I get so excited about trying so many different new things that I sometimes forget. I will be posting these recaps from time to time to remind you (and me) of what healthy activities I am currently involved in.

Challenges

• Just joined the Shrinking Jeans “Shrinkvivor” challenge!
• The Vegan Experiment. You can read about this in my previous blog post!
• “Banish Trouble Zones.” I am attempting to complete Jillian Michaels’ Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism and No More Trouble Zones DVD’s on alternate days throughout the month of September. Just a little personal goal.
• Two-a-day workouts!

Training

• 13-Week Beginning Running program- Learning how to run, plain and simple
• BeachBody Insanity- I finished the 60-day program, and I loved the results so much, I started all over again!
• Hundred Pushups/Two Hundred Situps/Two Hundred Squats program.

I guess that’s about it. That wasn’t so bad. What are your current challenges and/or training plans?

September 9, 2010.

Day 251.

Exercise Stats: Completed Week 6, Day 1 of the 13-Week Beginning Running program. Run five minutes. Walk 1 minute. Repeat 7 times. Total time: 48 minutes

Remember that 21-Day deal I was telling you about? The one where I commit to veganism for a little less than a month?

Yeah, that’s not going to work out. As I sat at dinner today eating my soupy cabbage, my broccoli and spinach leaf with shredded carrots mixture and my spinach and rice, I could only think one thing.

“Where’s my cheese? My butter? My sour cream?”

I’m a dairy addict, and I can’t go off the stuff cold turkey. I am not a cold turkey! Besides that, the school cafeteria is not vegan-friendly. At all. No almond milk. No seitan. No tofu. No polenta. No vegan, gluten-free cookies and cakes! What’s a wannabe vegan to do?

Thus, I have devised a plan, thanks to a fellow classmate’s advice. I will relearn how to eat the same way I am learning to run, week by week, and work my way up to veganism in stages, just like real addicts do! (Note to self: Do not make light of real addicts. What they go through is very serious, so no more jokes! And technically, addicts work their way down from something, so the analogy is moot anyway.)

Here’s the plan: I will start out eating vegan one day a week. For the rest of the week, I will stick to vegetarianism with a heavy vegan influence, where I allow myself dairy (in small amounts). Every two weeks, I will add another vegan day to the week until I can comfortably eat vegan for seven days straight. During that time,  I will do my best to invest (with the limited resources that I have) in a small fridge to stock with tastier vegan fare than is offered in my crappy school cafeteria. If my math is right, and it never is, if I include this week, I should be eating completely vegan at the end of 12 weeks.

I shall call it, “The Vegan Experiment.” Ooh, sounds exciting and slightly off-kilter, huh? Like someone is creating an entirely new strain of mutant vegetable in their underground laboratory! And since I already ate vegan today, Week One is done!

Day 251.

Day 7:

Nichole gave me a truffle today. A chocolate raspberry Lindor Truffle.

She is now my enemy.

This morning I had the most disgusting breakfast I have had in awhile. Even worse than the so-called “Stuffed French Toast” my husband, (who I will start calling by his name because I am tired of typing “my husband”) Jordan, refused to eat, but more on that in a few. My sister gave me a breakfast time tip: Oatmeal. Remind me not to thank her. Last night, I diligently measured out my oatmeal, 1 Tablespoon raisins and 1 Tablespoon brown sugar. Everything was neatly arranged on the counter and the pot was ready to boil water.

I set my alarm to get up early to cook the oatmeal and enjoy a real breakfast at the table, maybe with a magazine and a cup of tea with Splenda, water. One minute before I need to leave to make it to work on time, I throw the magazine on the couch, grab my purse, and lug a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of water (fate knew I would need this) to the car. With minimal water spillage, I make it to the car and get settled. I eat my breakfast in front of the wheel while driving, a dangerous habit I have fallen into to get that five extra minutes of sleep.

The first bite made me want to turn around, go back home, and call in sick. I just CAN’T do oatmeal without a heap of creamy butter. I thought the raisins and brown sugar would help out, but I was dread wrong. It was what I imagine “gruel” would taste like. The food Jane Eyre had to eat at Lowood, the meal Oliver Twist was served; the stuff of nightmares. But I certainly would NOT be saying, “Please, sir, can I have some more.”

It was so very dry and bland. I prayed every bite would contain a raisin, just for a little hint of something other than blaaah. And you know a prayer for raisins must be a desperate one. I thought it would get better “once I got used to it”, but alas, it didn’t, but I finished it. I had to psych myself up and it took me several tries to swallow that last bite. I looked for somewhere to spit it, but in a moving car, you don’t have many options. I just kept repeating, “Just swallow it. Just swallow it. You are a grown woman. You can do this!” You know me, I can’t waste food, no matter how disgusting it is. All that, and I was still hungry an hour and a half later.

