A Few New Things for 2013

A few new things around here:

1. New eats.  Jarod and I have committed to 60 days of the Paleo Diet!  WHOA.  We are on Day 8 and really enjoying it (and I say that honestly-- I threw quite a fit before we started this endeavor, but I gave in and am now loving eating this way).

For those of you not familiar with the Paleo Diet, think caveman and hunter/gatherer.  It is basically eating anything you could hunt or pick or gather... all pre-agriculture era.  So, in other words, we are eating only veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and meat.  This also means we are NOT eating sugar, gluten, legumes (even peanuts!) or dairy.  At this point, we are eating 85% Paleo and the other 15% of the time accounts for the occasional coffee and milk or honey in my tea. Let's be serious.  I could give up a lot of things, but not my coffee!

2. New health.  I have also started back to working out on a daily basis.  It's been a LONG time coming :)  And I have to get pretty creative with workouts, etc. due to snow and freezing temps.  It's not like I can just jump out for a quick jog around the block here.  (These are the times when I definitely miss Southern California and being able to be outside year round).   But between the climbing wall in the basement, workout DVDs and Jarod's coaching.. I get something in everyday.  I had been having trouble sleeping at night and was just feeling lethargic all in all.  This, in combination with the eating changes, has really improved my overall demeanor and energy levels so far.

3. New do.  Among other new things, I chopped off my hair.

4. New read.  I started a new book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans and am discussing it with a group of women.

I am only about a third of the way through, but she is challenging my thinking!  I am not sure that I can say I wholeheartedly agree with all that she writes, but it is sparking some great conversation.

Cheers to the new!

Smoothies

Sunrise Zinger
1 small banana
1/2+ plain yogurt
whole cranberries (big handful) or 1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
baby carrots (big handful)
2 stalks celery
2-3 mandarines (Cuties, etc.) or 1 orange
ice cubes

Blueberry Delight
1 small banana
1/2+ plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup whole blueberries
raw almonds (handful)
ice cubes

Green Machine
2 large kale leaves
1 banana
honey
1/3 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
ice cubes

Pear Bliss
1 small banana
1/2 cup+ plain yogurt
1 pear
1/2 apple
1/3 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend
ice cubes

Strawberry Dreams
1 small banana
1/2 cup+ plain yogurt
2 big handfuls strawberries
1/3 cup orange juice
ice cubes

Vita-Meta-Vega-Mine
2 kale leaf
1 large carrot
1/2 apple
1 big handful of red grapes
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberry juice blend or orange juice
couple of big lime squeezes
ice cubes

These are so yummy!  I have been on a sincere smoothie kick for two months now.  And by jumpstarting my day with fruits and veggies, I seem to make better food choices all day long.  And, have I mentioned how tasty these are?!  YUM. 

On a side note, the yogurt is not a necessary ingredient for any of these smoothies.  I prefer a creamier smoothie, so the smoothies without yogurt will just be a bit more "juice like".. and if you keep the banana, it still has a nice consistency.  But of course, have fun and mix up your style!

Running Injury

Welcome back IT band pain. I haven't missed you at all, but yet we meet again.

I have a messy track record with this running injury. It started out of nowhere during a beautiful, spring morning run back in '06. I came to a screeching hault, literally, as I was sure I had just taken a bullet through the side of my knee out of the blue. I walked the rest of the way home, wincing at every point of contact my left leg came with the pavement. It got progressively worse, to the point where I couldn't walk down stairs or get in and out of the car comfortably, and if I sat, I had to extend my legs straight out. To the chiropractor I went. After just TWO sessions, a list of stretches, instructions to ice, ice, ice.. I felt pretty good. Good actually for another 12 months. Then, again out of the blue, came the pain. Chiropractic care: round 2. Same positive results for another 18 months. At this point, my running consistency flew out the window and I was hit and miss for about a year, so no real strain or pain on the band.

Enter - now, May 2010. I went to a new chiropractor yesterday because of some lower back pain. [self diagnosis--I've never had an "office" job of sitting 7-8 hours of my day and I am pretty sure my desk chair is the culprit]. He did a standard adjustment, then asked about any other aches and pains. I gave him my speal on the IT band history. He barely touched the band by my left knee and I nearly fell over from the pain. He proceeded to deep tissue massage (get down into the belly of the muscle, he said--which really means, rip apart muscle and nerve endings, I think) the outer part of my lower left leg. I had tears in my eyes. He just kept repeating as he massaged, "Whoa. Wow. Oh, oww. Yeah, that's crazy!" (Things you never want to hear your doctor say). Then he asked if I'd ever had surgery on the band; he said it felt like scar tissue all the way from my knee to my ankle. Apparently, back in '06, I had done more damage than I realized. He had me ice for 20 minutes, then said not to be alarmed if I had bruises the following day. Lovely. And, he is right; I'm definitely black and blue.

I am instructed to now ice BEFORE AND AFTER I run, do multiple band stretches and visit again next Thursday. I guess I am back on the journey of recovery and hopefully, a full healing from this band pain!

Another 49 Days

Last weekend (Easter) ended my 49 days of no coffee... That was a big accomplishment for me, and since last weekend, I have had at least 1 cup a day. (YES!) But abstaining from coffee was beneficial on multiple levels. The first being to show myself that yes, I can have self discipline! Secondly, it introduced me to the clean, light feeling of hot tea in the mornings. And thirdly, that it is possible to abstain successfully and not merit the addicted title of "coffee drinker" :)

Having accomplished refraining from coffee for 7 weeks, I am now going to add something for another 7 weeks. I am adding a daily dose of exercise for 7 weeks. I have found that it is too easy to sit all day at work, come home and start on house chores or commitments, and then realize that several days have passed since I last exercised my body.

Here is my plan. 49 days of something physical on an everyday basis. That could mean: a jog, a power walk, a bike ride, yoga, laps in the pool, plyometrics, pilates, weight lifting or a cross training workout.. Just something to get me moving everyday! I do know that too many consecutive days in a row can be actually detrimental to one's health, so I will do a "light" exercise once every 7 days... just to make sure I do have a semi-rest day.

Now, what's so magical about "49"? Nothing really, that just happened to be how many days out from Easter I was when I started the no coffee thing.. and it just happens to be how many days out from 1] Florida trip for my bro's wedding 2] last day of work and 3] moving to Colorado for the summer.

So I actually started this on Thursday and it is thus far successful! It will mean cutting a few things, making sacrifices, getting up when it's dark or going to bed a little later. But I am counting on having more energy because of the exercise. And, it's just for 49 days, so it's possible!