Food & Flowers

It's been a long time since I did a good "What I'm Eating" post, and there's no better day than today, given that my work-at-home status this week has allowed me to (finally) put the focus back on eating healthy, preparing, planning, and cooking.

But first -- Look what 16 stitches will get you! A veritable flower garden on my entertainment center. Thanks to Dad and my co-workers and Kowalski's (where I bought flowers yesterday morning before the delivery / visitors arrived!)

Second -- a brief update... no pain today, but the bruising is much worse. It looks like somebody punched me on the chin. Ick. But things look calm in terms of swelling and redness, so that is good.

I woke up super early - the awesome by-product of yet another good night's sleep - and threw on some walkin' clothes. The sun was shining brightly, but it was only 57 degrees. My absolute FAVORITE kind of weather to be outside. I can't exercise much right now due to the stitches / bruising / swelling, but I am determined to get a little bit of movement each day, so off I headed on a leisurely stroll. And it WAS leisurely -- I walked an hour and only burned about 250 calories, which means my HR never broke 118, and that was only cuz I was walking up a small hill. When I got home, it was still only 7 AM... plenty of time to shower, clean my owie, re-bandage, and chug a smoothie before settling in for work.

Before I left for my walk, I did some food prep (I told you -- I was up EARLY). I combined all the smoothie ingredients in my blender cannister and put it in the fridge. I started dinner in the crockpot. I assembled a yet-to-be-dressed salad for lunch. Here's the pictoral evidence:

Ingredients: 1/2 cup fat free milk, Fage 2% yogurt, 1 banana, 1 cup of frozen triple berry fruit blend (I got this particular bag at Target, and I love it, because it is big and premixed. Trader Joe's has better fruit for cheaper, but I like the convenience of all this in one place. I gave up Fage 0% for Fage 2% long ago, simply because it has more protein, only 30 more calories, and you get an oz more. The thickness cannot be beat.

Combine with this:

And you get THIS:

It's about 300 calories / 7 WW points worth of awesome, and knocks out 2 dairy servings and 2-3 fruit servings. Sometimes I add a tsp of extra virgin olive oil (no, you can't taste it) and/or some ground flax seed... or some agave nectar. Each of those adds about 50 calories, or 1 point, if you're counting.

For my next trick - nothing quite as interesting. Big ass salad from the contents of my fridge. I mentioned that I'd shoppped and prepped this weekend, in anticipation of the chin hacking -- so what we have here is a big salad made of the following:

Mixed greens, cukes, bell peppers, tomato, beets, 1/2 leftover chicken breast, 1/4 cup leftover quinoa, fat free feta, almonds, and a tisch of Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinagrette. YUM. No idea on the calorie count, but... even after I pair this with a toasted english muffin & a Kashi granola bar, it can't possibly come in at more than 550 calories for the whole meal (and again... knocks out at least 3 vegetable servings and 1 oil):

Last, but certainly not least, we have one of my favorites - crock pot taco salad. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it is delicious. For starters, throw some frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot with a can or two of rotel, or any brand of tomatos w/ chilis (this one happens to be Muir Valley, fire roasted). Add a packet of taco seasoning and let 'er rip. Right now (11:13 AM), my house smells amazing!

The other ingredients that you see here are:
Can of black beans, frozen corn, leftover tostitos, avocado, onion, tomato, and cilantro. I forgot to include cheese in the picture. Again, calories will depend on how you structure your meal with the ingredients, but it is a healthy one for sure. For one, the chicken is basically marinating in tomatoes as it cooks, which eliminates the need for any oil or sugary marinate. The ingredients are fresh and healthy and low calorie (watch the cheese), and the dish is filling.

Once the chicken is done cooking, you can shred it -- and then your possibilities are endless! Eat in a taco shell (hard or soft) with some of the aforementioned ingredients. Eat it salad-style with tortilla chips. Wrap it up like a burrito or make fajitas! Chill it and eat it cold over a green salad the next day. Shred the chicken INTO the Rotel, top with cheese, diced avocado and crunched up chips and you have instant, easy chicken tortilla soup without ever standing over a hot stove.

Since I'm on a kick of using up groceries and adhering to careful planning, I'll be eating this "salad style" with some tostitos and melted cheese. I'm "budgeting" about 500 calories for this one.

Combine with an afternoon snack of 94% fat free popcorn, an evening snack of my beloved Skinny Cow, subtract about 250 calories worth of exercise, and we're looking at a net total of about 1450 calories... not bad at all.

Off and (not) running,

~Jessica

Before and After

(Note: If you are at all squeamish, you probably want to stop reading this after the 2nd picture).

Here is a super cute picture of me and my super cute boyfriend, taken on Saturday night in super cute small town Iowa -- we'd made the 6 hour journey for one of my best friends weddings... it was about 9000 degrees and 10000 percent humidity, and I think I lost 5 lbs just from sweating (the wedding was outdoors).

