runforcourage.org

I just found the runforcourage.org website through the fire department's website. I will be signing up, it will cost me 30 $ to run in Folsom on Oct. the 8th (Saturday.) I am not really in shape for this but, what the heck? Its a good cause. They are raising funds to put a stop to sex trafficking and you know I'm all about spitting in the eye of injustice.

180 degree health

If you don't read this blog called 180 degree health, I won't blame you, its enough to make anybody's head hurt. Its quite verbose. But, crazy Matt Stone (my name for him, apparently not his birth name, go figure.) does one thing right which is he doesn't accept the status quo for being obviously correct. He does delve into different protocols and often dives in headfirst (all consequence noted and admitted.) This week's series of blog posts is focusing on a couple that have followed what is called RRARF. Its primarily a protocol for repairing the metabolism. I don't do things exactly according to his protocol. I did purchase a copy of the ebook. I read it. And, I went back to my basic simple method of correlating my weight, my food intake, and eating healthy, whole foods. If you are looking for a testimonial to my basic idea that eating whole foods is the way to go, definitely pop over to 180 deg. health and read both today's and yesterday's post, start with yesterday's first. As soon as I gave up weird food, everything got better.

I have also had a tremendous amount of success with some supplements including gymnema sylvestre (cures yeast issues), triphala (repaired my gut with it.) and tapioca pudding (home made please! for your hypoglycemia issues.)

Inspiring

Here is a very inspiring young lady. She is an aspiring olympic athlete. I have watched some of her videos online. Her workouts look extremely tough, definitely beyond my capability at this point. She seems to focus on adding dynamic strength and agility not just endurance. She also keeps a garden from which she gets some of her organic vegetables.

Fall 2011

Here is my plan, its pretty much more of the same, I just like to reiterate:

1. Journal include:

A. Daily body weigh in

B. Food intake

C. How I felt, any issues to be released using the Renee Method.

2. Weekly WRAP a la Sandra Ahten.

A. Identify potential challenges

B. Create a workout rotation

C. Select my zig zag meals

D. Plan my meals

E. Printout my plan and post it inside my bedroom door next to the calendar.

3. Sundays: Grocery shop.

Pre cut my vegetables.

Pre measure snacks into snack baggies, including nuts, pretzels, dark chocolate.

Batch cook: steel cut oats, quinoa, boil some eggs, lentils, a tomato soup or a chili.

Set the alarm.

Laundry: including your workout clothes be sure you have all 5 outfits washed.

Also, get your tops ironed and nice clothes ready too.

Its not so bad when your plan includes a plan for how to get it done.

Weight Loss Resources

Well, back to the drawing board. I have gone to the library and picked up some books including Jillian Michaels' "Unlimited."; "The Depression Cure"; "Procrastination: Why you do it. What to do about it now." I also purchased Marianne Williamson's "A course in Weight Loss". I am very interested in giving myself all the assistance and help that I can. Weight loss is not an easy thing for me. Weight does not seem to just fall off my body without a significant amount of mindfulness and intentful living. What I mean by that is that I must set my intent for how I want my days to go including the healthy habits that produce weight loss and make weight loss tolerable. Losing weight hurts. It does not feel good. One of the few trainers that is honest and upfront about this truth is Leigh Peele of "The Fat Loss Troubleshoot." Exercise does not make you lose weight. It does make losing weight easier by improving your insulin resistance and burning some extra calories. That does not mean that all of a sudden you can forget to journal your eats, weigh your food (forget measurements, Leigh goes into the frankly useless measuring cups/spoons here in this You tube video.") Jillian also lays down the law about 'doing the work' in her book Unlimited .

The take away message (which is not nearly as fattening as take away curry.) is that success in all things takes what Sandra Ahten calls a top down and bottom up approach. What she means by that is that it takes both the head and the heart to be on board along with the practicalities of planning to bring the feet through exercise and the stomach through diet all together to produce our desired outcome, whatever that might be. Sandra also talks about using what she calls a wrap, a weekly review and planning session where you examine your upcoming days and plan accordingly. This last part and approach is what got me started on this journey. I started 80 pounds heavier, lost that 80, put on 11, and now I'm working on losing 50.

