Hello!

So, yeah.  I've been MIA for a long time.  Life just got too busy and crazy for me to remember to post on here.  Maybe if I just do as Cory has suggested, trying to post an update once a week, I'll be able to keep up.  I'll give it a shot.


Believe it or not, my absence is not indicative of me falling off the wagon.  I haven't been sticking to a diet or exercise program hardcore (until this week--more on that in a bit), but I haven't completely stopped trying to make improvements, either.  


My goal right now as far as diet is to try and eat 75% raw foods.  I think it's too much to expect myself to only eat 100% raw foods all day every day.  I'm letting myself have a few indulgences here and there.  But I am still doing my veggie smoothies--believe it or not, I LOVE them.  The recipe I use is:


2 cups water
3 large handfuls of spinach
2 bananas
2 cups of strawberries


Blend all in a blender for about 2 1/2 minutes.  Yields three servings.


I drink a smoothie for breakfast and one for lunch.  Sometimes I even drink one for supper, too.  It's especially nice and refreshing now that it's so hot.  And it gives me a big energy boost.  I munch on a variety of different things throughout the day such as bananas, apples, grapes, carrots, sugar snap peas, almonds, and cashews.  I do my best to never go hungry.  I figure if I keep myself from going hungry it'll keep my blood sugar in a good zone and will help keep the cravings at bay.


And this past weekend I bought a treadmill.  And I am actually jogging on it!  I am so excited that I can run-- I thought I was still several months away from being able to run.  Now granted, I'm only jogging 90-120 seconds at a time.  I'm doing the "weight loss" program on the treadmill, which varies the speed and gets you up into your target heart rate for fat-burning.  But still, GO ME! \o/  I'm loving it, too.  Running feels so freeing.  I'm even thinking that maybe next year if I'm ready I might run a 5K here in our city.


And today I tried on a pair of jeans that are two sizes smaller than the pair I'm used to wearing (which I haven't even worn in months because I wear scrubs to work and usually sweats or shorts when I get home, and since I have no social life I had no need to try these jeans on), and those jeans fit perfectly. \o/ And I tried on the bigger size I used to wear and was able to slide them off without unbuttoning or unzipping.  I also tried on a pair of jeans that are 3 sizes smaller.  Those were too snug to wear as of right now, but I was at least able to button and zip them up.  So, even though I've been absent around here, I have still been making some progress.


Sorry I haven't been holding up my end of the blog, Cory!  I hope you can find it somewhere in that heart of yours to forgive me.  And I hope you've been doing well in your own journey.  I know you've had a whole bunch of stuff going on with you. 




Cappy

TESTING: Week 3, Cory

I'm going to go by week instead of day, because I cannot keep track.

I am taking a bit of a break for a few days because I have a major, stressful event in store, and I'm just trying to stay even until I get past it.

I'm eating OK, nothing wild, but not paying the attention I should.

I plan to get back on track in June, with paying more attention to what I'm eating, though I am paying attention, even now, about what strategies work for me during times of stress - to, at the very least, not gain weight. 

Will be back to the more regular posting in a few days.

--Cory

TESTING: Day 7, Cory

Well, I did OK, but not as well as I would have liked.  I was doing fine until it got late and I was just sooo hungry I had a small half sandwich and a yogurt as a snack before bed.

That is something for me to note - I have to have a strategy for dealing with the "before bed" hungries that I get.  I can't sleep if I am hungry, and if I don't have a plan, I will just give in and eat whatever is on hand.  So there ya go . . . this testing is turning up the need to come up with a rule/strategy for the late night hungry time that I seem to deal with more often than not.

And, yes, I have decided to write another installment of . . .

O Cappy, My Cappy:

(verse 2)

O Cappy! my Cappy! rise up and type the posts;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the readers thrill,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the followers a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Cappy! dear blogger!
O cottage cheese and caffeine!
It is some dream that on the blog,
Her posts cannot be seen.

-- Cory

But seriously, Cappy - I hope you are well and doing as you hoped with your eating and "getting healthier" plans.

