It's not the size of the Tater, it's how you use it

Ok, it's the size of the Tater also.

I have been slacking off on the writing purpose (and thus existence) of this blog, but I have been keeping up with the other part.

As usual, I haven't been cutting out all the bad stuff.  I had an enchilada/fajita plate for lunch, but I brought home leftovers AND the enchilada had tomatillo sauce on it. Since my allergies/sinuses have been bugging me, I consider it medicinal. Unfortunately, the tomatillo sauce was a little wimpy so the sinuses are still wonky (I'm a healthcare professional; I hope my medical terminology does not confuse you). I've been making small changes. Sour cream would always accompany my fajita taco; now I skip it and usually skip the cheese or use the cheese sparingly.  I've found it does not make a huge difference in the taste but it cuts the calories a tad.  I have been adding fresh fruit and adding veggies where I can and I also try to have some milk or Greek yogurt. I can feel a difference in my bones when I run whether or not I'm getting enough dairy. If the hips hurt, it's time to have a glass of milk or a thing of yogurt or a slice of cheesecake. Whatever gets the job done.

I've thought about going all out and doing a stricter diet.  I look at people more fit and thinner than I am and think I need to do it like them, but they're not me. I love sweets and I make an effort to control the portion, but I will not be cutting them out.  My main eating plan is balance.  I had a crappy day of eating; it happens.  The next day I'll start better and eat a few more vegetables. But the Oreos may happen again. They're sneaky and delicious (especially the Halloween ones; is artificial orange food coloring especially delicious or is it me?)

I have been stepping up on the whole exercise thing. I decided that I wanted to finish a 5K or two and then do a half marathon in March. So, I stepped up the running then I felt myself once again starting to feel unmotivated.  Before I could think of more excuses and I'm surprisingly creative so I had more than one at the ready, I signed up for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5K.  At work.  This was to keep from ducking out on the run I had planned for after work.  That worked.  I did three 5K's a week for the next few weeks up until race week and then, bizarrely, I couldn't run due to rain. I surprised myself though and the 5K wasn't bad.  I have no idea how my time was because my phone died (temporarily, but for 24 hours it was touch and go) and it was a bit disorganized  as far as where we should line up and start. I was able to run for a longer time period without stopping though and I timed it out right so I could run across the finish line.  I did more walking than I wanted to, but my main goal with this one was to run some and not walk all and to be breathing at the end (well, throughout really).  My next 5K is the Layla Grace Foundation run during the first weekend in December and I want to run 75-100% of that one.  I also plan on adding mileage to prep for the NOLA half in March (and make the 5K in December a tad easier).

Happily, these small dietary changes and the increase o exercise have paid off. I am now about 10 lbs lighter than I was when I graduated college and am able to wear a size larger than I did when I graduated high school.  I still have quite a bit to do. I was heavy in college and not exactly a lightweight in high school. As absolutely thrilling as it is to not shop exclusively in the plus sizes anymore (the ladies are large; a plus size shirt may always be in the cards for me), I'm excited to be able to do more than I used.  I avoided  running in all forms like the plague since I was a little kid. I remember making an excuse when someone asked me to fill in on a kickball team for a night when I was in my twenties.  Now, I think I would give it a shot.  I'd still be bad because the coordination would still be lacking, but now I feel like I could run to the base and have enough energy to keep going and make it home. 

All the Taties Who are Independent

I'm influenced fairly easily. I absorb people's mood (I'll spin that and say I'm empathetic) and I may adopt catch phrases from other people. Oddly enough, "que chulo" didn't come from me, but from one of my best friends, Belia. I know people who are worst; one of my other best friends has picked up accents from places she has visited and a few select places she has never been to (hearts Amanda, you quirky little dear).

With that in mind, I've been re-evaluating whether or not my mental goals are my own. Have I fallen into that peer pressure crowd? The all-the-cool-kids-are-doing-this mentality? I know a few people who are runners and I'm wondering if I've fallen into a trap. Do I just want to be cool like them? Do I really want to be a runner?

The short answer to the last two questions are yes and yes.

In this case, peer pressure is a good thing. I do want to be cool like my runner friends. I want to know the accomplishment they've known by completing a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon. I'd like to have that endurance and strength and the pretty medals. Some of my running friends have also traveled to some cool locations to compete in races.

Being a runner has advantages I'd like to have. I want to be able to run, to not get winded so quickly.  Stereotypical fat kid that I was (am?), I was chosen last for every sports team imaginable in elementary. As an adult, I remember distinctly making up an excuse to avoid being on a kickball team for work. Part of it was my lack of foot-eye coordination since I often kick at air instead of the ball, but a bigger part was I was scared that I wouldn't be able to run the bases. I also have a slightly more obscure reason for wanting to run. Perhaps(ok, so it totally is), this is due to my love of crime fiction ( books, TV, etc), but I'd also like to be able to run from danger or to help thwart it.

