healthy eating

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Life After the 12 Week Challenge: Challenging Myself!

Published April 1, 2013 by Susan Woodward

Well the Cirque du Rochester Aerial Arts Challenge has officially come to an end… but this has only been a beginning for me!   I am making drastic changes in my lifestyle, which includes regular exercise, eating healthy (and even a bit more vegetarian due to the rising price of meat), and generally experiencing more in life than I have in a long time!

This week is my spring break from work, so I am working out my new plan.  It works best for me if I write things in my pocket calendar, so I am going through the YMCA schedule and putting in classes that I want to take for the next month, as well as times when the pool is available.   I have my weight and cardio routines already set up, so I just have to plug them into the schedule as well.

Today I worked on the cross trainer for 18 minutes before riding the recumbent bike for another ten.  I managed to reach and maintain my target heart rate for twenty of those minutes… not too bad for someone who quit smoking a pack a day only three months ago!  Because I am still nursing an arm injury before returning to silks next week, I passed on the arm weight machines; however, I did do all the leg, back, and ab machines.   After resting in the hot tub for 15 minutes, I was ready to head out and do today’s errands.

Tomorrow I go through my closet and get rid of clothes that I no longer want or need…especially anything that is now too baggy to wear.   Out it goes!

spice jars

My clothes closet isn’t the only overhaul I am making.  I went through my cupboards as well and got rid of a lot of pre-packaged, processed foods, and replaced them with grains and lentils and a whole bunch of new spices and seeds to experiment with.  My fridge also got a make-over, and it is packed with produce for juicing and cooking.

I bought pretty glass jars so that I could take everything out of the plastic bags and make everything easier to store and identify.  I wished that I hadn’t gotten rid of all those canning jars I’d had when I moved!  But some of these came with pretty pastel colored lids, so I’m okay with them!   These will become new staples in my house, and my daughter is sharing many of her favorite vegetarian recipes so that I can make them at my house.

Planning meals in advance and cooking more in bulk so that they last for several days will help with my busy schedule.  Today I made stuffed colored peppers:

peppers more peppers

Don’t these just scream “Spring!” … and “Eat me!!!”

These colored peppers are stuffed with quinoa, red lentils, veggie “burger”, chopped beet greens, red pepper/eggplant paste, and mashed avocado.  When I put them in the pan, I poured spicy vegetable juice over them.

I dirtied two plates just for these pictures before I baked them!

 

 

I had originally planned on doing a ten-day juice fast, but I think that it might be too much at once on my body… so I am going to do a three day cleanse Wednesday-Friday instead.  I am already juicing once a day, so I have been easing myself into it.  The ten day fast might be better for me once the school year ends in June instead.  That will give my body more time to acclimate to the changes I am already making.

Aerial Silks will continue beginning next week (here’s hoping that my arm will be in good enough shape to handle it), so that will become part of my permanent routine as well.  I do not know how long it will take me to get strong enough to last for a whole performance routine, but I am aiming for some point in this next year!  All the exercise will give me strength, the changes in eating will help with weight loss, and determination will get me to that silks routine!!

 

Cookin’ With Jojo

Published February 23, 2013 by Susan Woodward

What a busy Saturday… Wegman’s tour with Patty to see the best that Weggies has to offer Health-wise, Nutrition class with the girls, Cirque Fit (with Patty, too!!), and then open aerial practice.   I am sore, sore, sore…but in a great way!  While I might have trouble making a fist (achy hands), I know that my hands are stronger than they have probably ever been in my life.  I do not want any of this to end!  Well…maybe the aches and the soreness can go away, but I want to stay committed to being physically active!

The Challenge Ladies have been great!  We are already planning a 5K in June, and there is talk of joining the Dirty Girl 5K in September!  (I’m not exactly sure what that is, but it apparently involves teamwork and obstacle courses…)  I will be researching that one more!

