Time got away from me, but not my wellness routine....

I wish I could commit to this blog on a daily basis, but at least must stay with my goal of at least once a week. The more comments/questions I get during the week will prompt me to blog more often, so this needs to be mutual effort please. Big things going on with foundation and lots weekend waterpolo kept me away, but I missed being here.

Got a call from my nephew who is thrilled with his weight loss since following the plan. He still is "tired" but not sure how much of that is his lifestyle, as the food changes certainly should have boosted his energy level.

My sister texted that she is down 10 pounds, committing to exercise and thinking about what she puts in her mouth, prepping for her summer at boot camp with me. She did text me yesterday to send her a food plan for 3 days and I denied her, as I want her to do her thing and when she gets to me, between the changes in exercise and food, we should have a very successful summer, if she can tolerate the pain from the soreness she will endure.

My son Derek continues to be committed to his healthy eating, often calling to ask what he should eat when he is out. Love it.

And my niece Sierra, on a quest for a six pack for her King's Girl tryout in a few weeks, has emailed me her food diary daily. She has a difficult time getting her 1500 calories in, but that is only because she is so busy, doesn't snack, and must get it all in healthfully in three meals. She works super late and super early, as well as long hours, but manages still to get her hour of cardio in a day plus her ab ripper workout. Don't forget overall strengthening at least two days a week Sierra!!

I think I mentioned I will be training the high school water polo girls three days a week this summer for five weeks. I did an hour long nutrition presentation and instructed them to turn in food diary the following week, mandatory. Those that did not have the diary the next week spent about 10 minutes doing wall squats. I doubt they will fail to do as I ask in the future. Thursday night I have set up an injury prevention workshop for them as well. Counting down the days til we begin on June 27. Some of super excited, and others are scared to death.

As for me, I will tell you I feel like the "bionic woman". I have had three shoulder surgeries as well as pretty serious low back issues in the past, but worked seriously to rehab and now feel beyond 100%. Physcially I feel like a million bucks. Not too many 48 year olds that will tell you that. Before Evan's diagnosis, I had a pretty serious calf injury that I didn't let heal properly and had reoccurrence, but rehabed that properly back then and now stretch religiously to prevent it happening again. My only ailment which is bothering me now, but certainly not stopping my daily grind, is a little tennis elbow. I have dealt with it in past, and might consider an injection if I can't get it resolved in next few weeks. First time it was from tennis, but this time from gripping the weight bars at Cross Fit. I need to do the work which means I need to spend time every day doing a ice massage to area, but obviously doesn't bother me enough YET to follow through. Bottom line here, if you take responsibility for your wellness by feeding yourself healthfully, you exercise your body, and you listen to your body, which means you do something about helping yourself if you have ailments, advocate on your own behalf, the aging process does not need to tick you off. As I have said in the past, the reason our eyes begin to fail as we get older is so we don't see the effect gravity has on our bodies. Stop looking so closely in the mirror and appreciate the time you have here on this earth.
Enough preaching....lets move on to our comments from last time:

Susan said...
My biggest struggle is with carbs, even the healthy ones. If I stick to lean proteins and vegies I do fine and feel in control. Add in carbs and it's a struggle. I'm also struggling with the thought that everyone that I know that has lost weight, is unable to keep it off. I've lost over 200 lbs on my own. I've managed to keep 100 of it off but it needs to go too. I just wish it wasn't such a lifelong commitment and struggle. I do know that my life won't be that long if I don't though. Thanks for this blog Gina! I'm determined to get my act together!
June 5, 2011 7:19 PM

Susan, thanks for sharing these thoughts that so many of us feel but are unwilling to say out loud. Everyone want to blame the carbs, but I promise you if you don't allow carbs to be part of your life, you will fail. You can't expect to change old habits overnight, so be kind to yourself and as we have talked about, try to eat healthfully 80% of the time and give in to your desire 20% of the time. Perhaps you can try 2 weeks of really strict eating for wellness and then the next two weeks go with the 80/20 philosophy. No matter what, you must stick with your allotted calories, but you can have that item or two that you love, must have, but count the calories. Everyone has to tweak the plan for their according to their own food and lifestyle issues, but bottom line, calories in vs calories out, and I do believe the more healthful food you learn to love the more your crave it.

