UGH... The heat...

I know I already wrote one kind of self-indulging post about the heat here in Louisiana, but I thought of another fitness aspect yesterday.

Yesterday it was so warm that I could hardly stomach eating at all... It reminded me of how I used to feel in Spain. In Spain during the summers it would get so hot that we would live off of fruit and Danone Coconut Yogurt. I really wanted some of that yogurt yesterday.

Of course, also just like in Spain as soon as the sun went down and the temperature dropped a little bit I could eat without feeling sick... (The heat really never bothered me this much the previous two years here in Louisiana... Not sure why this year is so bad.)

Weekly Results: Short skirts, tube tops and weighing everyday

Results

• Loss -4.6 pounds (Total lost 34.6)
• 84049 steps = About 39.89 miles
• Gluten free, vegetarian, had some key lime pie this week. (I think I am going to start indulging in sugar once in awhile. Mostly at social functions where it is offered. Sounds kind of a funny, "I'm a social sugar eater...")
• Week 15 of working out
• Week 11 of eating right

Thoughts
As I mentioned yesterday the 35 pounds I lost was a major goal. I have laid out a few major goals and wanted to reward myself in some way as I reached each goal. yesterday I went shopping and bought the sluttiest out-fit I have every owned in my life... Maybe slutty is a harsh word... Maybe I should say "not modest", or "shorter than I have ever worn before"... It was a short khaki skirt and a pink billowy tube top. I was kind of freaking out in the store.. I mean the skirt was like three inches above my knees... AHHH! As I was freaking out though I was looking in the mirror and you know what it looked good! My favorite barista took a good look at me too and she was smiling a little bit. She looks a little bit like a younger, and more emo KD Lang. (I'm gonna have to start shaving my legs above the knees to wear it though... That's a big concession to make for a skirt...)

Yeah! for looking good. Yeah! for gaining some more confidence.

I also got in a conversation this week with a friend about weighing everyday or not weighing everyday. Since I started working on getting healthy this time around I have started weighing daily. I've never done that before and some argue that its not good because you focus too much on the number. I am not totally focused on the numbers, but I recognize that the numbers help me reach my objectives.

My objectives are not to reach particular numbers on the scale, though the numbers are a tool I use. My objective is be able to hike, skate, maybe dance, and reaching a healthy number on the scale is a side-effect of or tool to doing those things. Does that make sense?

I have found weighing daily to be useful though for several reasons:

1. It holds me accountable. If I overeat or if I eat gluten I know about it right away and can start repairing the damage immediately. If I were weighing in once a week I might not notice water retention as much, or I might be less careful about the amount of food I eat, but weighing daily is a constant guide.

2. There are ups and downs on the scale everyday. It used to freak me out when the number would go up from day to day and I knew I was being good, but our body goes through different cycles and in some ways I think that weighing daily and tracking it is helping me get to know my bodies rhythms.

3. For me it is really motivation, centering, focusing to weigh daily. Just the routine of stepping on the scale reminds me of what I am working towards.

4. I like weighing daily because I am a mega-nerd and tracking my weight daily was an excuse to make an Excel spreadsheet.... I like watching the weight-line trend downward...

The heat is gonna kill me - I reached a major goal

I have lived in Louisiana for three years now but I've never actually spent a summer here. I'm starting to realize that maybe I don't comprehend how awful it could be...

I went out at about 9:00 am today to go to the track and only got 8 laps in before the heat was killing me... I hate driving to the gym everyday but going to the track is going to require getting out of the house a lot earlier in the morning.

When I started working out in March I had set a goal for the end of the school year. I wanted to lose 35 pounds by May 25th. I'm a few days late, but I have now lost 34.8 pounds! (I know I'm rounding up just a tiny bit.) I'm so excited!

I detest pictures of myself so I don't take any, but now I wish I had taken some "before" shots just to see the difference. Oh well. Part of the reason I have not prioritized pictures and talking about numbers goals has been because my focus is truly on getting strong enough to hike Timpanogos. I really don't doubt that I could do it at this point. Right now I just have to get to Utah and wait for some of the snow to melt... PLEASE MELT! (But no too fast. I don't want it to flood the valley below... Just slow and steady melting so I don't need snowshoes...)

Weekly Results: Habit and routine...