After a grueling workout and with arms like rubber, I left the studio with my granddaughter Jojo in hand to go shopping for dinner ingredients at Trader Joe’s and then head home to cook with my little Munchkin.

She really is a good little cook!

After a hard workout (Will my abs hurt, and so do my ARMS!!!), protein was definitely on the menu.  Patty had whet my appetite with the quinoa salad she made for the Challenge Girls, so I thought about cooking with it.  I was feeling creative, so while Jojo and I were at Trader Joe’s, I concocted a stuffed veggie recipe:

First, I prepared the raw vegetables:

– 3 large green peppers, halved and cleaned for stuffing (so that will make six)

– 1 medium eggplant, halved and hollowed, ready for stuffing (that will give me two)

We (Jojo and I) then mixed in a large bowl:

– 3 cups cooked quinoa

– one 8 oz. package Trader Joe’s Organic 3 Grain Tempeh (crumbled- Jojo had fun doing that part)

– one 10 oz. package Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala burgers (crumbled- Jojo broke the burgers into chunks, and I crumbled the chunks for the stuffing)

– the chopped up innards of the raw eggplant

– one 10 oz. jar Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade

After mixing all ingredients well, we stuffed the six pepper halves and the eggplant halves.

Jojo cooking 2

Jojo cooking

It looks a bit like she’s trying to make me an offer I can’t refuse, but after four pics and she kept doing that, I guessed that a smiling picture wasn’t going to be part of the deal today.  She said she wanted to make silly faces.  Ok…so I will publish the silly face.  When you look back on this at 16, Jo, you will thank me for publishing it!

Back to cooking…

After we stuffed with veggies, I poured a bit of  Trader Joe’s low sodium vegetable juice over the top before baking.  Popped it into the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes, so that the veggies were tender.  Voila!  Dinner for the family for a couple of days!

The spices came from the Tapenade, the juice, and the veggie burgers.  No added spices (including no salt).

We had supper ready when her mom came to pick her up after she had been teaching silks at a birthday party.  Protein was on Mommy’s menu, too!

This has been a great family thing, joining the Aerial Arts program.  Once I sign up for classes after the 12 Week Challenge is over, Illy will keep me motivated (as my future teacher, she will kick my ass if I miss class), and we can both eat healthier while cookin’ with Jojo!

Trading Old Bad Habits For Newer, Better Ones– and a New Success!

Published January 24, 2013 by Susan Woodward

Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps… but each time I show up at Aerial Arts of Rochester, I get a tiny surprise that continues to encourage me that, yes, this pain is worth it!

The picture may not clearly show it, but I was able to get my heels off the floor about an inch or so while hanging from the trapeze… and I DO have six witnesses who were there when I was screaming my surprise.  I also hung from the bar longer than I was able to last week… about a whole 15-20 seconds longer, but indeed longer!

trapeze

The hip key wasn’t there tonight, but I am not discouraged.  I do know that I can do it… I just have to make sure that I am consistent in getting into it correctly.  Today I was inconsistent, and that’s all it was.  Not a failure.  Laffy Taffy is much easier and actually feels GOOD when I do it because it stretches EVERYTHING!  That’s an improvement.  So I’m not going to beat myself up because I still haven’t hung upside down or been able to climb yet.  That will all come; however, I WAS successful in doing three pushups from my feet and not my knees!

Good things I have done for myself other than keeping up with my training efforts include NOT SMOKING for more than TWO WEEKS so far!!  I went cold turkey from a pack a day to nothing.  Quitting while in the throws of an upper respiratory infection made it easier… but I am happy to NOT go back to it!  The money I am not spending on cigarettes is going into the bank for a trip to Wales this summer.

Another new habit that is working for me is the cinnamon and honey regimen.  I can actually tell that my blood pressure is lower because my chest isn’t pounding and my pulse isn’t racing.  I’m sure that not smoking is contributing to the effect, but I think that the concoction is also helping.