I have my reasons for wanting to run, some based on envy, some on righting past hardships, some more health minded, and some that are to handle a less than likely scenario. Even though envy does not seem like an exactly pure motive, it is mine. I can spin it again and say that my running friends are my mentors. In a way they are, in another way I really want to steal their medals and run away, but I'll need to get a lot faster before that'll work out for me.

Reheating a Tater

I have been a neglectful tater. Not only have I not been updating this blog, but I have been slacking off fitness wise. I have an excuse. I bought a house. Not a house I love, but one that makes sense and has everything that we wanted. It was a mad, frantic search and finally I’m here.

The purpose of this blog was to keep me writing and to motivate/ keep me accountable to get healthier and in shape. Through the stress of the house buying and the upcoming move and I was just in wedding, I did not deal with my stress in a healthy way. No running. Slacking on the push-ups for the #2011pushupchallenge. No yoga. Mostly, I just frantically searched for owner financed homes on har.com and consoled myself with Ben & Jerry’s.

Whenever my mom has one of her pity parties as she calls them, she sees a blind person.  To her, this is God’s smack to the back of the head (NCIS Gibbs’ style) for her to stop feeling sorry for herself, be thankful for what she has, and keep on trucking. Well, hopefully God doesn’t say keep on trucking, but you get the idea.  It sounds crazy, but several people, myself included, have seen this happen. 

That seems like a strange little story to put in there, but I have gotten my own blind person/smack to the back of the head recently. I was stressed and unmotivated to the point of not exactly giving up, but not putting forth any effort either.  In my head, I was going through the speech a coach gives their team when they’re down by 20 with a minute left in the fourth of their playoff game. You had a good run, let’s finish this game with your heads held high.

Perhaps I spent too much time around coaches in my formative years.

I was just entertaining those thoughts when fate smacked me.  It came in  a few different forms.

1.                    Annie and Becca, the evil genius minds behind the #2011pushupchallenge, decided to switch things up a bit on the challenge. As we get further along on reps, a few people are needing an extra day of rest. Enter a few tweets/Facebook messages and I have been recruited to be the leader of the third team. What does this mean? It means no more slacking on sculpting my guns (side note: with crazy real estate happenings this week, I did slack, but I’ll be back on the wagon now that I am moved from the hotel to the house),

2.                    The smack for this one happened in a series of light smacks from several different sources.  I keep slacking on running.  I had originally planned to run a 5K at the end of April in Fredericksburg.  When I figured out that I could not afford a weekend jaunt to Fredericksburg, my training fell to the wayside. I had been doing three or four runs a week increasing my distance and my time spent running each time (I utilize a walk/run method). I hadn’t built up a lot of distance but I was going a little over two miles which would have put me on track for completing a 5K.  My runs dwindled when my goal disappeared. In the back of my mind though, I remembered the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Vegas. I believe Annie was the one who brought it to my attention first then I looked at the website- stripatnight.com.  Running the strip at night! How fun, but it seemed out of reach- physically and financially. Once the 5K didn’t happen it seemed even less likely. Then all of a sudden the RNR half seemed more prominent. I kept seeing great deals for Vegas airfare (it is way cheaper flying from Houston). We talked about it at work; my manager has run several half marathons and when he found out it was at night in December, he was intrigued.  Then my cousin Missy started running again. She had to take a time out earlier this year after a surgical procedure and now she’s back and I see her updates on Twitter and Facebook. We talked this last weekend and once again the Vegas Half popped up which just so happens to be on her birthday.  She suggested we could do it economically if we split the hotel room. The half takes place in 6 months less a day; I know I’ll need to throw a 5K in the mix somewhere but this is my new goal.  So running tomorrow (or today as I’m typing this on a Saturday night (try not to be jealous) and will post this when I can find some place with free Wi-Fi).

3.                    As I had mentioned initially, this blog was about my being more healthy and getting into better shape, but it is also about my writing.  I started slacking on keeping up with the blog back before I had a decent excuse. Then my head smack came in a rather delightful, non-smack like way. SpokenFor gave me a great comment that was incredibly encouraging.  It was just what I needed to get going again.

So in lieu of getting a concussion from the smacks to the head, I have decided to surrender.  I tried to be lazy, but apparently there are other plans and I am back on the way to being a hot potato (considering that we’ve already reached 100 degrees twice, I do mean that).

Smashed tater

Not smashed, maybe just slightly maimed.

I have fallen way off on my fitness, health goals. I've only run twice in the past two weeks and my eating habits have sucked. I've even fallen off the push-up wagon- not completely, but I used to never miss a day and I definitely have lately.