For me that includes doing a certain amount of work on myself. Learning to set aside fears is not simple or easy. Letting go of anxiety can be a scary thing to do. I do recommend trying and using Renee Stephens free podcasts (especially episodes 1-18) to help with that transition. Just trying to rip a behavior pattern out of ourselves in a judgemental rather than loving manner does not seem to produce lasting change. However, just working on those aspects of ourselves using Renee's method can produce lasting change without the requirement for self hate and or flogging. I don't completely subscribe to the 'eat when hungry' method because I find that I don't eat enough or I eat too much.

It does seem like a big commitment. I do workout most mornings. I do make my own eats a lot of the time. I do like to make portion size baggies of weighed carb rich foods. I don't eat foods on my 'do not eat' list unless I want to put on weight. I do keep a food journal. I do read books about releasing my inner demons. But, even if I didn't have a weight issue, I would still need to release that garbage so the truth is my weight helped point me in the right direction. I do use meditations and yoga to relieve stress. But, even if I wasn't heavy I would do that anyway. I want to lose the weight so that I can run easily. If I were easily slender I would do that anyway. So, the truth is, that there is only a few tweeks that I put in place to help with what Sandra Ahten calls "AIM" which is accountability, information, and motivation. I use my journal to give me information and accountability. I weigh my body on a digital scale to help with information, motivation, and accountability. I weigh my food for information. I use the exercises both physical and mental to help me cope with the discomforts of weight loss. I take a multivitamin and I choose to eat fiber rich fruits/vegetables. I also eat only grass fed beef for the omega 3s. I only have organic dairy products so that I can avoid the less than stellar lipid profile in average dairy products. These things all add up to a more successful weight loss plan and a more tolerable one.

Its true, I could skip the cardiovascular workouts. But, my insulin resistance would worsen, my fitness level would dive, and my depression level would get worse. I could skip my yoga. I would no longer benefit from relaxing my vagus nerve. I would no longer stimulate that fat burning or relieve the pain from muscles staying in a contraction and causing back trouble. I could eat all low quality food and skip fiber. I could choose to be constipated, sure, I could do that. I could bring my progress to a halt all the while telling myself that I was trying. I could do that.

But, why? Why, when cardio makes it easier, when yoga makes it easier, when AM workouts are easier, and a fiber and protein rich diet makes it easier? Why make it harder when it doesn't have to be? Why not get it done so that I can then enjoy the fruits of my labor? Why not enjoy being 15 pounds lighter and embracing my feet feeling good? Why not embrace being able to wear my smaller clothing instead of buying new? Why not embrace feeling good, having lots of energy because I literally set down a 50 pound weight. Go pick up a single 10 pound bag of flour and try to run a lap and tell me that 5 of those doesn't weigh you down.

I want to be that nimble runner with boundless energy. I want to be flexible so that I can embrace the yoga poses in new way. I want to be easily employed because being heavy dramatically reduces your ability to get work.

I'm not saying its without work. Jillian says that you must do the work. Cathe Friedrich says, "Work, work!" Sandra Ahten says WRAP. Renee Stephens says to release the urges and desires to engage in behavior that doesn't make use feel good anymore. Dr. Oz says that its your belly fat that gives you high cholesterol. So, it seems to me that in order to avoid a heart attack, depression, insulin resistance (and thereby diabetes.) that I just need to do these relatively simple things that I would mostly do even if I were slender. I might not weigh my eats if I were slender. But, hey, just how hard is it to let the little scale tare out the dish and weigh it? Is it really that hard? Or is it that I have a little part of myself that is trying to avoid annihilation (fat cells, your days are numbered.) or am I looking for some other satisfaction through food or being fat that really can't be fulfilled through food and is toxic through fat?

The Two Gomers Sub Five Strive

Hello everybody, I just want to take a moment to comment on the less than satisfactory (to them) performance on this last marathon that the Gomers ran recently. They had a mixed experience including good miles and some very difficult miles. There were hills designed for Sisyphus and there was heat and humidity. All of those things in conjunction with a couple of injuries conspired against them. Their time was not anywhere near their goal of sub five.

