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March 31, 2008
The Bet
I have a bet with my best friend that I will reach a certain weight by a certain time. The certain time is somewhat dependent on external events, but we are fairly sure that the certain time is four to six weeks from now. If I win, he takes me to our favorite restaurant. If he wins, I suppose I'm taking him... I haven't even considered the consequences of losing.
I find this bet very motivating. Not that I find the idea of a long, healthy life with my darling MR less than motivating, it's just not quite as immediate as the bragging rights to winning this bet.
So I've been playing with calorie calculators to figure out exactly how many calories I need to eat to make it to my goal by the goal date. It can be done. It's on the higher side of how fast you should lose weight, but not too fast. I really should have paid more attention earlier, then I wouldn't be in catch-up mode, but there's nothing like four to six weeks left to focus one's mind of what it takes to get there.
How funny that with all I know about the science of CR, about nutrition, about how great it feels when I keep my calories low, etc. etc. etc. I am motivated, more than anything, to keep my calories low and my nutrition high, by a bet. I know that I can't keep my calories low without good nutrition because I tried that years ago and I was just too hungry, it's the way to set up for a binge. I can't afford to fall off the CR wagon: I have to win this bet. I mean, I have to live a long and healthy life. But mostly, I need to win this bet.
After this, I'm going to have to make another bet, and then another, and then another, only those will be bets that I can stay exactly where I am calorie-wise, as eventually I won't need to lower calories. These bets are so good for keeping me on track. Who would have thunk it?
Posted by april at 6:34 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 29, 2008
It's Why We Became Organizers in the First Place...
Wow. We had an excellent rally up in Scranton on Saturday. Beautiful weather (a bit cold, but sunny), huge turnout (over 300 people) and fabulous addresses by the nurses and the community members. Anna (this is getting really funny, because Anna is a code name, not her real name, but there is now a real Anna who also spoke!) spoke and was fantastic! So was the real Anna, as it turns out. It was a great event. My mom came up from Reading, my old friend Myrna and her husband who is from Scranton attended, my organizers did a great job, and Edward was happy.
Then I came home!!! Home!!! After four days on the road!!!! MR made me his Thai green curry quorn with veggies for dinner, which was amazing and I hadn't had in a long time. Then he made Sunday breakfast: a huge eggwhite scramble with veggies for me. We've had a lovely day together, though I did have something of an ordeal at the grocery store. I made it to the gym, and I'm finishing up the housecleaning... then I have to jump back on the phone for work. I'm on the road again from Wednesday morning - Friday night.
Meanwhile, here were my Sunday cooking expeditions:
Lunch:
Yellow squash
cauliflower
cilantro
Quorn tenders
eggwhites
avocado
cooked in cider vinegar and water with some lemon juice, plus chili powder, plus some Philly hogie hot pepper sauce that my mom gave us.
Dinner didn't go as well. For only the second time in three years, I made something MR didn't like. Neither of us knows what went wrong: it was eggplant, Quorn, asparagus (which granted was overcooked) in red wine vinegar with capers and garlic and parsley. He thought it lacked flavor, so I spiced it up with Walden Farms Marinara and some garlic tabasco. Nope, that wasn't good either. He still ate it, but usually he loves his food and this time not so much.
I'm off to do some calls for work and then some housecleaning before bed...
Posted by april at 4:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 28, 2008
It's Like Training Squirrels...
Check out this excellent entry from Mary. You really have to watch the squirrel video at the end. Really.
Posted by april at 8:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
BYOF
I stopped in a Subway in a far away part of Pennsylvania to get a Subway Club salad (my favorite, 150 calories, lots of protein.) The cashier handed me my salad and drink, but no silverware.
"Where would I find a fork?" I asked.
"We don't have forks," said the cashier.
"You don't have forks?" I asked.
"No, we ran out awhile back."
Oh. "Good thing I have one in my car." I really should have brought my fork in in the first place, to save a plastic tree. Deduct one sustainability point from my account. Oooops.
I went to my car and got my fork.
Guess they don't sell that many salads there. Or perhaps there was such a rush of salad selling that they ran out of all the forks and have no idea how to replace them.
What would I have done if I hadn't had a fork in the car? Ever tried to eat a Subway salad with your hands?
