Try try again?

So...

Due to having received the 'Kathleen, diabetes is a horrible thing,'-chat from my mother for about the 3rd time in two weeks (along with the 'Kathleen, this is my new healthy lifestyle resolution,' from Dad), we're going to approach this differently. Against my more carefree, spontaneous nature, I'm going to be planning meals. :-\ Still not entirely sure how well this is going to work.

Still, since it's an increase-your-steps challenge week at work (on our little pedometers that give us cheaper health plans) and I won't be starting from zero by virtue of being new (and having succeeded in the previous challenge week), I figure this might be a good week to mix things up a little bit.

Also: since Mom brought pretty juice glasses and lamps from Grandma's house last week, Rachel and I went on a last-minute madcap dash to Jungle Jim's today, I received a weather alert radio and frame Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers poster for my birthday, and there was an IKEA stop for a couple end tables, I have a bunch of steps today from unloading my car and carting everything up 2 floors.

Anywho, enough babble--here's tomorrow's food (a "meatless" day, by Catholic standards--grin!):

I use caloriecount.about.com for calorie-tracking purposes; the image above is from my "Food Log" on that website. It's a nice way to count calories; I like that I can enter recipes, save meals, etc. Additionally: now that I have purchased my very own food scale, I can go back to using this with the same efficacy as I did while living with the beautiful Annika (grin).

My black bean and sweet potato burrito recipe is adapted from here,and was recommended by my friend Ash, an amazing lady who launches rockets for a living in Colorado (her adventures are detailed here). I think it looks delicious; looking forward to my suspicions being confirmed tomorrow evening. 

The breakfast is sort of a combination dish--I like yogurt & frozen blueberries (heated, of course!) on top of my waffles. I usually add a little splenda to sweeten everything up. There will almost definitely be Dunkin Donuts coffee tomorrow morning too, but since I lack milk until I go shopping tomorrow, it will be black and not really worth mentioning, calorie-wise.

In other related news, I have recently acquired a pair of solid-colored teal tights; although they are less fun than say, tights-w-crazy-patterns, they might be work-appropriate in spite of the off-the-wall color. I guess in one sense, I'm looking forward to winter.

Finally, I'm 309/776 pages into Gravity's Rainbow, which, since I've been reading it for two weeks now, seems like something worth mentioning on this blog-of-OCD-counting.

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday!

Back on the Horse

My sincerest apologies to our few, beloved followers.

I have definitely been neglecting this blog, and I'm sorry to say it's because I fell off the wagon. I didn't balloon, and they don't have to roll me around in a wheel barrow quite yet. I did, however, put those five pounds back on, and that makes for a very sad panda.

I would love to be able to blame my lack of commitment on some injury or insurmountable extenuating circumstance. However, I'm ashamed to say that life just sort of got in the way. Work got crazy busy, which left little time or energy for working out; and what's worse, I tended to decompress from work by going out to the bar with friends (not itself a bad thing) and relaxing with a few beers and great food (tragic downfall). As my colleague in this challenge will attest, the Wink is pretty freaking delicious.

"This is the last of that sort of thing. Now I'm cleaning up and I'm moving on, going straight and choosing life. I'm looking forward to it already." Best advice I could think to get from a Scottish heroin addict. It's true, though. I started out with a goal but no plan, and that method failed me as soon as some teensy inconvenience threw off the non-existent plan.

My new method is a little more me I should think. My true goal throughout this process has never really been about weight; I just thought weight would be an easy indicator of progress for me (hogwash and poppycock). What I really want is athleticism. I want to be run faster, jump higher, and be stronger than the next girl. I want to be the epitome of Mark Twain's "size of the fight in the dog" bit. I want to push my body to do all the remarkable things I know it can.

So to kick off this new (hopefully successful) method of changing my body, I'm going on a 30-day challenge. I want to work my ass off (quite literally) through swimming, running, rock climbing, lifting, and frisbee and see how much I can accomplish in 30 days. It's probably going to mean some early mornings in the pool and mustering the energy to run after long days in the OR, but I think I'm up for the challenge.

I'll keep you posted on the progress and try to post more recipes over the next couple weeks. 'Before' photo to follow tomorrow.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Just a quick update, before I run away to Boston for break:

Starting Weight: 169
Goal Weight: 120
Current Weight: 166

It's been a pretty good week, apart from the stress of finals. Looking forward to some time away from all of that this coming week. :)

Soup!

