A and crazy about it.  I've decided to try Evernote Food -- I'm an Evernote evangelist already, so I thought this might be a non-count-y kind of way to track what I'm eating.  And plus, it gives me yet another opportunity to show off my pups, right?

Coach V. said that we should think of this strictly feedback, not judgment on whether or not that cupcake I just ate should be in my diet.  And in fact, at some point she'll be looking over the logs to get an idea of what I'm eating.  I will say one thing:  the fact that someone is going to be looking at what I'm eating makes a huge difference.  The cupcake I just mentioned? Yea, I actually didn't have one because I knew I'd have to report it.  Seriously. They even had Halloween decorations on top and I refrained.

It all kind of goes back to wanting people to think the best of me, I suppose. And it worries me that I'll behave better due to external accountability rather than internal accountability.  What happens when the support goes away?

Anyway - we'll see how this goes. And I'm going to keep the deep questions at bay for awhile because they kind of make my brain hurt a little and it's Monday so I don't need any more hurt.  Another time, I promise, okay?

New Habit Monday: Plan meals

It's like LE was reading my mind:  the new habit for the next two weeks is to start planning out meals to increase your chances of success.  

Funny, I was just saying that (like, in my post yesterday)!  

I always have a fuzzy idea of what I'm going to be eating, but never really plan it out and then I get all lazy and don't cook when I fuzzily think I'm supposed to. The idea is that by thinking ahead and making sure the food I need is available, and doing as much prep work as possible that I'll be less tempted to make bad decisions on a whim.  That makes is sound simple, doesn't it?

At work this is much easier because there's no going out for lunch -- not only do I only get 30 minutes, but getting on/off the mill site where my office is would take about 10 of those minutes, and then outside the mill is ... lovely Gary, IN, a place that I don't really want to be wandering around in.  So - it's all eat-in.  I bring my breakfast, morning snack (if needed), lunch and afternoon snack.  After that, though, it's a bit of a crapshoot. 

I always have stuff in the house to make, but I am SO DAMN LAZY.  If it takes more than 3 minutes to put together, I would rather go hungry (or snack on other things).  I will say that having my roommate back around again is good for me, though -- with someone else to eat with, I'm more likely to throw something together.

So, like tonight:  I could have made chicken and veggies (it's all waiting for me in the refrigerator), but instead I'm getting a chicken chopped salad (hold the dressing, please!) from Portillo's. Is this dinner completely unhealthy?  No. But would I be better eating something I made myself?  Um, yea, probably. 

My next step:  take an inventory of my refrigerator, get a list of the foods that I bought over the weekend, and then plan out when I'm going to eat them. Write it down. Post it somewhere I have to look at it constantly. Oh, and then follow through. I guess that part's a little important, eh?

Sunday Funday: Week 12 Review

Three months in!  I'm not even sure how that happened.

Dinner last night was pretty damn awesome -- food, drink and company included.  I ate too much, but not nearly as much as I usually do.  And with only 1.5 glasses of wine, I even was still capable of calculating the tip in my head by the end of the meal.  Will wonders ever cease?

Biaggi's wonderful bruschetta -- one of the appetizers
that we always seem to order

Good night out with great friends and now it's really time to buckle down again.  I need to start getting really serious about overhauling the food -- I'm not integrating the food lessons nearly as well as I should to be successful.  And it's all just a matter of planning and prepping.  So that'll be my focus in the upcoming weeks.  And plus -- I have just two short weeks until doing the second round of skinfold body fat testing and I'd like to know that I did as much as I could do make that a good experience.

And with that, my week:

Measurements:
Another pretty good week.  It's been difficult staying off the scale, but it's done me a lot of good, I think -- I live in fear of a bad weigh-in so I'm more apt to make better decisions.  My check-in went pretty well: while the scale only budged a little bit, my measurements dropped by a little over 2.5", which kind of blows me away.  I'm definitely starting to see some muscle definition coming back under the fat layers, and frankly, that's one of my main goals.

Workouts:
Still on my 100% completion streak!  And holy CRAP am I sore today!  My upper back and shoulders are absolutely yelling at me (in a (mostly) good way, of course).  The workouts have been kicking my butt, but i like that.  The running intervals are going well, too -- I'm still incredibly slow, but the pace is getting better and that's all I need to see.  I've been adding in a slow, longer run, too, just to get my body moving.

Habits:
This is where I'm falling down on the job a little -- I can't say that I've made any huge changes in terms of making smarter carb choices.  Sure, I make better choices here and there when it's easy, but I haven't made a concerted effort to really change my eating habits.  I need to focus on making all the food habits -- lean protein, vegetables, smarter carb choices -- something that guides my meal planning throughout the week.  Speaking of which, I really need to start meal planning for my week.  :)

Habit Log:
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day

Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices

New Habit Monday -- Carboholics Anonymous

Another "what to eat" habit is here:  make smart carb choices.  This is the one that I knew was coming but wasn't looking forward to because I really love my carbs.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never met a carb I didn't love.

I've already done a lot in the way of cutting out the refined carbs -- the cookies, bakery bread, crackers, muffins and all of the other starchy goodness out there -- but I've been reluctant to really make a concerted effort to consistently make smarter carb choices.  I don't wanna <insert pouty lower lip>.

Now, I know quite well that when I feel resistance, I'm being faced with one of those things that I know I ought to do, but don't really want to make the effort to get it done. Like geometry homework (the one math class I hated). It's kind of hard -- I mean, what's a good sandwich without good bread to hold it together, right? -- and, um, ya, I just don't wanna.

But - I will.  I can't avoid something just because it's a challenge.  Right?  I haven't had success doing this my way, and that's something I need to keep pounding into my brain. This is one of my difficult-difficult things (have I talked about difficult-easy and difficult-difficult yet?  Hmmm... if not, that's coming up soon).

So - instead of a bakery bread sandwich, I'll have a lettuce wrap.  Substitute sweet potatoes for white rice.  Replace cookies with ... nothing, I guess.  That just seems a little sad, doesn't it?  Anyway, I'm on it.

Can't you just smell that heavenly bakery goodness?

New habit Monday -- do what your mother told you...

... and eat your vegetables!  Yes - 5 servings a day.  And we're still keeping up with the lean protein as well -- you can see how they're edging out the foods that they don't want you eating, eh?

Like the lean protein, this habit shouldn't be too difficult, but requires some planning to make the magic happen. Luckily, I really enjoy vegetables and I'm looking forward to this habit.  Turning into a rabbit sounds healthy, doesn't it? 

(Here's a funny aside: a former boss of mine always refused to eat anything "green"... though he made an exception for key lime pie, of course.  Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.)

Makes sense, really.  Fill up on vegetables and protein, leaving not as much room for the carbs and desserts.  It's like doing homework before being allowed to play ("But Maaaaaaa... I don't waaaanna do my homework...").

I already have 2-3 servings a day -- I cut up vegetables for my workday snacks -- so it's just a matter of getting some at dinnertime, or making some veggie-heavy egg-type breakfasts for myself.  One thing I want to try is branching out a little bit.  My veggies are pretty run-of-the-mill, and I want to spice things up a bit. Any suggestions?

One recipe that I haven't made in a long time that is definitely in my near future is Garlic Mashed Cauliflower -- I wasn't a believer until I tried it, but it's a damn good substitute for mashed potatoes! I know, I know, I can hear you whining about how nothing is like the real thing, and while I agree, this really is the next best thing.  Trust me on this. Pair it with a nice steak and it's the best thing since sliced bread (see what I did there?).