Posted by april at 4:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 27, 2008
Test
Hello??? Are we here?
Posted by april at 7:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Birthday
March 26th was my fourth CR birthday. Wow.
Which is not to say that I've stayed on perfect CR this entire time. As we know, far from this year. But I'm back on track, and MR bought me the cutest CR birthday present!
Two larger "Fit and Fresh" plastic containers, this time with two compartments, one for salad, and one for this adoreable little one cup measuring cup/pop top jar that can hold my yogurt! It's the perfect way to carry my salad! It also has a compartment for silverware (or anything else you wanted to put in there, like almonds or a packet of dressing) and a compartment for a cold pack to keep the whole thing at an appropriate temperature. I find it is so much easier to eat my salad when I'm out with other people if I have a cute little container in which to eat it. It's just all so neat, so easy to handle, no mess, and at the risk of repeating myself: cute!
I'm on the road for four days now, with a fridge in my room. Lots of cottage cheese, plus two days worth of salads. Last night we ate dinner at the restaurant downstairs and I had... wait for it... the suspense is killing you... the salad with grilled shrimp! They gave me so many kalamata olives that I saved a bunch for later. It's a wonderful salad, with peppers, cucumbers, olives, romaine, tomatoes, and I tell them to hold the bacon and put just vinegar on the side. There's plenty of fat in the olives.
Off to work out before meeting the staff for breakfast.
Posted by april at 5:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 20, 2008
The Fat Pack Wonders If The Party's Over?
Check out this New York Times article, forwarded to us by MoMR.
Posted by april at 12:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 18, 2008
Celery Dreams
I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that I should stuff celery sticks with kalamata olive tapenade. Then I started thinking of all the other things you could stuff celery with, like a roasted red pepper nonfat cream cheese, or a hummus. Then I thought, I should write about this. It's a bread-less CR friendly appetizer finger food. Great to bring to parties. Then I tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep. I am still an insomniac.
I went back to sleep and had dreams of having an argument with my partner in running the union. We've been working together for five and a half years, usually blissfully harmoniously, but we do argue from time to time. I woke up and gave up on sleep (not the imaginary argument.) MR was already up. He's not as bad an insomniac as he used to be, but he still wakes up earlier than he wants to sometimes. Which in our house means before 4:53 am. We get up at what most would consider an obscenely early hour of the day, but I for one like to go to bed early. It's 8:40 pm, I've just finished work, and I will be asleep within twenty minutes.
As soon as Danny C calls me in a report and I write it to Edward and everyone can go to bed knowing that every nurse in the hospital knows what the plan is for our upcoming event.
I need a vacation.
This weekend I am going to my dad's for Easter! I'll get to hang out with my beautiful, fun grandmother, eat dinner at her community dining room, which is so cool because there's unlimited salad, a free glass of wine, always a baked or steamed fish, very healthy. Giant fresh cut fruit bowl. Then we'll go to my Dad's church for Easter services.
Today's food was good and very quotidian. Eggwhites, brewers yeast, Texas Pete, nonfat cheese, flax oil for breakfast. At lunch me, Danny C, Susie hit the gym for an hour, then I had my quotidian salad with yogurt and parsley vinegarette. Plus almonds of course for fat and vitamin E. Snack when I got home: half pint grape tomatoes and laughing cow light cheese cube. Dinner: brussels sprouts with brewers yeast, flax oil, 1 cup cottage cheese, red wine. Slice of cheese on the brussels.
Then back on the phone for work.
Now to bed.
Posted by april at 5:40 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 16, 2008
Parsley Vinegarette
It's time for the herb of the week: Italian flat leaf parsley!
I seem to be in the habit of getting a fresh herb on Saturday and using it all week in various dishes. Last week was cilantro. Week before was basil. Now we're onto one of my favorites: parsley!
I think that my lifelong love of parsley started when my mother introduced me to tabouleh at a little sandwich shop in Jacksonville, Florida called the Goalpost. Years later, as a lowfat vegan trying to find new things to do with beans, I made a white bean taboul-ish with white beans (or chickpeas), red wine vinegar, parsley, tomatoes, garlic and fresh lemon juice. No olive oil of course, I was as fat phobic as they come.