However, they did make a PR of 8 minutes faster than their last marathon. I really do believe that was an accomplishment that they have every reason to be proud of. Life and races can be unexpectedly hard. In a race where no one met their goals, the Gomers actually improved over last year's performance!!! This is time to celebrate. I truly hope that the Gomers choose to train for their next marathon and that they don't give up the sport. If they stick to the right shoes, select a course that is not known for horrendous hills, and select a fall marathon, they will have a much better experience. The Gomers have proven, time and time again, that they are capable, disciplined, and tougher than they look. They can do this. They can continue to improve. They might need more than a 20 week training program; maybe the training season needs to be closer to 24 weeks. I know that it takes me longer to feel truly prepared for a major challenge.

The Gomers have the sub five marathon in them. They need a break to do some cross training and to heal. After that, if they come back at it, they will find that they are that much stronger because of this challenge. Their next victory will be that much sweeter because of this experience.

The core successors

The core lifestyle modifications that seem to work the best for weight loss, at least for me, are:

1. Plenty of yoga: This lowers your cortisol levels and thereby improves insulin resistance and depending on the practice, will stimulate thyroid.

2. Whole foods: avoid weird things that don't look like food. Correlate how food makes you feel, not just in the 7 minutes it takes to eat your meal, but afterwards, does it spike your sugar? does it make you feel good?

3. Reasonable levels of cardiovascular exercise: some helps with metabolism, insulin receptors, and depression. But, it does not make up for junk food.

4. Be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up for being human and eating something that makes you feel poorly. This is not a time to raise your own cortisol levels by berating yourself. Its much more effective to reprogram yourself to handle the situation differently in the future. And, don't expect yourself to be perfect the first time, every body requires practice before they play Carnegie Hall.

More, more, more

It would appear that I am guilty of not eating enough. Leigh Peel's diet ebook set my needs to be about 2200 per day and with a deficit at about 1800. Matt Stone over at 180 deg. is always railing against a diet with a deficit. He focuses very much on eating more, rather than less. Back when I was successful in losing the weight, I was eating pretty much as much as I could and skipping dinners every other day. Then, I went through a period of eating exactly the right amount for a weight loss, I did not gain or lose a single pound. I did that for four months. I was hungry and cold the whole time. So, I decided this year (Jan) to start cycling my carbs/cal again. I haven't really lost much. Its almost June. Gah! Ok. So, I bought Leigh's book last week and I have been reading Matt Stone's blog. They seem diametrically opposed, like thumbs on opposite hands. I have been doing a double low calorie day since the beginning of the year on Sat/Sun. I'm just not as focused as sometimes. I feel stuck, like I'm my own fluffy road bump. So, last week I started eating a little more, more carbs (some fruit, Matt seems to think its ok.) and a little more starch (controlled servings of cheerios.) I don't know that I'm any thinner, I'm retaining some water. I am still skipping dinner every other day. I felt like I was in ketosis last night. I'm focusing on home made meals with a variety of foods. The only processed food I'm having at all is an occasional Joe Joe, which is like an oreo from Trader Joe's post cardio workout. I'm resting well. I am having some dairy, I get some organic milk on my cereal and some days I have whole milk yogurt (plain, with some dried cranberries.) I did have a few rice crackers the other day. Thats where the water is from, cause of all the sodium.

I'm under some stress. I am putting together some new materials for my business. I'm emotionally invested in that. I'm dealing with it by writing out to do lists, practicing yoga, and talking with friends.

I seem to recall that the way I lost weight in the past was to eat a tremendous amount of food, exercise at high intensity, jog/walking, for at least 45-60 min. on an empty stomach and then practice yoga several times a week (lots of rapid breath.) That stopped working for a while when I was ill. Now, after having done that repair to my metabolism last fall, I was hoping that the cycles would work again. But, I'm wondering if I just wasn't eating enough and if I was doing enough of the cardio and the yoga. My rotation seems reasonable. What I don't have (and won't until the business thing is ironed out.) is a Polar that works anymore. I love my Garmin, but it doesn't have the same features as my old Polar. I miss my Polar. A lot.

So, as far as I can tell (just recapping) I need more fats, more vegetables, more healthy protein, more cardio and more yoga. I'm not doing much strength training. Leigh recommends the circuits. I might add one back into the mix. I just didn't feel like I needed more muscle.