TESTING: Day 6, Cory

Well, I think my rule about exercise will be:

--Walk at least 2 miles or do at least 45 minutes on the bike during the day, minimum of 6 days a week. 

That allows me to skip a day, which I can imagine would happen now and then, when, say, it's rainy so I don't walk, and I get busy with something during the evening and can't get to my exercise bike.   I will test that out and see if I can stick to it without any major problems.

I don't want to finalize on that one yet, but that seems to be what is taking shape, here.  My approach here, for food and exercise,  is NOT going to be:  "Make some rules and stick to them," but rather, "See what you can stick to, and make it a rule."

On the food, I think I can go ahead and steal one from Alton Brown right now:

--Always eat breakfast.

Easy to do and really seems to help me get through the day.  I will call that one "final."

Still working on the rest.

Rainy day, did 45 min on the indoor bike.  Ran out of eggs so I ate three small turkey sausages with a piece of whole wheat for brk; a smallish salad and piece of cornbread (baked polenta) for lunch, and a small salad with shrimp and a piece of whole wheat for dinner.  Also had a yogurt, and plan to have a piece of fruit before bed.

Oh - I forgot I ate a biscotti and half a .  .  . fruit-bar cookie type thing.  It didn't seem like a huge indulgence, though I should be more careful about stuff like that.

Cappy!  Hope you are well, and silence does not mean anything except your are busy.  Are you still doing Raw Foods?  Something different?  Taking a bit of a break from the whole thing?

--Cory

TESTING: Day 4, Cory

Well, I did fine with my eating today.

My exercise was about 2 miles of walking and 45 minutes on the bike.

Am still working on figuring out what "my lists" and rules will be, but I feel like they are starting to take shape!

This is all so day by day.  I have yet to get on the scale, which is still sitting in my bathroom, but I know I am at that place where I'm getting close to my end-weight and loss is going to be slow.  Which is OK.  I don't think I can possibly be losing more than a pound or so a week - at the most, and probably less - at this point.  But that is OK.

It is what it is, I'll end up where I end up!

CAPPY!  Hope you are doing OK on your efforts.

--Cory

TESTING: Day 2, Cory

Well, I feel better not worrying about Low Carb anymore.  I am having some kind of whole grain at every meal, along with protein.  And at lunch and dinner, I also make sure I have some veggies and fruit.  At lunch, I have yogurt to have some dairy in the day.

The "Lists & Rules" are starting to shape up in my head . . .  I think I am going to come up with:

--What food groups I will be sure eat every day
--What I can eat anytime
--What I can eat occasionally
--What I will never eat

And then say, up to three additional rules, like "always eat breakfast," or some such thing.

Did fine today.   I had bought some eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast and am going to stick with it until I finish them up, but then I think I am going to go to oatmeal again. Lunch was a turkey sandwich with lots of veggies on pumpernickel, and yogurt.  Dinner was chicken stir fry, two pieces of whole wheat bread, and an orange.

Rainy, rainy, rainy again today, so I did my 45 minutes on the exercise bike, and very little walking. 

TESTING: Day 1, Cory

Well, I have to stop calling this "Low Carb," because I just can't stick to Low Carb.  So I am calling it "Testing" because I feel like I'm entering a phase where I am figuring out how I want to eat for the long term.

I am thinking it is going to end up being low fat and good-carbs (as in avoiding refined sugar, going for whole grains, etc).

I want to come up with Cory's Four Rules, sorta like Alton Brown did, with his Four Lists.  Only they will be my lists to eat by, not Alton's.  Though I like some of his, and will probably steal some.

So I'm going to be trying to figure that out in the next few weeks.  And then I will post my "Lists," and try to live by them, and see how it goes.  My goal is to tweak and have this tweaked to perfection by the end of the calendar year - and to follow my rules from now on.

And then, whatever weight I am, when eating light and sensibly and doing a decent amount of exercise . . . well, that is the weight I am.

Did good today with the eating, and the exercising.  Got back to using my exercise bike, since the weather continues to be too rainy to walk to work. 

--Cory