Today I don't eat many beans, and I've lost my fear of fat, and I have a bunch of parsley. So I got out the food processor and mixed a cup of red wine vinegar, a clove of garlic, some fresh pepper, and the entire bunch of parsley. It looks like a scary swamp monster's spit, but it's quite delicious. I am now going to add some fresh lemon, and use it as my salad dressing all week. I prefer to add oil by the teaspoon, it's just easier to measure, so the oil is separate for now.
Today's lunch for MR:
Chopped cauliflower, asparagus and zucchini over a bed of Quorn tenders and eggwhites, topped with parsley vinegarette, and olive oil. Dessert is a pear parfait: bosc pear over nonfat ricotta, topped with cinnamon, hazelnut oil and hazelnuts.
My lunch:
75 g collard greens, topped with 1 cup nonfat organic yogurt and parsley vinegarette. Either avocado or almonds on the side for fat.
Oh, and it's Sunday so... nice glass of red wine!
Posted by april at 11:55 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
The Writing Diet
I read about this it Size Ate. Sounds interesting.
Posted by april at 7:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2008
Quotidian Days, Calorie Goals
Nutrition Summary for March 13, 2008
General (70%)
Energy 1000.2 kcal 55%
Protein 108.8 g 237%
Carbs 85.4 g 66%
Fiber 20.8 g 83%
Fat 29.1 g 45%
Vitamins (93%)
Vitamin A 9288.3 IU 398%
Folate 334.8 µg 84%
B1 (Thhttp://mail.google.com/mail/?logout&hl=en
Sign outiamine) 2.0 mg 185%
B2 (Riboflavin) 4.5 mg 413%
B3 (Niacin) 15.0 mg 107%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 5.7 mg 114%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 2.0 mg 157%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 3.9 µg 163%
Vitamin C 287.7 mg 384%
Vitamin D 98.4 IU 49%
Vitamin E 12.2 mg 82%
Vitamin K 733.9 µg 815%
Minerals (93%)
Calcium 1652.8 mg 165%
Copper 1.8 mg 202%
Iron 8.5 mg 47%
Magnesium 318.8 mg 100%
Manganese 2.2 mg 120%
Phosphorus 1799.3 mg 257%
Potassium 3772.2 mg 80%
Selenium 128.3 µg 233%
Sodium 1899.8 mg 127%
Zinc 11.0 mg 137%
Lipids (71%)
Saturated 4.7 g
Omega-3 5.2 g 258%
Omega-6 5.1 g 43%
Trans-Fats 0.0 g
Cholesterol 37.2 mg
A few things are slightly misleading... the sodium is showing up a bit higher than it really is because the sodium in my cottage cheese (while still unfortunately high) is lower than it is in regular cottage cheese, I just haven't made a custom entry yet. The potassium ends up being higher because I use potassium chloride "No-Salt" instead of salt. The Vitamin A isn't really that high, I just used the entry for skim milk with Vitamin A because I couldn't find the one for without. That's for my choco-banana whey shake.
Two other things to keep in mind: this is just the basic outline for today, to which I will definitely add wine, probably add fruit, and possibly some more nuts. My calorie goal these days is 1500, but I went over at the weekend with the out of town guests, so I'm taking it down to 1300 - 1400 for this week.
The process of arriving at calorie goals is very very difficult, which is why I tend to avoid posting mine. I weigh myself every day and if I lose weight too fast (accounting for water fluctuations, which can be wild) I eat more. Lately I've had trouble keeping below 1500, and have not been losing weight, but have lost 2% body fat. I attribute the hunger to exercise, and have indeed cut back on exercise, which has had the desired effect on appetite. No longer do I consider eating my co-workers when lunch is just a bit late.
So far this week I've done Pilates class (45 minutes, very athletic class) on a day when I did no cardio, and 40 minutes very gentle treadmill (I meant to do less but a friend showed up when I had already done 25 so I stayed to be social, I just walked slow instead of fast.) I figure if I limit cardio to under 200 calories burned I'll probably be okay. Negotiations were cancelled for Friday, which is bad for the contract but will allow me to take Pilates class Friday.