(I'm posting this so you know what I NORMALLY look like)



We got home around 5 PM on Sunday, and at 8:45 AM on Monday, I was wheeling my way into very minor surgery: Moh's Micrographic Surgery -- to remove the basal cell carcinoma from my chin.






After about 4 hours in the doc's office (15 minutes of actual surgery, 3 hours of waiting, and about 45 minutes of being sewn up), I am cancer free...

(This is the part I was warning you about, it's not bad, but... you've been warned!)

Here are the results, now that I've taken off the dressing:

About 16 stitches (11 on the surface and 5 underneath), many bruises, and a lot of general ickiness...

The long line is obviously the incision, and the round circles are bruises from the shots.


Finger crossed for quick recovery and minimal scarring...

So this is what I've been waiting for: the travel is over. The hot weekends are done. The social events are on hold for at least a little while. I'm working from home this week, trying hard to get my feet and my focus beneath me again. I grocery shopped on Saturday morning before we left; prepped vegetables and made a meal plan yesterday afternoon... I am up to my eyeballs in work and under strict doctors instructions to NOT really exercise until I get my stitches out*, but it is a beautiful day, my windows are open, and I'm cranking out work in my yoga pants.

Life is good.

PSA: Wear sunscreen. Every day**.

Off and running***.
Jessica

*Tuesday morning
**Even when you think you don't need it.
**Actually, I'm not running at all -- doctors orders that I can do nothing but some light walking until the stitches come out next Tuesday. Sucks, because this is just about the most beautiful week of the summer...

Magic Moment

It was 5:30 AM when I rolled over to check the time - my body is like clockwork. Bed at 9:30 PM almost always guarantees an automatic wake-up 8 hours later. I could tell by the air in the house that the temps had cooled and humidity died down. "What a perfect morning to sleep," I first thought, and then... "What a perfect morning to BIKE."

And that I did. Around 6 AM, I wheeled Baby Blue out of the garage and hopped on . I'd planned on my usual route - to Lake Nokomis, around, and home -- but partway through thought "Wait, I think I'd like to try something different!"

I've lived in the Minneapolis area for almost all of my 32.5 years -- yet every day I am stunned by something beautiful that I either didn't know about or have taken for granted. Although I've been coming to the falls since I was a kid, today's destination - Minnehaha Falls -- was no exception. Last year around this time, my friend Kathleen was visiting from California and I very proudly took her to see my beloved falls... only to discover that they were completely dried up. Not even a trickle fell where this magestic landmark stands - normally you can hear the rush of water as you walk up to the viewing area.

Last year? Crickets.

So, I was thrilled to see my beautiful waterfall in all it's glory. I stopped my ride just long enough to snap a picture, catch my breathe, and appreciate the beauty before it was time to head for home.

Stats:

58:47:11

459 calories

Approximately 7.5 miles

Max HR = 154

Theme of the ride: "Right Now" by Van Halen ("Catch that magic moment, do it right, right now")

It's time to head into work now - a day of meetings. Normally on days like this, I am antsy to get out the door, hit the pavement or the pool... but today, I know I can catch every little magic moment as it occurs, because I got the most important thing out of the way first today:

Me.

Off and running,

~Jessica

Reunited, And It Feels So Good

My 10 year college reunion was this past weekend, and I survived - although if anybody ever died of sleep deprivation, I am certainly a candidate. After working insane hours for 2 weeks, then a hot weekend trip to Texas, insomnia last week, and then a hot, busy weekend in Appleton, I am exhausted.

It was a weekend of debauchery, complete with splashing around with the campus fountain at 4 AM*, drinking beer as I walked down the street**, laughter, lack of sleep, and trying to keep my drunk friends from falling off a fire escape***. It was a great weekend, though I have to admit I'm kinda glad it is over just because the weather was so stiflingly hot (100+ year old dorm, 3rd floor, no air conditioning), and frankly, I've not spent enough time in my own house and bed lately.

Food decisions were actually pretty excellent over the weekend****. One thing my little college has figured out is healthy food for visiting guests - so even though I probably consumed my weight in beer***** (hey, it's practically an obligation once you cross the Wisconsin border), I also had plenty of protein, whole grains, vegetables, and very minimal processed food.

Score!

I also walked a lot, and climbed more stairs than I have in years. Did I mention we were staying on the third floor?

So now I'm back. I slept like I was dead on Sunday night - and I plan on doing the same thing again tonight. I've got an 8 AM meeting tomorrow, but I'm contemplating packing my gym bag and going for a swim before work -- it's been a few weeks since I did that, and although my ankle is much better, it is still a bit tender, so a swim should feel good.