Nichole’s truffle laughs in my face. I put it in my desk draw, where it can’t taunt me a second time.

On a positive note, I discovered these round flat bread things that you use for sandwiches instead of bread. (Thanks, Julia!) There are several different kinds and we got Honey Wheat. 1 point! So I can make a sandwich with that bread, 6 slices deli meat, and all the veges I want, for 2 points. I can add a slice of Provolone for an additional point. Makes it a lot easier to indulge on other things. Like Banana Bread with Reese PB Cups. (I just started salivating again. Oh! And I just realized that we are going over to Eryka’s tomorrow for dessert! I can only pray…)

The Stuffed French Toast I mentioned earlier was a disaster. Julia Child would have been so disappointed. It took me forever to make, too. (See David, I used to proper spelling of “too”.) I had to slice up French bread, layer it with cream cheese, strawberry preserves and slices of strawberries. Then I put more bread on top, and pour this egg/milk/something else I can’t remember mixture over it and let it sit over night. I got up at 7 a.m. on my day off (!) to bake it before church.

Now bread pudding is one thing, but this was a whole ‘nother animal. Soggy. Tasteless. Soggy. Did I mention tasteless? Not AT ALL like the gorgeous picture below. I followed the recipe exactly. So I don’t know what happened. I choke my FIVE wasted points down, Jordan took one bite and made that “please don’t hate me, but you have failed” face, and my son wouldn’t even consider taking a bite. The rest of it sat in the frig until I schlopped it out of the pan and into the garbage a week later. I can’t believe I wasted all those lovely strawberries, a whole pack of cream cheese, and a loaf of beautiful French bread. Live and learn they say. In this case, also throw the recipe in the shredder.

See? Doesn’t that look heavenly?! But I assure you, it is most definitely from the other direction. I should have taken a pic of my bread soup with strawberries to add next to it. But I might have lost all my readers. I’ll be nice and not post where I got the recipe from.

Lesson learned: Sandwich for 2-3 points with weird flying-saucer fake bread.

I got a tape recorder to record notes on. I feel so professional now. If only someone would type it all out for me. But that’s half the fun, I guess. I don’t always have pen and paper to jot down notes on, like when I’m in the car (though I do have an entire dining set in there) so I thought a tape recorder would be great. I was laying in bed the other night and thought of a two week trial that would be GOLDEN, I mean real literary genius. I was sure I would remember it in the morning, but no. No recollection at all. So… tape recorder. Goes with me every where now.

I turned it on tonight to take down my notes and halfway through my recording, I heard my wonderful, loving, comedic husband’s (who is at work right now, thankfully for him) voice come on. “Note to self: next two week trial: Stop wearing those granny panties and try something sexy.”

In my defense, I like comfortable cotton panties. There is nothing wrong with that. And there is nothing “granny” about them. They are very practical and sensible. Don’t worry. He’ll pay. I’ll show him granny panties.

Bonus lesson learned: Hide tape recorder from “I’m so witty, nah nah nah” husband while you shower.

Too much to talk about, too much has happen during the month of August to explain. Here it is black and white: I no longer have a desk job and now I work for Pizza Luce in Hopkins. So there goes my diet, weight and any self control I use to have when it came to food. Boo food and your hold you have over me. I’m no longer eating out of anger but out of fear of being hungry on long shifts.

Again… I have let down myself when it comes to blogging and allowing myself to not have the time to do this venting.

Here is to another night of researching diets and all other things to control what I eat and when I eat. Here is to Ashley getting engaged and my need to have the best looking arms for her wedding.

I am making this blog into the motivation I need to get into shape for the wedding and all wedding details of being the MAID OF HONOR… bitches!

Can I get a woop woop?

I’m beginning to like this vegan thing. Sure I miss cheese and yogurt, BUT I am realizing that it takes hardly any time at all to make some amazing eats.

Most important meal of the day: Blueberry, Walnut Oatmeal w/ a drizzle of Maple Syrup.

Delicious by itself…

better with green tea!

Skip ahead a few hours…remember that potato I couldn’t stuff down last night? Well I re-heated it in my trusty toaster oven* to make the skin extra crispy, drizzled it with some olive oil, sprinkled it with some salt ‘n pepper, and enjoyed every last crumb. Plain and simple–the best way to enjoy a baked potato. I also scarfed down an apple. I must have been hungry, because I forgot to take a picture. Everyone close your eyes…imagine an apple and a baked potato. There you go.

Moving right along…dinnertime.  I pulled out an all-time favorite recipe from The Veganomicon: Chickpea Cutlets. If you’ve never made these, they’re a must-try. I’ve even shaped them into “chick nuggets” for the kids–they love ‘em.

Stop drooling on your keyboard.

Add a side of Mango/Cilantro/Lime Couscous…

Again w/ the drooling!

Now that’s a meal!

No dessert tonight, this vegan is STUFFED.