For those of you who think that 1500 sounds like a lot, I suggest you a) weigh and measure everything you eat b) do some playing around with online BMR and Harris-Benedict Equation calculators. Those things can be inaccurate, but they're not that terribly far off. Put in some numbers. Of course now that I have muscles, which I really didn't in early CR, I have to eat a bit more to feed them. As I dial back my exercise and focus more on strength than on cardio (but will answer Mary's question re: why cardio? asap) I hope to be able to take my total number down a bit. But I'm not sure... I think there are a lot of unrealistic calorie goals out there, and I refuse to get attached to a random number. It's a work in progress. And it's so hard to be sure, when you eat out at all. I am definitely losing both weight and body fat at 1500, which is no big surprise when you look at the online calculators.
For example, I am 5'2", weigh 115 (yes, up ten pounds from my "doing good CR" weight... some of it is muscle but some of it is fat... I could blame the twins but that's such a cop-out, it's all just a lack of discipline.) I am 33 years old. My BMR (to the extent that these calculators are right) is 1291.55. That's what I'd have to eat to maintain my weight if I stayed in bed all day.
I do not, alas, stay in bed all day. Though some days I'd like to. Days when I envy the cats. Anyhow, not only do I not stay in bed all day, I do a considerable amount of exercise, probably burning (now that I've cut back) 200 - 300 calories per day in exercise alone. Before I cut back, 400 - 600.
And I run all over the goshdarned place for work.
So at 1500, I am in calorie deficit. If my weight drops too fast, I'll go up. So far it hasn't, but the confounding factors of meals out and exercise is confusing... body fat percentage going down while weight remaining stable, etc. etc. etc.
I'm committed to doing it right this time. When I first started CR, and for quite some time thereafter, I didn't exercise at all. When I think of the opportunity missed to have lost weight while keeping even gaining strength, I am sad. But now I have the convenience of a ten pound weight that I'm carrying around whenever I exercise! Look at me, looking at the bright side! It is exciting to think of how much easier Pilates will get when I lose weight. I seriously admire overweight people doing Pilates. That is so much harder than when you are thin. The weight you lift if your own body.
Today's food was fairly quotidian:
Egg, white, raw, fresh 138 g 66.2
Brewer's Yeast Lewis Labs 2 tbsp 116.0
KRAFT FREE Singles American Nonfat Pasteurized Process Cheese Product 3 slice 93.2
Flax oil 2 tsp 80.1
April's Lunch Salad 1 full recipe 40.3
Yogurt, "Magic" Butterworks Farm, Plain 1 cup (8 fl oz) 75.0
Milk, nonfat, fluid, protein fortified, with added vitamin A (fat free and skim) 1 cup 100.9
Whey Protein Jarrow 1 Scoop 74.0
Nuts, almonds 30.96 g 178.0
Cheese, cottage, lowfat, 1% milkfat 0.61 cup (not packed) 100.0
Brussels sprouts, raw 143 g 61.5
Tomatoes, Grape, raw 200 g 58.8
Plus a bit of wine, two more hazelnuts, an extra slice of cheese, and a vodka and Coke Zero that I drank this afternoon. Total still successfully at 1400.
I do so well when I don't go out. I could do it all so well if I'd just stop going out.
I am often perplexed by our society's infatuation with eating out. I mean seriously, can one not live a perfectly fulfilled life without partaking of restaurant food? People have done it for generations.
In any event, my calories and nutrition go much better if I don't go out. I was saying to MR tonight that I feel like I need to dive bomb myself with protein, calcium, and B vitamins. When I get my blood levels of these nutrients up (without neglecting unsaturated fat) I find it much easier to restrict calories. My body has learned how to sense nutrition... I feel its absence in cravings. It makes me want Chef Boyardi Ravioli. Seriously.
So I am dive bombing with nutrition, dialing back my workouts, and getting on the program. I feel better, but not as good as I will when I've got my calories all the way down. I've been there before; I know how it feels.
Progress, not perfection. And progress is good.
Posted by april at 3:09 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
March 10, 2008
Who's Your Daddy?
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm trying to get Kieffer to eat.