So, that rotation would look like this:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: Walk/Run/Walk + short yoga

Tuesday: Steady State Step

Wednesday: Kick Box DVD + short yoga

Thursday:Rest

Friday:Walk/Run/Walk + short yoga

Saturday: Circuit

Dagoba New Moon Chocolate

I'm enjoying a very dark square of chocolate with my breakfast. Chocolate is supposed to be really good for you. I prefer very dark chocolate. This one has a faint taste of chocolate liquer. I don't think any one would eat more than a couple of bites because it is very intense. The best way to eat it is to just let it melt on your tongue. Its not a cheap bar of chocolate, but it is a good bar of chocolate.

I wonder why they named it Dagoba? That seems reminiscent of Star Wars. Do they license that from George Lucas?

I give it 4/5 oven mitts. The after taste is a little strong. The coco is very dark.

Mrs. May's Naturals are soo Good!

I just had a small package of the Pumpkin Crunch, and they are so very tasty. They are little clusters of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and a little sweetness from rice malt and cane sugar. They are an easy way to get some extra calories without getting overly full. The little bag I purchased has two servings at 164 calories each, thats 328 per bag. They also have 8 grams of carbohydrate per serving (due to the rice malt/cane sugar.) and 1 g of fiber, bringing them to a net of 7 grams of carbohydrate or 14 per little bag. They also pack a walloping 18 grams of protein! Thats a really good thing. These would be perfect on a hike where you don't want something heavy to carry. They are also gluten free!! According to the package they are Kosher, wheat free, dairy free, vegan and contain no cholesterol.

These get 5/5 oven mitts.

Leigh Peele

I hope I spelled her name right. Leigh is a diet guru. She has a book and website devoted to the subject. She focuses on diet and exercise. I have purchased a copy of her ebook, The Diet Troubleshoot. I am going to give it a go. The difference for me, is that I am allowing myself some fruit and starch. She recommends a little more carbohydrate than what I normally eat. I had been on a low carb diet for a long time and when I was on induction, I actually gained weight and my body temperature took a dive. After that experience, I increased my carbohydrate intake to 45-60 grams per day. That has been fine. However, I really like having some fruit, it satisfies my soul, steel cut oatmeal does too. Leigh has a wonderful quiz that helps you figure out exactly how many calories are required for you in a day. My number was higher than I was allowing myself to eat. I seem to have underestimated what I needed. Last fall, I did a four month experiment where I weighed/measured all my eats and did everything by the book. I counted my calories. I calculated how much I burned in my workouts with my heart rate monitor. I always aimed for a deficit of 500 calories per day. I neither gained nor lost a single pound. Needless to say, I was bummed because I was actually hungry the whole time. And, my body temperature went down and so did my energy level.

So. I decided at the beginning of this year to increase my workout intensity and to go back to calorie cycling. I haven't really gained or lost from that either. Bummer, right?

Well. Back to the drawing board. Into the fray, once more.

Leigh has come to the same conclusion that I have, which is that workouts don't make you thin. She doesn't recommend high impact while you are trying to lose the weight. I wonder if she counts jogging? I don't know. I like to jog. It really helps with my lower body area.

Matt Stone says "Duck Fiets". Yeah. I say Duck Fiets too. My Fall 2010 experiment did not work. So, I am going to try Leigh's program. Its fairly simple. Moderate calorie deficit. Moderate carbohydrate intake. Keep the protein up. Use fat to slow stomach emptying and to keep your blood sugar even. She is all about staying honest with yourself about what you actually ate. In order to keep myself from dropping too low on the calories, I will embellish my meals with coconut oil. It stokes the metabolism.

So, how does this all break down? Well, for me it looks like this:

PreWO snack: 1/2 c. steel cut oats,

PostWO: 1 c. of berries, 1 c. of melon, 3 oz. of protein or 3 eggs, 2 tbsp. coconut oil, 1 c. raw spinach

Lunch: 1 apple, 1 c. raw cabbage, 2 c. mixed greens, 3 oz. protein, 2 tbsp coconut oil,

Snack: Banana and peanut butter or cream cheese

(This would only be eaten 3x/week on higher calorie days).