Shopping at the grocery store is also now different.  I’m keeping more to the outer edges of the store in the produce section and the Natural Food section, and I am reaching for organic as much as I can.  I found a new grocery store (well new to me) while out on one of my jaunts to Barnes and Noble (an enjoyable pastime)…Trader Joe’s.  trader joes  It had a really wide selection of organic foods at really reasonable prices.  I found things there I’d never heard of, but was willing to try as I give up my usual Keebler cookies and chips.  One interesting (and surprisingly delicious) item was Chili Spiced Mango; dried mango slices covered with cayenne.  I thought it was a gross combination when I first saw it on the shelf, but since I am in the market to try new and different things, I figured this was as about as new and different as I could get (for now anyway).

I will be going back for more when these are gone… YUM!  I want to go when I have some time to spend going through and looking at all the different imported items they have to offer.  Seems like this might be a cool new place to hang out.

For now, I am providing a link so that you (and I) can check out what’s to offer from the comfort of my computer.

Off the “Sick” Couch and Back Into Cirque Fit

Published January 12, 2013 by Susan Woodward

After having laid on the couch since I got home on Wednesday (with the exception of visiting the doctor on Thursday),  it actually felt good to get outdoors.  Now let me mention something really weird here… on Wednesday, it was freezing and there was a foot plus of snow on the ground.  It’s now Saturday, but it’s 60 degrees and nearly all the snow has melted away… how the hell long have I been locked up?  It’s as if I hibernated through winter and spring has arrived!  I thought I felt a little stiff from sleeping so much.   Then my senses returned; it’s just Rochester weather.  I am not kidding, but I actually remember a Halloween where we went water skiing in the morning, but by night it was snowing so hard we could have gone downhill skiing!

In any event, the big news is that I got out of the house.  Step one.

The first part of our Saturday program is to meet with our Health Counselor.  I just have to say, Patti is great!  She’s understanding and empathetic, while at the same time encouraging and challenging us.  We all shared about our intentions and our successes for the week… little changes that made a difference.  My “little changes” this week are as follows:

1- no cigarettes since Wednesday (and I pray for none hereafter!)

2- cinnamon and honey regimen morning and evening (since Monday… when I went to the doctor on Thursday for my URI, my blood pressure– which is typically high– was actually in the normal range, and my resting pulse rate was 84.  It is typically over 100.  I will attribute this to the lack of nicotine and the increase of the tea mixture.)

3- lemon water (and more water in general)

4- more fiber (since I have been sick, I have been eating soup for the past few days.  For added fiber, I added legumes to the soups.  More filling, lower in fat, and the toxin-cleansing bonus)

So far, so good… even with the flu.  I am sure that once I am permanently off this sick couch, I will better feel the effects of the changes.

Patti also gave us some homework:  Cultivating Awareness about our present eating habits so that we can remove those blocks to change.   Write down three things that you have become aware of that you do that block your progress.

1- I have a tendency to eat on the run.  Whether it is from driving through Tim Horton’s for coffee and a breakfast sandwich, or hitting the dollar menu when I am in between places that I have to be, my car floor is littered with wrappers.  I need to make time to sit down and eat… but when I am not at my home in between school and the Challenge classes (drive time and gas), I will have to figure something out.

2- When I am home, I eat in front of the television or the computer screen.  Since my son works nights, we don’t eat together.   Being home alone, I don’t fix a nice plate and sit down at the table… but maybe I can start doing that once in a while.  I cannot commit to doing it every meal (at least at this point) because I’ll feel like a failure the first time I take my plate in front of Judge Judy.

3- I have a hand-to-mouth problem now that I am not smoking.  I need to get some carrots and celery.

Ok, Patti… there’s my homework!!  Of course, blogging during the week counts, too!