*Getting back to the whole toaster oven thing: we tossed the ol’ microwave over a year ago, and here’s why:

1. Microwaves decrease the nutritional value of your food.
2. The heat from a microwave leaches harmful chemicals into your food from the container it’s cooked in.
3. Anything with microwave directions probably isn’t that nourishing to begin with.

We don’t miss it–ever. For more info on the dangers of microwave ovens, click here.

For now, I’m heading up to sleep off this food coma. As usual, if you see something you like drop me a comment, and I’ll post the recipe! And for all you skeptics, notice I have yet to eat just a salad? I guess there’s more to being vegan than rabbit food after all

Look who didn’t overeat for once!

I still have the potential to, but I feel like if I write it here then I will be obligated to stop eating for the night. Because like I said, no cheating.

Also, I did not do P90X today because it’s been a bad couple of days in terms of stress. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back into it, that is unless of course we have company taking up our living room again.

Calories: 1475

Bad decision: 600 calorie breakfast, not working out

Good decision: High protein dinner

After a long weekend “off diet,” and then another “off diet” moment at The Alumni Cafe in Quincy (best bar pizza ever), I’m back on the wagon and am going to write my first diet tech piece…

I was using, occasionally, Nike and Apple‘s Nike+ hardware/software/iPhone combo. Basically, with a little Nike do-hickey that I attached to my shoe, my iPhone and the Nike+ software could track my walking/running workouts. Basically, the Nike+ thing attached to my shoe was a basic accelerometer acting as a pedometer who’s data was set up to the iPhone. The iPhone software would then track how far you had gone, how many calories you had burned and occasionally would provide audio feedback about your run.

As of two days ago, all that changed! Nike introduced the Nike+ GPS app in the app store. Basically, the app uses the accelerometers in the phone as its pedometer, and the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to track your run. What’s cool is that it can show you your runs course during or after your workout; it even color codes your run based on you speed at any point on your route. The Nike+ website also maps the altitude changes of your run. Pretty friggin cool!

So now, without having to shell out any money on the Nike+ kit and either shoes from Nike, or a pouch to attach the Nike do-hickey to your other branded sneaks, all you need is to throw down $1.99 (assuming you have an iPhone 3G, 3GS, or iPhone 4. On top of that, it’s a better app than the in-built original.

Check out today’s walk/run here: http://go.nike.com/3objc90

When you are a registered user looking at your own account, you’ll see your full route and stats. What you’ll see as an outside user are just the basics. The varying height of the graph is my speed at that point on the run.

If you’ve tried either the old or new Nike+ functionality, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts on the tech!

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• App review: Nike+ GPS (engadget.com)

Day Zero.  Well here I am, once again.  I am going to start working out and eating right and I’m going to be thin and fit into size 6′s.  I’ve been in this same place before.  Every time I say that I will do it.  This time is different.  I can do it.  Failure is always right around the corner.  But this time, for real, I’m going to do it right.  I am going to be fit and healthy and lose weight and get in shape.  I will post my progress including weight, inches, workouts, milestones, and downfalls.  I will eat healthy and I will work out hard.  I will push myself to the extreme.  I will become an athlete.  I will succeed.  By blogging about my journey, I will make my mission known.  I will be under the watchful eye of my followers, and I will work hard to prove that I can do this:  to them, to you, and to myself.  All feedback is welcome, so please feel free to comment.  Here I go, hitting the ground running!

It’s a beautiful fall-like day here in Annapolis! I had off of school today for Rosh Hashana and slept in, caught up on some freelance writing work and took my car to get the oil changed, tries rotated and washed and vacuumed. After this, I came home and enjoyed a breezy windows-open nap on the couch with my dogs and then went to the gym to do a massive workout.

I did 30 minutes of strength training, followed by an ab workout with a balance ball and then went to spin class for 75 minutes. I was at the gym working hard and sweating it off for almost 2 hours. I felt pretty amazed at myself after that one. (And I was actually happy while I was there, not dreading the time and staring at the clock for how much longer I would need to stay…)

Breakfast:

• Coffee with splenda and low-fat creamer (40 calories)
• eDiets cinnamon-raisin bagel with yogurt cream cheese (186 calories)

Lunch

• Two 97% fat-Free Hot dogs (80 calories)
• Sandwich thin (split and used as hot dog buns) (100 calories)
• Nabisco Chex-Mix pack (100 calories)
• Apple (90 calories)

Snack

• eDiets Pirate’s Booty popcorn (130 calories)
• 2 pears (140 calories)
• Trader Joe’s Yogurt (110 calories)
• eDiets double-chocolate cookies (since my food came later for Labor day I had an extra snack available!) (130 calories)

Dinner

• eDiets Turkey meatball and peppers pizza (290 calories)

Total calories for the day: 1,396

Total water consumption for the day: 175 ounces