My stress level has increased and for awhile, I was handling it well. I was running, doing yoga, push ups, ab work etc to work off the stress.  Then the past three weeks I have been using chocolate therapy and have just felt exhausted. Intellectually I know this is the wrong move.  My energy level increases when I increase my activity level, yada, yada.

I have been dealing with a housing situation.  I got an offer for my house in the old city BUT it was below what I owe, but it's the only bite in six, nearly seven months so I'm negotiating with the mortgage company to accept it. My real estate agent in the old city while a nice lady is not one I could recommend, I feel like I am nagging her.With that in mind and that my credit is going to suck once that goes through, I am looking at owner finance homes in the new city. Thankfully, my real estate dude here is very eager and seems to have a good handle on things even though he looks 12 (we call him Junior or Doogie).So the stress has increased and like I said, not handling it very well.

Even though I have good reasons for stress, I realize that these are just excuses. So, tonight I bought some new running shorts and a shirt, yesterday I browsed Sports Authority, and tomorrow I'll begin attempt #3 to get back on the fitness track again.  Third time's the charm, no?

Tonight's blog is brief and not terribly witty but it was an attempt to get back on the writing track.  I talked to a patient today about how I like to write and then smacked myself upside the head (mentally) when I realized there was no good reason why I wasn't doing something I enjoyed.

Pushing up Tater

I have a vague recollection of a random tweet from @annieology about push ups- doing one on 1/1 then two on 2/2 and I was thinking, hmm, she has a goal of a dozen push ups? Oh- kaay. Like I said the recollection was vague and I am a natural (and artificially enhanced) blonde. A week or three later, I paid more attention.

A push up for every day of the year. 1,2,3... 365 push ups?! In one day? Crazypants!

Yet, intriguing.

So, around the end of January I went for it. I did about ten push up all on my knees. Then I did a few more until I caught up with the rest of the crowd and then I did push ups every other day on my team's day (team odd).  Yesterday, even though it was an even day, I celebrated day 100 with 100 push ups. Yep, celebrated. With push ups. Our cult  fun group is wild like that.

What is amazing about the push up challenge is how it creeps into other areas of your life.  For me, it helped lead to other things. I have always struggled with my weight and for the most part the weight has won. When I started the push up challenge, I was half heartedly giving the weight loss thing another whirl. With the #2011pushupchallenge, I did my push ups if I did nothing else. I have more than once gotten out of bed at 1130 or 1150 (or 1230 am and I pretend I'm in a different time zone) and finished (or started) my push ups.  It inspired discipline for me and I found myself ready to do more things.

I never anticipated being able to do so many push ups at one time before so I decided to try something else I did not anticipate being able to do- run. I'm a fat girl, I have a bad ankle, and I'm truly klutzy. Running and I should not really mix.  That being said for the past few years I've wanted to be a runner. So,  I gave it a try. My first few days were not fun at all. My ankle did indeed hate me with a fiery passion that reflected within the joint itself.  Then my ankle calmed down and my hip decided to tighten up to within an inch of its life. Luckily, I'm in physical therapy and know really cool stretches that helped that out and was able to analyze my own gait to see what was bugging me. Now, a couple months later, I'm still not running a mile without pause or anything close to it, but I'm utilizing a walk/run method that works for me for two miles. I still walk most of it, but I'm running more than I thought I would.

The #2011pushupchallenge's method may seem very simplistic and not challenging to some of the more hard core athletes, but it builds a great base. Before I may have gotten frustrated with not being able to run a 5K in a month(I may have a bit of an issue with patience), but now I look at running in steps. In January I could not have imagined finishing 100 push ups, but that's what I did yesterday. Knowing that means, I know I'm able to reach my goals. I'll be able to run a 5K by mid May and if another of @annieology's crazy ideas comes to fruition, I'll run Beach to Bay with her next May and MAYBE a half marathon in December.

So this is my invitation, my challenge for all my friends and family, etc, join up with @annieology or @beccascrazyboys and push up.  Start today with one or tomorrow with two and end the year with 265 push ups! Or if you want to be hard core, catch up with us!

PS As far as the weight loss thing goes, I am down two sizes since the holidays. 

Papas y Huevos (Potatoes and eggs)

Easter is my favorite. Not holiday, but my favorite for the candy it brings. Cadbury eggs, Reese's eggs, Starburst jelly beans, and a newly discovered favorite. Glorious, delicious sugary goodness and a few thousand calories.