Starting Saturday morning I noticed he wasn't really eating. He'd lap a bit at his food but not gobble up the whole dish instantly as normal. That morning he hadn't finished his food from the night before, and he didn't even get out of his chair to come for feeding when I woke up. This is NOT NORMAL behavior for Kieffer the Howling Cat.
Yet he seemed okay, physically. When I petted, he purred. I had a long petting session with him, after which he tried to take a few bites.
I think he misses MR. MR has been away at a scientific conference since early Friday morning, and the cat's world is shattered. Suddenly all MR-inspired routine is whisked away, replaced by late meals, irregular sleeping, in and out the door a la Mommy. MR may in fact be a cat, so much does he love routine. A cat living with MR is in paradise: the meals are on time, everything happens on a regular interval every single day, and he is never, ever alone. Kieffer loves MR. MR does not love Kieffer, not entirely unrelated to the peeing on backpack incident(s) of our early cohabitation, but Kieffer worships MR with all the loyalty of vassal cat for feudal lord head cat. MR, in addition to being the love of my life and a great snooze alarm, has become a cat.
So Kieffer misses him. Thank Goddess he'll be home tonight, albeit late.
I was at the store trying to find something the cat might eat. So I decided to buy some S-H-R-I-M-P. Five, please.
The seafood guy was perplexed. No, not five pounds. Five raw shrimp, please. Thank you.
This clearly required explanation.
"My cat loves shrimp more than anything and he's on a hunger strike because his daddy is away and he thinks he's left us."
The cat must love his daddy... and shrimp... opined the seafood guy at the Giant store.
Yes, yes he does. And I do too. Love the cat's father. And shrimp. MR more than shrimp, though the lack of a fetching little shrimp-like tail can only be counted as a detraction from his overall charm.
"So, who's your daddy?" asked the seafood guy.
We both quickly realized that a slight misspeaking was about to turn into downright inappropriateness, complete with quotes from Zombies lyrics.
"I mean, who's your cat's daddy?" quickly corrected the seafood guy. "Your husband?"
Yes, yes, I said, deciding that now was not the time to launch into a description of the finer pleasures and complex virtues of unmarried lifetime partnership. Yes, my husband, yes. Please hand me my shrimp.
I got my shrimp, and exited. The seafood guy really was quite charming in a just barely post-adolescent way, having so clearly ingested the "Excellent customer service... sell more!" model that he asked me what else I needed. No tilapia today, but thank you for offering. Very charming fellow indeed. I wish him pounds and pounds of seafood sales.
Meanwhile, the cat ate the shrimp. Now he's sitting by the door waiting for MR to come home.
Love is grand, isn't it?
Posted by april at 6:51 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Squishy Pests
The name of a bubble-gum type 25 cent vending machine at my grocery store that sells plastic snakes and such for the enjoyment of small children.
Also the name I think I will give to my eventual Pilates studio, should I ever become so accomplished.
Posted by april at 6:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Historical Fling
This is totally off topic (unless I suppose your answer is Dr. Walford) but my friend and I are playing a game where we figure out what historical figure we'd like to have a fling with. Not marry, not live with in happy loviness forever and be his queen, just a fling.
I'm going with Julius Caesar. She's picking Saladin. I'm also thinking of Robert Kennedy, but before he met his wife, like in college or something. Though he might have been really annoying.
I think Moses would have been a lot of fun too. What a guy. What a stressful life.
This all started when we were talking about how Frida Kahlo had an affair with Trotsky, and I was saying that I'd like to have an affair wiht Trotsky but clearly missed my era. Of course, I'm sure with Trotsky there would come a point where you'd have to stay, "Shut up, dude."
I went to the Frida exhibit at the Philly art museum with my old friend Francis Engler and his lovely lady Allison. We had a great time... spent the entire weekend hanging out while Allison had a conference in town. Ate too much, but I'll make up for it all this week. I highly recommend the Frida Kahlo exhibit, but get your tickets fast!
So anyway... everyone is invited to chime in on historical figures you'd like to have a fling with.
Posted by april at 8:16 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 9, 2008
CR Friendly Manhattan Clam Chowder
My friend Lisa is coming over for dinner tonight. In addition to a salad, I am serving a nice piping hot Manhattan Island (red) clam chowder.