After meeting with Patti, it was time for Cirque Fit.  At kicked my ass on Monday, and it kicked my ass today!  I took a few water breaks and pulled back a bit with the running in place because of my URI and because of my knee.  Other than that, I did my darnedest to try to keep up.   I know that one of the greatest benefits that I will gain from Cirque Fit is strength and endurance… and the operative words in this sentence are “WILL GAIN.”  I don’t have them yet, especially the strength part.  Chris gave me some tips on how to strengthen my core so that I will eventually be able to lift my legs off the ground… after seven pregnancies, five babies, and six abdominal surgeries over the past thirty years, I have to actually FIND my core so that I can begin to strengthen it!  I think the pain in my abdomen after today’s workout is a good indicator that I am looking in the right area… but any sense of core strength will probably attempt to allude me for a while.  And now that I know HOW to strengthen those muscles, I am praying that my feet will finally lift off the floor when I do a V-sit!

The GOOD news is that I did not face plant during push ups! While I still cannot do a full push-up, my modified ones are much better than they were on Monday.  I am taking it from the knees, but keeping my back straight.  I am also keeping the elbows close to the body and not allowing them to bend outward while pressing down.  I can’t go down all the way yet, but I am going halfway so that I am able to push myself back up.  Anything past half, and I would not be able to push upward.  I’ll keep working on my push-ups and one day I will finally get to where I can do a “real” one without modification!

I do know that I was getting a good workout in though, in spite of having to stop to catch a breath.   I looked down to check my knee brace position, and my pants were sweaty all around the knee brace… even my knees were sweating!  So, for me, that was a strong indicator that I was getting a good workout!

After Cirque Fit, it was time for open aerial practice.  Because I missed class on Thursday due to illness, I had to catch up on the new routines for practice.   They involved several types of apparatus:  the trapeze, parallel bars (only about 6 inches off the floor, though), silks hammocks, and the wall.

Trapeze:  grasp the bar and hang with feet in pike position for ten seconds…repeat three times.   That is the INTENDED exercise.  For me, it was grasp the trapeze bar, hang (without letting the shoulders go up to my ears), and attempt to lift the feet of the floor.  They were dead weight (as was the rest of me hanging by my arms… all 215 pounds of me.   As long as I already posted the “before” pics, I might as well go all the way and admit my weight).   Ok, so more core exercises needed.   But I did hang in there for the required amount of time.

Parallel Bars:  I think there was another name for this apparatus because, although they were parallel, these bars were only about 6 inches high.  The idea was to hold the body up with the arms and lift legs into pike position.  Well, I held my butt off the floor.  Again, the legs refused to lift off the ground, so ok… more core exercises needed.

Silks Hammocks:  The intended exercise was to wrap the silks around the wrists and lift the legs into pike position.  Well, I managed to hang by my shoulder blades, but those legs weren’t going anywhere.  More core exercises needed.  But I did get my very first Warrior Wound!!!  I got a bruise from wrapping the silks around my wrists and hanging my dead weight from them!  Now I’m not going to go whole hog and post a pic on the Warrior Wound FaceBook Page just yet.  Let’s face it; not enough purple to warrant a good pic.  But just you wait… I will get boo-boos worth posting in no time!

The Wall:  Walking down the wall with our hands… the real trick is to keep the feet from slipping on the carpet.  I think I need some kind of rubber soul or something because my bare feet do keep slipping on me.   A good reminder that we were given about walking down the wall… relax your jaw and keep your tongue inside the mouth.  Falling on the face could lead to a severed tongue otherwise.  Words to the wise, ok?

As soon as I got home, it was right to the tub with the Epsom Salts.  I feel a bit sore, but quite frankly, I am very surprised that I am not in as much pain as I thought I would be.   It’s not because I’m not putting my all into my workouts… I am really, really trying my hardest.   But it is something I am thankful for at this point as I recover from the flu.  And if I HAD to get sick, I am very thankful that it came at the very beginning of this program and not in the middle.  How much would it have really sucked if I was getting stronger and really making progress only to be forced into regression by having to hit the sick couch?  So while being sick is a pain, at least the germs picked a good time to act up!

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