I'm ready to be reunited with my healthy lifestyle -- I've got one more weekend trip planned. To the hot hot hot deep southeast corner of Iowa for one of my best friend's weddings. I can't wait to see her walk down that aisle... to laugh, again, with my girlfriends, and slow dance with Mike. And then the June Road Warrior streak is over and it is time to focus on getting back on that wagon -- and staying on. I've been chugging water since I got home, and it feels so good.

The weekend in Appleton was a very harsh reminder for me of how uncomfortable I am with my body right now. I remember my 5 year reunion, posing boldly in the front of group photos and feeling like a million bucks. When I look back on this past weekend -- yes, I will mostly remember laughter, friendship, and memories, but also sweating like crazy and breathlessly climbing up to the third floor of the dorm. Feeling like all my clothes were too small, my tummy too big, and my round (not pointed like it is when I'm skinny), chin showing up in the photographs I couldn't manage to avoid, despite my best attempts.

Off and running,
~Jessica

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*I'm just kidding, campus security, I would never do such a thing
**It's totally legal.
***Mom, just be proud that I didn't participate in the fire escape antics. My klutzy feet stayed firmly planted on earth.
****With the exception of a McDonald's lunch on the way home - first time I've hit the Golden Arches in probably 2+ years. I wish I could say it was gross. It wasn't.
*****I mean no disrespect, Wisco, but seriously -- beer is a way of life within your borders.

Back In The Saddle (Again)

Back from Texas. Back from the heat. Back from the work-induced insanity that has plagued me for weeks. Back from 10-days of coughing. Back from a soft-ball sized ankle. Back from too many glasses (okay, fine -- bottles) of wine. Back from late bedtimes and lazy mornings.

Back -- quite literally -- in the saddle again.

I got home from a business trip on Sunday afternoon, spent the night at my boyfriend's house, and literally spent all of Rainy Monday on the sofa, working remotely from home*. I'd started the day off with a healthy breakfast, guzzled water and popped multi-vitamins all day, took a mid-day break for a satisfying lunch, and prepped a delicious and nutritious dinner. Around 4:30, the rain let up and I decided I'd go for a walk.

No, a bike ride!

Yes!

So I was quite literally back in the saddle (and ouchie, it hurt -- my padded bike shorts were in the laundry), flying down the parkway. 54 minutes, 400 calories, and about 7 miles later, I felt like a new woman...

I made dinner, watched two more episodes of Lost, hit the bubble bath, and by 10 PM was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

I guess I'm "cycling good" again**.

And just like magic, I'm back -- up early, healthy breakfast, lunch packed, determination strong***.

It's still a very busy month for me: this week is my 10 year college reunion, abuot 5 hours away. The following weekend, one of my best friends is getting married in small town Iowa, about 6 hours away. Then on the 28th, I'll go in for a small skin surgery to remove the cancerous spot from my chin. After that, I'll work at home until the stitches come out, and frankly, I'm looking forward to the down time****.

Let's hope July is a little bit less chaotic...

Off and running,
~Jessica


*annnnnnd perhaps obsessively watching the first Season of Lost -- how did I not discover this show until now!?

**pun intended

***sushi with the girlfriends tonight -- goal is to stick to water and iced tea. We'll see how that goes.

****how messed up is THAT? "Thank God for my skin cancer so I can relax a little bit"?

Back 2 Life, Back 2 Reality*

It's been the perfect storm of chaos over here for the past few weeks, and this week is no exception -- remember most of May, where I was up with the sun and biking/running/swimming? Yeah, I remember that too. It was awesome. June? Notsomuch. As you can see from my exercise ticker, I STILL have barely exercised for the last 10 days.

First was a week of rain, then the 2 week cold (STILL COUGHING, although now it is more like just clearing my throat a lot), and then on Friday night, I tripped over something in my yard and went down like a water buffalo -- resulting in a softball sized ankle.

Sad.

The ankle is nearing golf-ball size now, but still a bit tender and I can't imagine running on it. Plus there's the coughing. So despite today's absolutely gorgeous day -- I've been couch surfing for a few days and I feel like a slug.

Couple that with an insane work schedule for the past week (worked a big chunk of the weekend and will be working ALL weekend on-site next weekend), and I'm not a very happy camper right now. The lack of exercise has meant that I'm not sleeping very well, so I'm absolutely exhausted on top of all of this. The ONE thing I"ve been managing pretty well is my food intake, but now I'm up against 2 dinners in a row + a weekend of eating on the road.

Sigh.

When I took this job a year ago, this is exactly what I was afraid of -- granted, some of it is circumstantial (weather, sick, ankle), but a lot of this comes down to the workaholic lifestyle I've been living for the past 2 weeks, and feeling like due to other commitments, I don't have the TIME to exercise. While I realize that ultimately it IS possible and I AM in control of my own choices, sometimes those choices are hard. Yesterday, for example -- I arrived at work at 7:45 and quite literally worked until almost 6 PM straight. Came home, made dinner, and logged in again and didn't stop until I went to bed at 10. This isn't normal, but it is a necessity of the project I'm working on right now.