Serves Two:
1 can clams
1 can no salt added tomato paste
50 g scallions, chopped
1 cube Rapunzel vegan vegetable broth, no salt added, dissolved in boiling water
garlic powder
chili powder
dash no-salt
pepper to taste
topped with 15 g each goat cheese after removing from heat
475 calories total for two people, so divide that by half for each.
So simple, so much zinc!
Note: there is no entry for Rapunzel no salt vegan veggie broth, so I have to use chicken broth and enter it as calories. Ergo, it will look like there's a lot more sodium in this recipe than there actually is.
General (44%)
Energy 475.2 kcal 26%
Protein 44.9 g 98%
Carbs 50.2 g 39%
Fiber 8.8 g 35%
Fat 13.1 g 20%
Vitamins (63%)
Vitamin A 4339.0 IU 186%
Folate 92.0 µg 23%
B1 (Thiamine) 0.4 mg 33%
B2 (Riboflavin) 1.1 mg 95%
B3 (Niacin) 10.6 mg 76%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 1.2 mg 24%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.6 mg 45%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 100.4 µg 4182%
Vitamin C 72.1 mg 96%
Vitamin D 0.0 IU 0%
Vitamin E 8.9 mg 59%
Vitamin K 125.5 µg 139%
Minerals (78%)
Calcium 332.5 mg 33%
Copper 1.6 mg 175%
Iron 35.5 mg 197%
Magnesium 127.9 mg 40%
Manganese 1.8 mg 98%
Phosphorus 673.6 mg 96%
Potassium 2771.2 mg 59%
Selenium 67.4 µg 123%
Sodium 6515.9 mg 434%
Zinc 4.4 mg 55%
Lipids (15%)
Saturated 6.9 g
Omega-3 0.4 g 21%
Omega-6 1.0 g 8%
Trans-Fats 0.0 g
Cholesterol 94.9 mg
Posted by april at 4:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 7, 2008
Too Much Exercise?
Mary had a fascinating entry on CR and exercise. I've been wondering a lot lately why it's just so gosh darn hard to get my calorie levels down to their previous lows, and I think she has a point: I may be exercising too much.
Now don't get my wrong: I think a certain amount and type of exercise is very important. Just in terms of reducing risk of later disease, bone building exercise, cardio endurance building, flexibility and balance training are all things I wouldn't want to give up. When I've slipped on the ice this winter and felt my Pilates muscles catching me, I've thought about how at 33 that just means that Pilates is saving me from some bruises and Danny C making fun of me (yes, he would laugh if I slipped on the ice, though I'm sure he'd make an effort, after laughing at me, to help me up), at 83, Pilates muscles could save me from a broken hip. The ability to make it up the stairs to my fourth floor office without feeling out of breath or tired is important to me, as are the stress reduction benefits of cardio. But when I think about how much hungrier I am these days, and how it's a different kind of hunger, I begin to think I should dial back the exercise a bit.
The kind of hunger I've had lately is what I call "hungry muscles." It's like the muscles are trying to build themselves, and they threaten to go on strike if I don't feed them. It's very different from down-at-the-bottom CR hunger, and I know I have plenty of fat to burn at this point. But hungry muscles make me so hungry that I begin to size up my co-workers for which one would have the most satisfying combination of protein and fat were I to eat him, and which one might taste best with the assortment of hot sauces I have in the fridge. It's not a good sign when you start to think of people you love and respect and have worked with for years as potential food sources. It's then that I reach for my emergency cottage cheese, which is also excellent with Texas Pete or Emerill's green Kick It Up sauce, but which does not have responsibility for leading the greatest nurses' union in the world. Nor is it likely to scream or require a funeral.
Going back to high protein breakfast has definitely helped, but the muscle hunger is consistently making it difficult to keep to my calorie target. When I look at various online calculators for BMR and how much on top of that one burns with exercise, I am not surprised. Lately, I've been in the "very active" category. Pilates every other day, sometimes every day, cardio every day, at least 35 minutes and up to 55 minutes, and switching out treadmill for the elliptical, which burns almost double the calories (the way I do it anyway) plus some weight lifting... yeah, I'm exercising too much.