I've mentioned before that I'm a brat. I get cranky and downright ugly (I'm from the south; we use phrases like that and we pull it off) when denied something I really want. With that in mind, I have bought Easter candy. My Starburst jelly beans lived in my cabinet for three weeks before I opened the bag.  Then I gleefully opened the bag of regular and the special bag of red fruit only and mixed them in a Gladware container. I will admit to days where I stop eating them because my teeth ache from the sugar, but my Gladware container is still over 80% full. I've also bought Reese's mini eggs and Butterfinger eggs. All of the candy I've bought has already lasted at least 2-3 weeks and there's still some left which is remarkable considering how quickly I used to plow through it. In general, I keep indulging, but am limiting myself to a piece or two at a time.

Until last night.

Last night, I left work with a headache. I popped three Ibuprofen as I drove down I45 and decided to stop at SuperTarget. My conditioner was nearly gone and I would need kitty litter by the weekend.  Maybe a quick side trip would also give me time for my headache to decrease and I could run as planned. I wandered aimlessly through Target. I picked up my conditioner, looked at the shoes, and checked to see if they had organic bell peppers (they do; but I held off). I decided I needed cereal as well and then thought it was absolutely necessary I check to see what flavors of Ben and Jerry's were available.  I picked up a pint of Half Baked FroYo (I am SO healthy). Then I spied an empty cart and grabbed it and picked up the kitty litter I had come in for originally.  On my way to the check out, I casually strolled through the Easter aisles. Then I saw it.

Coconut cream filled Dove eggs. In the time it took for my brain to register the words, the bag flew into my cart. I checked out and loaded the kitty litter in the back of my SUV and the other bag (with the stuff) rode shotgun. My headache still going I decided therapeutic chocolate might be the wise choice. At the stoplight I opened the bag of Dove eggs and unwrapped one. Delicious! One of the great things about where I live is location.  Supertarget is a mere two miles away. By the time I got home,  my headache was gone.  The miracle of chocolate coconutty goodness!

I got home, threw the bag of groceries on the table and changed into my running clothes.  I fired up my IPOD and started up the mapmyrun app on my Blackberry and hit the road. I felt better; the chocolate coconut eggs worked like a magic elixir.

To be honest, my runs are run/walk.  I'm a beginner; I've utilized the walk/run strategy; run for a minute or so, recover walk until you can run again, repeat. On Monday, I got my highest run time so far- 7.5 minutes. On Wednesday, after eating the Dove eggs, I ran even further- 10 minutes!

Maybe it was a coincidence. But, I think it was the power of the Dove coconut eggs.

That bag is so not lasting the week.

Mo-tater-vation

My hometown city has been number one for many things. When I was a teenager, we were number one for teen pregnancy for the entire country (and several times since; freaking Laredo tries to take our crown though). Most recently, Corpus Christi (ie my hometown city) has been named the fattest city and the city for the worst hair.  No wonder we don't have the highest teen pregnancy rate anymore.

I vaguely remember the mayor taking some offense to the fattest city title and proposed an initiative to get people moving. Health fairs, areob-a-thons, etc have popped up, but I'm not sure how the city's doing with the whole not being fat thing. Sadly, I added to the fat of the city.

In September, I moved to Houston and became a little more aware of my bad habits. But it wasn't until late January, early February that I really committed.  I've started running, I'm doing pushups (#2011pushupchallenge - join on day 100- peer pressure!), and I've started adjusting my eating habits. Everything's been working well for me. I've lost weight, my arms are not nearly as jiggly, and I'm in better shape than I've been in many years.

I have visited Corpus the past two weekends and I have to say I fell off the fitness track while I was there.  The weekend before last was jam-packed. I saw relatives I had not seen in years  (that's another sordid tale; listen to the banjos play a haunting melody softly in the background to give you a clue). For the first time, I missed my push-ups and all my intentions of running fell through with laundry, relatives, housewarming party, and talking about relatives with other relatives. Then I came home to Houston and felt uninspired. I did my push ups on Monday, but I didn't mix it up at all and I made myself go to the exercise room and get on the treadmill but after a measly half mile I was done.

I had been doing well with staying motivated and disciplined. What had happened to me?  Did I linger too long in CC? Was the fattest city a bad influence on me?  I felt sluggish and very unmotivated.  I didn't do much the next day, but then on Wednesday I got home and put on the exercise ensemble and hit the road. I  ran my usual route plus a little extra and something very odd happened.

I felt better. I had more energy and I slept better that night. I am a person dedicated to the couch. Lying down makes things better. This has happened to me in the past. I used to belong to the Y and was going two or three times a week and I noticed the increase in energy, but obligations got in the way and that habit died. Now, I feel a little more dedicated to my new changes.

I will do push-ups every other day and go for a run/walk/crawl several times a week. Part of it is for ego.  I like the way I look better and compliments are awesome. Moreover, I like the side effects. I'm stronger and have better endurance and have more energy. Also, in order to stay motivated, apparently I need to stay moving.