Dinner: 1c. cooked napa cabbage, 1 c. broccoli, 3 oz. protein, 1 tbsp. olive oil

Aim:

Lower calorie days: 1576 calories.

High calorie days: 2100 calories.

As for my rotation, well, I'm going to focus on LSB workouts. I'm also going to make a point of getting my yoga most days of the week. Here is my workout breakdown (which must stay fluid to accommodate a varying work schedule.)

Sunday: AM: Cathe Friedrich Steady State Step workout (Like Cardio Hits)

PM: Yoga Today with Sarah Kline

Monday: Long Run, 60 min. no walking

PM: Yoga Class with Gary Bromley

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: Run/Walk/Run 3 min. jog, 1 min. walk 60 min.

Thursday: Cathe Friedrich MMA workout

PM: Shiva Rae Yoga

Friday: Fun Run! Run to peak, then walk it down. + Desi Yoga Solar

PM: Desi Yoga Lunar

Saturday: Rest

I will start this program next week.

Easter, Spring, and Diet Re-tooling

Sandra Ahten talks about a concept that I believe bears repeating, how much energy do you want to spend on dieting? How much time do you want to spend thinking about eating, what you are going to eat, what you aren't going to eat, what is important to you, what isn't.

Of late, I have had gluten, specifically bread, cravings. I had been off of wheat for about two years. I find that with having given in to my desires for sourdough, that now the thoughts seem to consume me, rather than me being the eater, I am the eaten. I do believe that this kind of issue is what boundaries are made for. I'm not wildly out of control, but I'm not as adherent to my diet goals as I had been. My carb intake has crept up. I find myself making justifications for a little bite. Those little bites add up, and one bite might be 5 carb grams, but over a day, that had 3-4 separate little bites, thats another 15 grams of carbohydrate that I didn't burn off.

I know that one of the most effective techniques for losing weight is maintaining a food journal. If you aren't honest, it doesn't work. It helps you to know what you have eaten and if you have fallen short of the mark in some way.

In the interest of honesty, today has been a good day.

Breakfast? It was a beef patty, green salad with mustard dressing and 1/2 a fiber brownie. I also had 2 slices of sprouted cinnamon raisin bread.

Lunch: I had a lot of green beans, a little round of sour dough, and 1/2 a fiber brownie. I also had 1 little Dove dark chocolate heart.

I intend to skip dinner. I don't always eat dinner as a way to cycle my calories.

I've been drinking Spearmint tea all morning. Its a lovely flavor and supposed to help with PCO hirsuitism symptoms.

The truth is, I must watch my carb intake. I'm thinking I should only have wheat once/week. This boundary takes it off mind, puts it back on the back burner. I am enjoying my fruit smoothies with coconut oil. The coconut oil does give me a boost with my thyroid, my body temperature stays up. I do count the calories. Some people don't count them, but I do. Even if you are burning it, that was still energy available to you, so it makes sense to me to count the calories.

The kinds of foods that occupy my mind are always sweets. I know that crazy Matt Stone over at 180degree health, is on a tare about adding carbohydrate, but I don't think that tooth pain and decay are good things. We really need to be reasonable about these things, if eating something is making you sick, maybe you need to lay off it for a while.

The more I live and learn, the more I learn that eating copius quantities of vegetables and good oils (coconut, olive) seems to be the key. The idea of eat less move more is only half right, I think eat more, move more, rest more, relax more and occasionally a skipped dinner might work. Don't eat the same thing every day. Sandra Ahten has mentioned that eating a different breakfast every day can induce weight loss. Nobody really knows why, it just seems to work.

So, my idea is what if you had a different breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner all week? Would that work too? I don't know if that would be too much work, but right now, I do have the time, so I think I'm going to put in the effort.

Do you have any zany weight loss tips? if so feel free to post them or a link to your blog.

The El Dorado Hills Dieter

Giving up on myself

Sandra Ahten's blog post this past week was all about not giving up on yourself. I have been listening to the podcast post (free on iTunes in Reasonable Diet podcast.) over and over again on my hike/walk/jogs. I don't want to give up. I am so ready to be back in the game. I'm doing the AM cardio, I even started weighing in again. For some reason, that particular part of the accountability is critical for me. I'm not ready to give up. I think I might have given up a little bit inside this year. I wasn't seeing the loss I had expected. But you know what? I wasn't doing every little thing I could possibly think of, I was doing my workouts and I was calorie cycling. I wasn't getting 60 min. in my THR 6 days/week. I wasn't weighing/measuring my eats. I was allowing more sweets. Maybe, at my age (a birthday looms large in the coming week.) it takes everything not just most of it. I don't want to give up. I want to make progress or at the very least, point in the right direction.

Release

Sometimes the ticket, the short way, the easy way to weight loss is to release something that has been eating at you for a while. There may be something that bugs you and raises your stress level. Stress is a true cause of weight gain, not the only one, but certainly one of the causes. Cortisol and testosterone and insulin (among others.) are released into the body when you experience stress, either perceived in your current environment or some thing on your mind. I like to use yoga and jogging for my stress relievers. They help me to release whatever might be bugging me, even if only for the time being. Its a good idea to hit that interrupt switch. With a fresh perspective, whatever is eating you might stop being such a big deal after all.

This is the El Dorado Hills Dieter,

Over and out.

AM Exercise

on an empty stomach used to be something I did all the time. I did it because it was convenient and fit easily into my day. I did it because then my exercise, the hardest part about my day was finished before I even began. I got out of this habit last fall when temperatures fell in the AM to below freezing. I wanted to run when it was warmer. My weight at that time plateaued even though I was eating the right amount of calories (my bmr) and getting a deficit through my cardio workouts. My weight didn't budge a pound. I was really frustrated. In January of this year I started cycling my calories again. I saw a small loss in January of 2 pounds. In February, I put that back on and have recently starting losing again. What was I doing differently? I started exercising first thing in the morning and I added back in one of Cathe Friedrich's Stretch Max workouts after my runs.

According to Dr. Jonny Bowden, the AM exercise on an empty stomach might have been the thing that did it. Here is a link to an article that he has written on the subject. I learned about this from Jimmy Moore of the Livin' La Vida Low Carb show. Jimmy is seeing a significant amount of progress from yoga, strength training, low carb intermittent fasting and exercising on an empty stomach. I'm inspired!

Fiber Brownies

I make an easy, gluten free, fiber brownie with ingredients from Trader Joe's. I use their GF brownie mix. I add an additional egg. I use Spectrum brand coconut oil. I add 1/2 c. of Psyllium, 1/2 c. of chocolate chips and a 1/4 c. of additional unsweetened coco. I bake as instructed. I cut them into half portions. Each comes to about 16 carbohydrates. It is an excellent post workout snack and is a great chocolate and fiber delivery system. I do melt the coconut oil before using. It must be cool to the touch because otherwise it will curdle the egg.

Do be aware, the brownie mix has sea salt in it, so if someone is allergic to fish, seafood or shellfish they should probably avoid this mix.

Have a wonderful, GF, fiber-ful day!

The El Dorado Dieter

Don't be Stupid

I love to jog. I love to go outside. I even love the rain. When the forecast is lightening don't go for a run. That would not be smart. Its ok to do some cross training indoors. Really, it is ok. Some times we get so enamored of our training schedule or goals that we lose sight of whats important, living. Its really important because if you aren't alive you won't be able to run a single step so don't be stupid. Run when the lightening is over ok?

Thanks,

The El Dorado Hills Dieter

Soy Free Eggs

Have you heard about these eggs? Apparently they are soy free. I did not know there was soy in eggs! I work really hard to avoid soy because its full of body-plumping estrogens! I read about this on Jimmy Moore's menu blog. I can't afford the specialty eggs and anything that has fish/shell fish is out for this house, we have a family member who is deathly allergic to anything oceanic. According to the cocofeed website, their chickens are feed a oceanic diet and I don't want to run the risk of someone getting ill in my home from fish. We don't even use sea salt here. It can be a problem.

I wonder if I need to go back to a vegetarian/vegan diet? One without soy? I can see doing a high healthy fat diet without meat. I already avoid dairy, it gives me shiners. I like olive oil and coconut oil. I like vegetables and fruits. Getting calories really isn't a problem. Keeping it low carb is not a problem (providing I'm behaving myself!) The only thing is I do have egg, meat and chicken cravings sometimes. There are mornings where I wake up wanting a pork chop. I wonder if they feed pigs soy? Is there a bunch of estrogens in them too?

What would a low carb, vegetarian diet look like? I do allow myself 45-60 g. of carb per day. Somedays I get more carb because I'm not paying attention. Those few moments in the morning when I first wake up are my weak point. I'm most likely to engage in sleepy eating at that time. But, I am getting off topic here, back to what I was exploring.

A low carb, vegetarian diet? My favorite vegetables are: spinach, green beans, broccolini, asian cabbage, bak choi, celery. I love those bags of lettuce mixes you can buy at the grocery store, pre washed. I like to get my carbs from GF steel cut oatmeal (1/2 c. serving cooked.) or fruit. Lately, I've been eating some Coconut bliss, the dark chocolate flavor. I love it and I eat a 1/2 serving 11.5 carbs.

Should I just switch to grass fed beef? I don't know. I hear a lot of good things about it but man its not cheap. I could eat vegetarian throughout the week and then have 1 beef meal per week. I would not be a vegetarian but it would reduce my soy exposure (if what they say is true, that the animals are being fed soy.)

Today's Songs to run to!

Of course, how could I go for two whole days without a run or posting my songs to run to? I'm still in a chill kind of run mood but I'm also throwing in some pop and a couple of soundtrack. I'm working the one minute intervals, they just make the time fly. Its true, try it!

Today's list, not in any particular order:

1. If I had you by Adam Lambert (confessional listing here.)

2. Violin by Amos Lee (today's free iTune download)

3. 1,000 faces by Randy Montana (see, I like it free.)

4. Ultra Curve by Cosmic Gate

5. Hold it Against me by Britney Spears (another confessional, ear candy at least isn't fattening.)

6. Marilyn by Larsen B

7. 1973 by James Blunt (I like it, so what if I played it on Monday too.)

8. The Game has Changed by Daft Punk from the Tron soundtrack.

9. End of Line by Daft Punk from the Tron soundtrack.

The podcasts:

1. IronBrandon Show 129

2. Running Stupid

3. B-Had Running

4. Fdip262

5. RVR- Epi80

I don't really listen to everything, it depends on my mood.

Sunny Days!!!

Keeping the clouds away" Sing it with me now!!! OK, enough of the gradeschool flash backs. It is a super sunny day and I plan to run it away later today. Hey, I rhymed! Sometimes its more than ok to go back and work those early lessons again and to relearn and rediscover things you already know you know but somehow get forgotten in the everyday roar of life. I'm working on the C25k program again. But, hey, you know what? I'm faster now and every time I do those early week intervals I am even stronger because I will push myself to do a hill for just one minute that I can't wrap my brain around doing the whole thing and then I discover I can jog most of it and I might just push myself to run around the next ten steps to finish it. See, it was a mind boggle the whole time.

Diet History

I have tried lots of different kinds of diets over the years. It started when I was 11 years old and told how fat I was by all the kids at school. They were so mean. I did the low fat diet and went vegetarian at that time. Then, when I was 19 I went vegan for about two years. I had not wanted to eat meat really. Then when I was 21 years old something in my head snapped. I had a craving for beef. I had the first 6 oz. at a steak house and I annihilated it in about 5 minutes. I have been a meat eater ever since. I eat chicken, beef, fish, and pork. I prefer the meats from Raley's, they have the most consistent and best flavored meats. I prefer Foster Farms unsalted chicken, anything else tends to plump me. That said, I do also eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and gluten free grains (in moderation.) I prefer to get my carbs from whole fruits and a little bit of grain. Lately I haven't wanted to eat as much meat. I'm leaning more towards a high healthy fat diet with lots of vegetables rather than a high protein diet. In a way I guess its actually a very clean diet. I do tend to eat more carbs than I should so I watch that closely, using portion control on the carbs.

So, here I am considering reducing my meat intake. Not so much for health but rather to keep my focus on healthy fats as my calorie sources. I'm not a body builder, I'm not focused on rebuilding muscle. I don't need the same level of protein that some people need. So what are your thoughts, if any, on a fairly low carb, high healthy fat, vegetable focused diet?