Results

• Loss -2.4 pounds (Total of 30.8 pounds!)
• 77,475 steps = 36.7 miles (Pedometer broke - step count is not accurate.)
• Gluten free, sugar free and still vegetarian
• Week 14 of working out.
• Week 10 of eating right.

 

Thoughts
I had no real deep or profound thoughts this week about fitness... I then realized that in and of itself is somewhat profound. Fitness and eating right have now become so routine that I no longer really have to think about it all the time. I can walk into the store and I know what I need to make healthy vegetarian meals without too much effort or thought.

 

Going to the gym or going to the track is so routine that getting myself off the couch to go and do it is just not a problem any more.

 

These changes, eating right and working out, have become not just something I am doing to lose weight, but they are well on their way to being lifestyle changes! YEAH for routine and habit!

"Have you lost a lot of weight lately?"

I had about eight people stop me and ask me this week how I was losing my weight. It is always fun to watch them all react as I tell them that I went vegetarian, gave up sugar, and exercise so that I can hike up mountains in high altitude environments… I think what they wanted was to join whatever club or plan I was following.

I think I have mentioned in the past that my entire family has varying degrees of weight problems. When I say family I mean EVERYONE. My mom’s side, my dad’s side, almost all of the cousins, even all of the in-laws that married into the family are big people. Some of the kids have managed to escape the fat-fate (not many but some). The ones who escaped were the ones who had sports hobbies.

My sister lost about 60 pounds three years ago when she got into kung-fu. She has stuck with it and looks amazing. She is healthy and strong. She was really the first person I ever encountered who got healthy through a hobby rather than crash dieting. She is my inspiration!

She is not taking kung-fu at some crap school either. She is at a serious school and she can now take down men that are twice her size! It is super impressive.

I think people at school want a quick and easy fix. I think many of my family members on these crash diets plan want an easy fix. Its not realistic...I think the only fix is to sweat it out somehow and eat healthy.  

Anemic?! WTF...

I’ve had a really hard time working out this week not because I have not wanted to but because work and finishing up the school year has been so crazy. I have also been really tired. The fatigue should have been the telltale sign, but then the bruises started showing up. (My pedometer broke too and the new one is definitely not accurate…)

I have a history of anemia. This is really common for people with Celiacs Disease and going vegetarian this was something I was concerned about since plant iron is harder to absorb than iron in say steak… I’m just surprised that the anemia did not hit me sooner. I’ve been vegetarian now for about 9 weeks. I’m not sure why it took so long to show up…

I’m going to have to read up on how vegetarians deal with anemia. I’m going to eat a lot of eggs over the next few days. May some good spinach and egg omlets will do the trick. I hope I don’t have to go in for a nice, pleasant iron shot … Ughhhh..

Tofu Tacos

I have been buying tofu salads from Whole Foods, and I thought they were a pretty good deal. They were already made and I did not have to worry about figuring out to cook tofu. Last week when I went to do my grocery shopping though I noticed that an entire pound of uncooked tofu is only like $2.50... I love a good deal... I bought the tofu and it sat in the fridge all week because all I have ever heard about it is how hard it is to cook...

Finally, this weekend I decided to give it a shot and I read everything I could find about how to cook tofu. Without going into any more boring details I made wonderful tofu tacos last night and plan on never buying overpriced tofu salad at Whole Foods again...

What you need:

• 1 package extra firm tofu (I used Nasoya brand)
• 1 package of taco seasoning (or go to allrecipes and use this recipe to make your own taco seasoning - I love this particular recipe)
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Whatever you like to put on your tacos with (shells, lettuce, salsa, corn, etc)

Steps
1. Put the tofu in the freezer for 72 hours. (This apparently makes it easier to work with and changes the texture. As this was my first time cooking it I am not sure what the texture would have been like without freezing it.My friend said the tofu crumbs and falls apart if you skip this freeze and thaw process.)
2. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge. Put the thawed tofu on a towel and squeeze out the excess water.
3. Once thawed cut into cubes. (It really does not matter what size. My cubes were about 1/2" by 1/2".)
4. Put the taco seasoning and cubes in a ziplock bag and shake until the tofu is covered in taco seasoning.
5. Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and dump contents of the ziplock bag into the baking pan.
6. Bake the tofu cubes at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes then flip them over and bake for about another 10 minutes. (You can repeat this step depending on how crispy or tender you want your tofu cubes to be.)
7. Remove from the oven and use tofu cubes in place of regular taco meat.