Say nothing of the fact that it is a lifestyle I don't even BELIEVE in***.

Can I have some cheese with that whine, please**?

But today was the day of reckoning -- after over a week away, I scale-hopped this morning, just to see how bad the damage was. I was expecting the worst. I saw... well, it was actually fine. I'm up about a pound, but I'm willing to accept that given the sloth and the lack of water and vegetables. Yesterday I had a very good day of food and water consumption, which hopefully means that tomorrow will be even better.

So - I've got a healthy breakfast in my tummy, a healthy lunch packed, and dinner with my mom. I absolutely will not be working tonight, which hopefully means I'll get to sleep at a reasonable hour and awaken early enough to go for a bike ride before work, ankle-pending. Friday I'm catchin' a flight to destinations unknown (well, I know the destination, but I can't tell you about it -- visit http://www.talkofthecountry.com/ if you want to know more about that), returning Sunday, and just made the executive decision to work from home on Monday. Then it's just two more weekends of travel + my little skin procedure and then June, thankfully, is OVER.

Off and running,
~Jessica

*with all due respect to Soul II Soul
**No! No cheese! No wine!
***I tend to think that Americans in general are completely whacked when it comes to priorities and work/life balance.

Drawing Board: Meet Jess

Well, things WERE going really well on the exercise /nutrition / weight loss front -- for a couple of weeks there I was feeling pretty amazing, effortlessly making healthy choices and feeling great from all the exercise.



Dropped a few pounds, yadda yadda yadda.

And then something happened, and I'm still not sure what - but sometime last week, I found myself WAY too busy, WAY too stressed out, WAY too social, WAY too buzzed on WAY too much wine, WAY too many times.

Workouts went out the window. Healthy choices with food still pretty much continued with just a few exceptions, but I was suddenly exhausted, and mostly feeling like crap all the time. I skipped my WI last Friday because I had a friend staying in the guest room and just lost track of it... and also because of the aforementioned poor choices.

And then I got slammed with a vicious cough / cold that knocked me out for all of Memorial Day weekend, a sure sign that I've been burning the candle at both ends.

Because really? Who gets a cough in MAY.

I have talked a lot on this blog about how my healthy lifestyle is cyclical.

Good sleep = good food choices = good workouts = more good sleep.

Apparently, my unhealthy one is as well:

Too busy = stress = late nights = too much wine = feeling like hell = craving unhealthy food = poor fuel = bad sleep = lack of exercise.

Rinse, repeat.

A friend of mine checked in with me this morning via IM, after I'd left a comment on her blog about late nights and poor choices. The quick and simple conversation* really helped me to reset, reframe and realize that I need to put the focus back on finding balance in my life. I was scheduled to have dinner plans tonight, and during our conversation, as I contemplated cancelling, she asked me this simple question:

"Does the idea of cancelling make you feel relieved?"

As soon as she asked the question, I knew what I needed to do.

Honestly, the idea of sushi doesn't even sound appealing right now, plus I am still coughing a lot and really would like to kick this cold to the curb as quickly as posible. I did feel like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest -- and although I have 20 things at home that need to get done (mow lawn, laundry, dishes, tidy the house), I'm rather looking forward to the quiet night, and perhaps by then (way too late and way too many glasses of wine last night), I'll be feeling good enough to enjoy a bit of this gorgeous weather.

Annnnnnnnnnnd exhale.

It's back to the drawing board once again - trying to figure out how to make this healthy, balanced life sustainable.

I'll tell you one thing for sure: going off track always sounds/feels/seems like a good idea at the time.... It can be fun - wine on the patio with girlfriends always is - it can feel indulgent and special. But the next day it never EVER seems like a good idea, and that's more about the way I feel, both physically (headachey, dehydrated, exhausted, gut rot) and emotionally (ashamed, regretful, worried, anxious), than anything the scale** could possibly say. I normally have this great habit of only indulging in alcohol on the weekends, and usually only one of the weekend nights, but the last two weeks have been a constant funnel-stream of pinot grigio and bad decisions it is time to put an end to that.

Step one: Clear schedule for tonight and tomorrow night (check!)
Step two: Get my physical house in order (tonight!)
Step three: Get my financial house in order (check! I did manage to pay bills yesterday)
Step four: Cook a healthy dinner
Step five: Go to bed early
Step six: Make a very conscious effort to sustain healthy habits over the weekend - it won't be easy - my best friend is getting married in a few weeks and her bachelorette party is Saturday night -- but weekends lately seem to be derailing me big time, and there is no end in sight (Texas next weekend for work, college reunion the following weekend, best friend's wedding the weekend after that, then the 4th of July).

Off and drawing,
~JessiferSeabs