Music to run to

Its a new day and that means a new list. I am really enjoying James Blunt's new album "All the Lost Souls." Chill tracks always seem to cool me down even if I'm in my last mile of the day.

1. 1973 by James Blunt

2. Same Mistake by James Blunt

3. I can't hear the music by James Blunt

4. Next in line by Meese (is that plural for mouse or moose?)

5. Beautiful is gone by The Ruse

6. Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve (it was just 69 c, can't lose there.)

9. Bang Bang Bang by The Virgin Marys

10. Touch by Natasha Bedingfield

Today's Music to run to!

A la the Two Gomers, here is today's music to run to list. I really like the freebies from iTunes.

Btw, I am terribly sorry that Steve Jobs is not feeling well, I will be keeping him in my thoughts, I hope that he feels better soon. In the meantime, here is my list:

(Track then artist)

Norway by Beach House

The High Road by Broken Bells

Around my Head by Cage the Elephant

Viva la Vida by Coldplay

Sing me to Sleep by Fran Healy

I am not a Robot by Marina and the Diamonds

Break Me Out by The Rescues

Something Good Can work out by Two Door Cinema

Marilyn by Larsen B

Tron Legacy soundtrack

and for the cool down: Titaptawa by Gandalf

My podcasts:

The Fitness Boost with Scott Smith

Two Gomers

Fdip261: Running Terroir: by Steve Runner

This Running Life with Gordon

IronBrandon Show: 127 by Brandon Wood

Hey, I love the podcasts. I had been an avid listener of Nigel and I'm sorry that he is no longer casting due to a very busy lifestyle. I will miss reports about Foxy.

A week in review

Over the past week I have had three commercial meals, none of which were planned. The best thing to do in those situations is to look at the menu 'calorie count' and choose wisely. I did excellently well on 3/3 meals, I did ok on one dessert. On Wednesday we ate at Coco's which is a chain restaurant that specializes in baked goods and pies in addition to standard American fare. Having read the menu and discovered that their 'no sugar added apple pie' carries a hefty 500 plus calories, I passed on that in favor of the tortilla soup before dinner instead of a dessert after my meal. I am careful the rest of the time to eat clean home made food and to skip a couple of dinners so that I can use those calories at an unexpected meal or on a treat that I make at home. At Denny's I selected a salad and soup at one meal. At the other meal I selected the bbq chicken, substituting the green beans for the mashed potatoes. That is always a good idea. Potatoes aren't necessarily bad for you but the green beans have a lot of nutrition and will keep your hair from falling out. I personally would rather keep the hair on my head where it belongs, under my hat. I did splurge on a single scoop of vanilla ice cream last night. I skipped the dinner bread with both meals. Thats a savings of 300 calories and about 30-60 carbs that I just didn't need.

One of the things you can do to keep everything moving along is to get enough physical activity. This means different things to different people so you really have to adjust to meet your own needs. In my case that means cardio most days of the week and plenty of yoga to cover my strength and flexibility training.

I don't really know how I did. I will know on Tuesday when I have my next weigh in. I'm taking two low calorie days in a row to prepare for that. I will also keep my physical activity high. Today will be some yoga, tomorrow will be a jog and then a stretching session.

Every week is about planning, ducking and weaving when life comes at you and keeping your wits about you when unwanted calories and carbs present themselves, smelling good but promising of a terrible fat hang over the next morning or frankly even in the next minute.

Destiny

Have you ever asked yourself a question knowing the answer? For me, life is an answer that I already know. I know that I must fight this body and I must discount the urges my mind is sent to eat things that would only result in feeling worse over time. I know that I must work hard to make a living. I also know that there are things that I enjoy such as running, yoga, and even those really intense Cathe Friedrich videos. I do enjoy some of the healthy food I eat including a good salad, fruit and roast chicken with homemade cranberry sauce. I even enjoy my GF steel cut oatmeal. I don't really like the 'weight loss' feeling and the tiredness that comes with it. I don't really like being where I am but I do know that the alternatives are much worse so I am grateful for what I have. At least I have the knowledge and the answers to my questions. Now, all I have to do is choose which path I'm going to take, the one towards slenderness or the one away from it. Which path are you choosing?