Starting Weight: 115
Current Weight: 110.5
Time Span: 4 weeks

The next couple weeks will be more of the same (i.e. running 3-4 miles after work a couple times a week), but soon ultimate tournaments will start again. The first is a big 3-day coed tournament in Virginia the first week of April and then a 1-day coed hat tourney in Cleveland a few weeks after that. For me, there are few types of exercise that are more joyful than playing ultimate on a bright, sunny day.

So, today I made soup. Not just any soup, but I made Udon noodle soup with a poached egg on top. From scratch. :)

I know what you're thinking. It sounds delicious but fancy and complicated. Fortunately, it took me only about 20 minutes to make, and it was as easy as throwing things into a pot (considering that's pretty much what it was...). I was a little nervous about using star anaise considering how much I dislike licorice-flavored things, but I was pleasantly surprised by how all the strong flavors in the recipe blended together perfectly. Here is the super-delicious end result.

Tell me it doesn't look fantastic!

I've linked the recipe below:
Udon noodle soup with bok choy and poached egg

A long overdue update...

Hello friends! Afraid I've been MIA for the past couple weeks. Most unfortunately, attempts to evade the ever-growing homework monster have left little time for blogging. Still, one more big push this week (with a brief break on Wednesday night), and then off to Boston on Friday (excitement!!!)!

Diet-wise, the weekend before this one was really bad. I think I stress-binged 2-3 lbs. worth of junk food, but this week has been better--mostly due to stress-not-eating, which, admittedly, isn't super healthy either. Hopefully, once finals end, I can begin to get back on a more nutritious diet. Over Lent, I'm planning to exercise more frequently. I expect i'll begin by walking 3-4 miles every couple days (while reading a mystery novel--because multi-tasking makes me awesome), and eventually begin to incorporate more running until I can run 3 miles again.

Non-diet-wise, I've really been enjoying Val McDermid's Tony Hill novels and also Kostova's The Historian. I also may or may not have sent a relatively cracked-out-on-caffeine e-mail to some of my Olin friends about the BBC miniseries "Jekyll". It may or may not have sounded something like this:

"IT IS SO FANTASTIC AND WRITTEN BY STEVEN MOFFAT AND WONDERFUL AND SORT OF DOING FOR ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON WHAT THE RECENT SHERLOCK SERIES DID FOR CONAN DOYLE!!!!!!111!!!!11!!!

(might watch it again and again and again--not unlike what I've done with "Sherlock")  

YOU SHOULD ALL WATCH IT!!!!!1111!!!!11!"

Anywho, looking forward to the Arlo Guthrie concert with Mom, Dad, and Em tonight, trying the chocolate truffle flavored coffee I may have appropriated from our pantry here at home, and my trip to Boston next week. Love to all (but especially Tess)!

Three Weeks Down: Tiny

It's been just over three weeks since I started this adventure, and I can definitely see the progress I've made so far. In three weeks, I've lost 3.5 lbs. It's not necessarily on track with my goal, but progress is still progress, so I'm happy. Plus, I can see my body start to change and feel my strength and endurance improve. To be honest, that feeling is much more rewarding than seeing a number on a scale.

Goals for this week:
 - run farther than last week
 - don't overeat at dinner
 - no eating after 10p

Skipping the gym to go grocery shopping and do laundry today. Hopefully, I will make something delicious (and healthy) for dinner and can share the recipe with you guys!

Mopey Wednesday

WARNING: This post is full of whining and self-pity. Proceed with caution.

Today is just one of those days. I woke up feeling awful, and none of the clothes I put on seemed to look right. I was a very self-conscious Tiny today. I couldn't help it! Every time I caught myself in a mirror, glass door, or generic reflective surface, all I could think about was how disproportionately GIGANTIC my hips are compared to the rest of my tiny frame. That's my main demon. I've never felt overweight, and rarely have I felt fat; but I've always always always felt disproportionate. And, unfortunately for me, my hips seems to be the last place my body wants to slim down.

*whinewhinewhine* I have hips like whoa. Etc. etc.

On the plus side , that distinctly "full-figured" image in the mirror is giving me just the extra motivation I need to work really hard at my run today. Hopefully, in another month or two, I can proudly say that I no longer feel so oddly shaped.