"Smaller Me" challenges

Tangerine Tango...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/29/HO9H1MHA96.DTL

Shopping used to be tedious and depressing. In the past 2 weeks, I've added more to my wardrobe than I had in the past year! One could argue that this does not assist in my healthier living lifestyle, due to the recent strain on my debit card... I argue that it is a result of my healthier living lifestyle.

So as I'm awake at 4:48 am waiting for the sun to come up so I could go on a run, I decided that my New Year's Challenges will be: try to grow more of my own food, exercise AT LEASE 3 times a week, incorporate more Tangerine Tango into my wardrobe and to incorporate said fashion additions in my travel endeavors with my bff, http://traveljunkie331.blogspot.com/ !

Every time I look at my work schedule for the mid-December to mid-January pay periods, I cry a little inside. I've been working overnight 7p-7a going on 5 years and I've never worked on New Years Eve. *sigh* So I decided if I'm going to be stuck in a cold building for 12 hours working instead of spending time with my family, I'm going to come up with some awesome makeup to ring in the new year with my coworkers and the patients! This is the fruit of my labor, and also the first photo I've taken of myself where I've realized just how thin I've gotten.



Till next time!

I'm a Runner!

This past Monday, I completed my longest run/walk at 9 miles. It goes without saying that I'm uber excited and proud of myself. However excited and proud I may feel, the physical exertion left me feeling like this:




After two days of recovery, I was able to wake up this morning and get back out there! Not 9 miles again, just a measly 5K (3.1 miles). Taking the advice of my running coach, I was able to get on track and see the benefit of the Galloway Method.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/walk_breaks.html

Instead of my usual "walk one song, jog one song" and getting tired really quickly, I'm up to a 12 minute mile using the Galloway method, jogging 2 minutes and walking 1 minute. For safety reasons and the result of an obsession with "Alias," whenever I jog around the neighborhood I like to take different routes. It's gotten to the point where I'm recognizing some of the neighborhood's joggers and dog walkers. It's nice to become "part" of a new community and maintaining new healthy habits :)

I saw some girls while jogging down on the Hollywood Beach boardwalk with these shirts,

http://www.blackgirlsrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/techtee-300x162.jpg

and became curious. They are a MOVEMENT, encouraging minority women to get out there and MOVE! I'm keeping an eye on these girls and after I'm done with my half marathon coaching through my hospital's fitness center, I plan to get involved. But, my shirt is going to say "Latina Girls Run!"

Reflection

Someone asked me yesterday what it feels like to be 50 pounds lighter. I couldn't even come up with an answer. Achieving weight loss success is not something I had envisioned myself doing NOW. It was always like, "well one day I'll get on the ball and lose weight, but I'm not ready." I never thought I'd be getting up when the sky looks like this,



and going for a run (that was at 6:45 am, by the way). I never thought I'd get to the point where I'd go out to exercise and get this on my Nike + screen.



I never thought the clothes I had to squeeze myself into now look like clown clothes. I never thought I'd look like this again.



So, how does it feel to be 50 pounds (and going...) lighter? It feels amazing. I feel like I can do anything in the world If i put my mind to it. I feel healthier. I fee like I don't have all that weight hanging down on me. I feel liberated from the chains of fast food and unhealthy food choices. I feel younger and I feel more spontaneous. I feel like I can go up the 6 flights of stairs to work and not be out of breath. I feel like I can give my old clothes to Goodwill and get new ones. I feel like not eating anything that comes out of a box and growing all my food instead! Alas, that goal has been dampened by the demise of my squash plants :( I sadly had to euthanize about half of them after they succumbed to powdery mildew http://www.agardenersforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/211467
I'll try again next season!

My first harvest!

Went outside to water my sweets and got a wonderful surprise!!

Garlic Mozzarella Eggplant

I had a few eggplants in my fridge that I didn't want to go bad, so I whipped them up really quick-like.

Ingredients:
1 small eggplant
1 clove of garlic (mashed or minced, your preference)
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the eggplant into "wheels" about 1/2 inch thick. In a pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic. Sautee and allow the garlic to brown. Now, you can add the eggplant to the oil. Cook the eggplant for about 3 minutes on each side, just until it softens up a bit. After the eggplant has softened, arrange the slices in a baker. I just got this one, http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=35247&words=bake
and it worked out GREAT! Cooking spray is not required, the care is very easy and the food did not stick. Sprinkle a little bit of cheese on each eggplant wheel. Now bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and browned a little bit. Enjoy!

Garden Update :(

So I got home from work this morning to water my babies. I'd been looking out for a honey bee or two in my garden ever since the plants started flowering and today I got one! :D It looked so happy buzzing around until I scared it by taking pictures!

Then, I look to the left and see that the zucchini plants I'd moved over to an empty patch are NOT happy with the move. Three days later and they are still ever as droopy and not looking good at all. And I've learned some of my plants have got what is called "Powdery Mildew" which happens commonly in squash plants when they are over-crowded. Now I'm debating pulling the sick plants out so they don't infect my very successful green bean plants. Decisions, decisions...

Exercise

I've never stuck to an exercise program because I saw it as a chore and would get bored. This past Thanksgiving 2011 I participated in my first 5K! I succeeded in my goal to complete it in less than an hour and now half-way through December, I have improved my time by 12 minutes! I'm also participating in a half marathon training program and hope to run it this February!

My first entry!

I started this blog as a suggestion by a coworker to document my weight loss and healthier living journey.   I've been overweight for most of my life.  I started being self-conscious about it when I was about 10 or 11 years old.  Since then, every once in a while I'd say, "OK, this is it.  I'm going to get on the ball and get on a diet and exercise.  In no time, I'll be in shape."  It would last about 3 weeks, I'd see a few results and think, "OK, I'm skinny now.  Let's go to McDonalds."

Now at age 29, something snapped inside me.  One day, I just decided that enough was enough.  My perfect-fitting jeans were difficult to zip up, my work uniforms didn't fit, and I'd tipped the scale at my highest weight ever.  I couldn't believe the scale!  There had to be a mistake... Maybe it needed to be calibrated... I should have subtracted a bit of weight because of the clothes I was wearing... There's NO way I could weigh that much...  By then it was Ramadan and we usually cut down until it is time to break our fast, then we want to eat everything in sight.   So I started cutting down.  At sundown, instead of piling my plate with all sorts of yummies, I'd take one of everything and even give some of my food away.

Then, I'd developed what I call "a fat people" rash under my breasts.  I tried over the counter creams, but nothing worked.  I ended up going to the doctor's office for something stronger and saw an advertisement for Medi Weight Loss Clinics, which my MD was sponsoring in her office.  That day changed my life.  I signed up that very same day.  I went on my scheduled vacation to San Francisco and got on my hard-core life change two days after I returned to Florida.

Since August 2011, I've lost 48.5 pounds.  I bought a size 12 jean, which I hadn't done since high school.  I almost cried in the dressing room last week!  Prior to my life changes, I had killed every plant I'd ever owned.   Now I'm growing green beans, zucchini, summer squash, bibb lettuce, basil and two varieties of tomatoes.  The green beans have come in, but the zucchini and squash are just now flowering.  It's become kind of an obsession for me!    I've come up with lots of yummy low-calorie recipes which I'll try and post from time to time!

Here's to healthier habits, healthier living and inspiring others!