Last night while I had no desire to cook a real dinner, which I do most every night, we had Derek's request for tamales which I would normally not eat, close to 300 calories and 12 grams of fat, not enough food eating one but too much eating two, I had one, steamed an entire bunch of broccolini, topped it with a tad bit of olive oil, lots of balsamic vinegar, s and p, as well as red pepper flakes, and I was a happy camper. Tonight, I still was not motivated to cook, no idea why, but why ask, so I had Mark bbq wild salmon with a new no salt seasoning mix found at Costco, I steamed a head of cauliflower, put in my vitamix, added nonfat dry milk, smart balance light, s and p, and pureed. Awesome lookalike mashed potatoes. FYI, a little runny, so you could if you needed to add a bit of mashed potato flakes that could thicken it up and still be better choice. Add in a cucumber/red onion/baby tomato salad with a tad bit of olive oil, lots of balsamic, s and p, red pepper flakes, and then grilled whole grain bread from Costso (sprayed with olive oil spray, rubbed with cut garlic clove and placed on hot grill pan on stove topped by heavy pot to press down) and I was a happy camper. Add in one cup of red wine, Mark actually saw me measuring it and said, "wow, you really do measure it", and here I am with all of you.

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Lissa said...
I am so enjoying this blog and the interaction amongst everyone. Love the recipes. I was so inspired I made both the enchiladas and homemade salsa for dinner. Salsa is FANTASTICO!!! I think next time I will divide it in half and add extra jalapeno to 1/2. The enchiladas were great too....I added 1 box of frozen spinach and 1/2 can of black beans.

Reading labels is eye opening!!! I used Old El Paso enchilada sauce because that's what was in our pantry. Could pronounce the 1st 4 indredients and then forget it-I think it was a lot of preservatives, possibly MSG, which I know Gina is a big no no!!!

I wanted to share w/all of you a little bit of my background w/my personal weight shtuff. In 2003 I had lost 37 lbs. by joining Weight Watchers-I really learned a lot by going to the meetings and my own dedication to nutrition education. Then life happened and I am back to where I was. granted 15 lbs. of it is post baby weight (I have a 2 month old). Here are a couple of tidbits I learned through Weight Watchers that I swear by:
1. Food Journaling-paying attention to both ingredients and serving sizes. I measured EVERYTHING!!! I really learned what a serving size is and what it looks like. Some things were much more than I expected and was pleasantly surprised. However, most things were much less of course.
2. They also told us to take measurements of our upper arms, waist, hips, thighs. So I started with both a weight and measurements. This was so very helpful when I hit a plateau weight-wise I would take some measurements and usually be motivated by those. I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in the scale numbers.
3. The most valuable thing I learned I think was how to sneak vegetables into everything. This is the tool I use most often. For example adding the box of frozen spinach to the enchiladas, I've also shredded up a zuchinni for the enchiladas, or it works great on a quesadilla as well. Good tricks for when my son gets older I think!!! :)
June 8, 2011 9:20 AM

Great tips Lissa. I should have warned everyone the enchiladas are basic, but that is the way my kids like them. Love your idea of spinach and black beans. I will definitely make one pan this way next time for Mark and I. Derek might even like. Mary, I want you to share that enchilada recipe from Seinfeld's wife, where she sneaks in lots of veggies.

Measurements are so critical, since as we add muscle, which weighs more, the scale will not reflex the reality of the work being done. Highly recommend monthly measurements and once a week weigh in, no more, to keep an eye on your progress and maintenance.

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Keep the comments and questions coming.
Stay tuned, g