My body fat percentage has gone down by 3%, but everyone knows that the CR effect doesn't come from low body weight or fat, it comes from calories calories calories. And while I think there are advantages both short and long term to being a fit CR'd rat, as opposed to a couch potato CR'd rat, I'm probably past the point of diminishing returns.
So I'm putting myself on exercise restriction:
-- No more than 20 minutes cardio per day.
-- Pilates three times a week.
-- No weight lifting on same day as Pilates.
-- Alternating the lower calorie burn treadmill days with elliptical days.
I may add back in some Pilates days as I am exploring a lower rep, more yoga-like less athletic style of Pilates that seems to make me less hungry than my more athletic class. The video MR got me for Christmas is both shorter than my class and less athletic, more hodling poses than doing reps, but still gets me where I need to be toning and balance-wise and in terms of mental peace.
That should be enough to maintain the many benefits but hopefully to calm down the hungry muscles.
I really hope my co-workers don't read this. They'll start to run every time I head for the hot sauces.
Posted by april at 6:34 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 5, 2008
Everything is a disorder...
Ye gods and little fishes, it's "orthoexia" again, everyone's favorite made-up disorder:
Dr. Stacey asks what readers think about it. Read it and weigh in (hehehe) here.
You have to give Dr. Stacey a ton of credit here: she points out that it is in fact a made-up disorder, and that it doesn't seem to differ significantly from anorexia. In the explanation she offers, she points out that people with "orthoexia" may omit essential nutrients like fat and may not eat enough quality foods. Dr. Stacey is getting asked to speak about orthoexia, and she's asking her readers to chime in. I'll write a comment when I have time, but some of you might like to write in as well. She's usually quite open to comments and differing points of view. At the same time, her audience seems to be mostly women with eating disorders and serious body image issues, so I fear she may get a slanted view. Go chime in, healthy people!!!
I really hate this stupid made-up disorder mania, especially this one, because while people doing CRON obviously get enough nutrients, especially things like fat (I eat more fat now than pre-CR), else you're not doing it right, people do love to put labels on us, and that just makes our lives more stressful than they need to be. If anything that is not "normal," where normal involves the majority of Americans being overweight or obese and becoming ill with heart disease, cancer and diabetes, is going to be labeled a disorder, then I'd say a lot of us have reason to be concerned.
Remember those bumper stickers that said, "Keep your laws off my body!"?
Keep your labels off my body!
Posted by april at 5:07 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 4, 2008
Brother-In-Grace
My parents' old friend Bob Price used to refer to his daughter's partner as his "son-in-grace." I think this is much nicer than say, "live-in lover," which makes it sound like one is renting one's partner, along with a television and a leather couch, from the local Rent-A-Center. I have long referred to MR's mom as my Mother-In-Grace. Well, tonight I found out that MR's baby brother, a full twelve years younger than the Orange and considerably less orange, has appendicitis. He's in a hospital in Canada, and was due to have the thing taken out tonight. Can everyone please keep him in your prayers? Surgery is so scary, even if it's routine.
Here was the bright spot in the event... from MR's mom's email:
Remembering April’s horror stories about nurses not having time to eat, I bought his nurse a fat-free yogurt with lots of raspberries and a bit of granola on top (the healthiest snack I could find). She was flabbergasted but certainly deserved some kind of treat.
That made me extremely happy. A few thousand nurses organized, and one nurse with a healthy snack. My life has had meaning. With raspberries on top!
Meanwhile, I am doing better. My mom is feeling sick but Danny C seems to have fought it off, no doubt a tribute to the improvement in his immune system since he quit smoking.
Yesterday I had quite a bit of salt, including in some chicken brother in which I made CR chicken soup with shirataki (I know know know I spelled that wrong) noodles, which have almost no calories in the brand we buy, and brewers yeast, plus quite a bit of Mexican salsa verde. This morning I was up four pounds on the scale. By mid-day, I was back to normal. Just goes to show: do not freak out about the number on the scale.
Now back to bed... please keep Brother-in-Grace in your prayers. Thank you!
And thank you all so much for your sweet comments. I really appreciate it. Katerina, I'm so glad you found the blog helpful! Great to hear from you!
More soon...
Posted by april at 2:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack