Fruits of my Labors

So.. this post could go a myriad of ways. I could talk about the upcoming peaches and blackberries that have been percolating away down in my beloved Elk Ridge/Payson/WestMountain orchards and farms.  My two favorite fruits are bursting on the scene and I have big plans for both of them.  Of course they won't be the carmelized peaches with dulce de leche and vanilla ice cream or the blackberry pies of my prior life.  But there will be healthy dishes incorporating both fruits.

Or I could talk about my labors with the births of each of my children... but that wouldn't be fun for anybody to listen to... nor for me to me to relive. So let's just leave that right where it belongs... in my memory-challenged aging mind.

Nope... what I'm referring to is my productive appointment today with my new doctor. (Shout out to Dr. Elizabeth Huff!)  I like her style and straightforward talk.  I like that she actually listens to my questions rather than cut me off with standard "I'm in a hurry, let's get finished" answers.

I had my vitals taken today.  My weight loss was verified on her scale. (Isn't it nice when two different scales say the same thing?) Woo hoo!  It was also very encouraging to see my blood pressure has dropped in the past 8 weeks. Can I get a "woo hoo" again?

Yep! Healthy living. Who knew it would be so much fun?

For JD

Chicken Tacos in 30 minutes

2 Tbsp butter or margarine
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp mustard

Melt butter in large frying pan. Add garlic, cloves and chipotle. Saute in butter. Add orange juice, 1/2 cup cilantro and Worcestershire sauce. Place chicken breasts in liquid. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces). Halfway through cooking time, turn chicken over.

Remove chicken from pan, set aside and cover with foil. Let sit 5 minutes.

Reduce liquid to about 1 cup. Whisk in 1 tsp mustard. Cut chicken into small pieces (or shred if that's your preference). Put chicken back into glaze in frying pan. Add 1/4 cup cilantro. Toss together.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve in tortillas (whole wheat or regular) with shredded lettuce, chopped cucumbers, diced tomatoes, diced avocados, cheese, salsa, etc.

Stop that Racket!!!

Well, it happened. We went to the tennis courts at Provo High on Saturday.  I actually played a full set of tennis for the first time in more years than I have fingers and toes to count them on. James, JD, his wife and I. We played doubles. Girls against the boys.  We lost. There I said it. We lost.  Oh well.

I have to confess... after getting over feeling self-conscious about how I couldn't move very well around the court, I loved it.  I had forgotten how much I love the game of tennis.  I love the pinging sound of the racket hitting the ball (that is of course when you hit it with the strings and not with the aluminum side of the racket itself... sigh!)  I'm rusty. So very rusty.  But I could remember enough to get the ball over the net most of the time. I want to do it again. I want to play every Saturday. Any takers? JD?  James?  Anyone?

Very Quick Check-In

Sorry to have been so AWOL lately. Summer is a busy time for me. Lots of leaving the state and no access to the Internet.

I'm back home in sunny San Diego.  It's been days of beach, cove, sunshine and visiting old haunts.  Lots of fun.  One of our family's favorite places is Mr. Frostie's in Pacific Beach.  Yesterday, the sister, the nieces and the son decided to head there after an afternoon at the beach.  I fought the demon impulses of "rationalize and tell yourself lies that you won't order anything... you'll just be there with everyone else."  In other words... I chickened out!!! Wasn't sure I could withstand the menu calling my name with bright neon transfat lights and seductive sugary subliminal messages.  So... I went home instead and waited for them there.  For the first time in I don't know how many years, I didn't go to Mr. Frostie's.  Now, here comes the true confession: I'm not happy about it. I didn't (and don't) feel triumphant or strong or anything. I feel like I missed out on a family tradition. It bums me out. I hate thinking I'm still so weak about that kind of stuff that I can't be around it without caving.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a zealot. I'm not living a "no sugar, not ever" life.  But, I've been watching my caloric intake during this vacation, and I just knew I couldn't fit in the calories of a trip to Mr. Frostie's.

I'll be back home on Tuesday. Back to the gym. Back to the Provo River Trail.  If the rumors are true, I hear I'll also be back on the tennis courts on Saturday (after a 30-year hiatus).  So, for the next two days, I'm just going to continue to enjoy my escape here in San Diego and the beach life that doesn't exist anywhere in Utah. (Don't kid yourself... that Provo Beach Resort thing at RiverWoods doesn't even come close!!!)

See you all next week!

So... What's It Like?

"... to be thinking about improving your health?"
"...to be exercising everyday?"
"Do you feel like you're on a diet?"

I get asked those question a lot.  So, here's what it's like:

The Journey

Fellow Travelers

Fellow Travelers

Coming and Going

Individual Style

Reverie

 

 

"In the Zone"

Buzzkill

 

Temptation

 

Mind over Matter

The Daily Grind

Nemesis

 

Three Guesses...

... where I've been.  Okay, first some hints:

No... not a trip to Mars. Let's try another:

Not quite sure??? Here's another:

People, people... come on now. Okay final clues:

Yep! I've been living in Yellowstone. Here's the homestead:

I was able to snap a few photos of the natives:

I'm here to tell you it's possible to vacation and still eat healthy and exercise too. The food was great. I passed on the sweets and had only one portion of the things I chose to eat. I drank so much water I know most every outhouse/picnic area throughout the park.  Being in a national park made a daily 30 minute exercise routine easy. While I'm in no shape to do any serious (or even pseudo) hiking, there were enough walking trails to get my heart rate up for at least 30 consecutive minutes each day.

Oh, and by the way... the Captain enjoyed the scenery, too:

(Of course, I'm not sure which view he's looking at from that direction.)

The Power of a Decision

Most everyday this week, I have had a conversation with myself as my workday ends.  I start asking, "Am I going to the Wellness Center to work out or am I going home?" I vacillate between the two choices for a good ten minutes.  Then as I walk to the car I have chosen to say to myself, "Yes, I am going."  It sounds like a silly thing. But surprisingly enough, the simply act of saying definitively, "yes, I am going" seems to end the debate in my head. I turn down 300 West and turn into the driveway by the Outpatient Center and then head up to the Northwest Plaza, park, grab the bag holding my workout clothes (clothes I detest, by the way), and go on in.

I don't really enjoy the "during" part of exercising. But I sure like how the "after" feels. There must be something to this whole endorphin thing. I hope someday the "during" becomes more enjoyable. But, if not, I'm still committed.  I guess I'm a junkie for the "after."

Channeling my Inner Hindu

In what feels like another lifetime, many years ago, I played tennis.  In school, my partner, Marla Parsons, and I (yeah, yeah, Marla and Karla... go ahead, laugh it up a bit) won the doubles competition.  We were finalists in the singles too, and I honestly don't remember which of the two of us won. I just remember how much I loved playing tennis.  My very long-suffering mother allowed me to practice by hitting the tennis ball against our garage door... for hours on end. I would go to the local rec center and play often.  Like I said, that was a lifetime ago.

In yet another life, not quite as many years go, I walked a lot. About 50 miles a week. I got up at 6:00 in the morning and walked my route. At noon, I left work, drove down to the beach and walked along the shore for about 45 minutes. After work, I'd come home and walk my same neighborhood route again.  I would walk and I would think. (I had a lot to think about back then.)  Sometimes I would even talk to myself.  Hmmmm, maybe that's why no one ever joined me along the way. They probably thought I was nuts.

Currently in life I am out of shape and overweight. We've already discussed some of the reasons that happened. Of course, the greatest reason is because I quit moving around and being active.

So now here I am in this life. JD, my trainer, has me walking on a treadmill.  With all the buttons and settings, I don't get to escape into my own head and think much. I'm too worried about getting the intervals right for the speed and incline settings.  At lunchtime, I leave work and walk (though lamentably, it isn't at the beach).  I also walk around my neighborhood or down the Provo River trail most every day.

Yesterday, JD threw out an idea that caught me up short. He's thinking of taking his three plebes (that would be me and the other two heart challenge participants he is working with) and having us go somewhere and play... wait for it...  TENNIS!

Talk about all my lives quickly coming together!


(BTW, there was another time in my adult past that I swam a lot. Early morning laps or early evening laps at Swanson Pool in San Diego.  I'm not about to mention that to JD. That would just be... well... let's just say feeling like a tugboat in the water would not be... um... motivational at this point.)

Cracking Up

I have a cracked rib.  Cracked it a week or so before the challenge began.  I was a bit bummed about it -- thinking it would get in the way of me being able to do much besides diet, but I was wrong. I met with my trainer and found that I can work out on the seated elliptical, the treadmill and one other machine (can't remember what it's called).  So, I worked up a sweat after all. It'll be another three weeks or so before I can do any weight lifting or much stretching. In the meantime, everything is cardio at the gym, and I do a lot of walking at home. 

The Provo River Trail has become my new stomping grounds in the mornings. During my lunch, I walk around the streets just south of the Physician's Plaza.  I'm sure in another week or two, the residents are going to think I'm casing the neighborhood.

Compromising Situations

First by way of explanation: I have two other blogs. One is just a "what's going on in my world" blog; the other is my baking blog.  On my main blog, my husband is known as the Captain. (He likes that moniker. We had a houseboat... long story.)  On the baking blog I refer to him as Mr. Doughboy (he's not so thrilled with that one). Anyway, old habits die hard so more than likely whenever I refer to him here, I'll likely refer to him as the Captain (or Cap'n for short). Now you know. On to the main event:

So... Father's Day. The Captain gets to pick the menu. It's tradition. This year, however, it was a compromise. Yes, we still had killer grilled steaks (beef tenderloin to boot) and his favorite Orange Jello with Lemon pudding/Cool Whip topping salad. The Captain and the rest of the guests each had a baked yam bathed in cinnamon butter (think Ruby River's jacketed cinnamon yam). Yams are GROSS in my world so that wasn't even a temptation.  Here comes the compromise: I was able to throw in a few Karla-friendly items this time around.  Rather than a potato salad, I made a Savory Barley Salad that I saw yesterday while watching Chef Brad on KBYU. (Fresh green beans sauteed in Xagave and Balsamic vinegar, with barley pearls, cherry tomatoes, minced green onions and sliced almonds in a vinaigrette made of Xagave, flax oil and olive oil.)  We had a really good watermelon cut in cubes and sliced cucumbers and red peppers marinated in a bit of vinegar. Of course, for dessert he had to have Apple Crisp a la mode.

I prepared all the food and prayed that the barley salad was as good as it looked on TV because otherwise I knew I'd be diving head first into the Jell-O and the apple crisp.

I'm happy to say everyone enjoyed the meal... including me. For my Sunday food journal entry, I will be writing down: One 4-oz grilled beef tenderloin (the smallest one on the platter), Savory Barley & Green Bean Salad (I went back for seconds -- it ROCKED!), watermelon (lots and lots of watermelon) and, well, okay... one very small spoonful of apple crisp while I dished it up for everyone else.

In truth I wasn't even tempted. I had the spoonful to satisfy my curiosity about how it had turned out. It was good. Everyone liked it. Oddly enough, I didn't miss it.

Falling into Fat

I feel like that is what I have done in the past five years. If I look at the brutal truth, and do the brutal math, in under five years I gained 128 pounds. (That's a whole person.) Of course I knew it was happening. All the zippers and buttons in my closet were telling me it was happening. But, the question that has no answer is, "why did I let it happen?" Why didn't I go see a doctor? Why didn't I do anything?

Well, five weeks ago, I did go to a doctor. She made a comment about "do you realize in the past two years you've gained 43 pounds?" My quick retort was, "well, actually, do you realize in the past 4 1/2 years I've gained 128 pounds?" She blinked hard. (I think it's a safe bet she isn't very good at playing poker.)

I left her office with an order for blood work (in addition to my 50th birthday present -- yep, you guessed it. The procedure affectionately known as the Roto-Rooter exam at our house. But hey, at least I don't feel guilty when I pass those huge COLONOSCOPY billboards anymore). I'm embarrassed to say I delayed another week before going to the lab to get the bloodwork done. But I finally did -- shout out to Orem Community Hospital's lab techs!!! Two days later, my doctor called in a prescription for thyroid medication. Whaddaya know!! My thyroid had gone AWOL. (Of course, I don't lay all the blame on a renegade thyroid. The heavier I got, the less comfortable I was moving around, so exercise and activity went out the window. My eating habits also turned more towards comfort food than energy food.)

Thanks to the My Health link at Intermountain.net, I've checked the results of my lab work and started educating myself on what all the numbers mean. I also, off the cuff, mentioned to my mom that I was now taking thyroid meds. She said, 'oh, yeah, your dad's thyroid shut down on him in his forties and he took thyroid meds the rest of his life. Don't you remember when he got so heavy when you were in high school?' Come to think of it... yes, I remember. The next thing she said was, 'call your sister. Find out which thyroid medicine she's taking. She's been on it for a few years now.' Conclusion? The gene pool I swim in has thyroid issues in the water.

My dad took up jogging once his thyroid fizzled out. To get the weight back off, he would drop us off at early-morning seminary and run laps at the high school track. My sister also took up running. I've taken a different tactic. In addition to popping my daily thyroid pill, I'm doing the 100-day Heart Challenge... and fully expect my new trainer to kick my obese derriere all over the Wellness Center two days a week for the next 14 weeks. It isn't going to be pretty. Can't say I'm looking forward to it. But I can say I'm committed to it.

Cleanup on Aisle 9 . . .

...and on aisle 12, 16 and every other aisle I used to shop on in the grocery store.

Today I went grocery shopping for the first time since beginning the 100 day Heart Challenge. Wow! What a different experience. After cleaning out my fridge in an attempt to throw out temptations, I headed to the grocery store with a very different grocery list in my hands. No baking items on the list (in my other life I have a food blog dedicated to baking), no breakfast cereals, no sweet treats, no chips. Instead I ended up spending more time in the produce section than I have in years (yeay me!). There were certain aisles I avoided altogether, and others I longingly looked at as I walked by. But... walk by them I did. So I guess that's progress.

Tonight's dinner didn't come out of a box nor was it delivered by someone expecting a tip. It was served up by the produce section of my local grocery store. I threw together a pseudo-stir-fried/steamed vegetable dish with chicken, red peppers, green beans, broccoli, carrots, snow peas and a sprinkling of slivered almonds. If I do say so myself, it was pretty good.

While I suspect I will have serious withdrawals, I've decided not to tempt fate by perusing my favorite baking blogs. I'm going to have to put my focus on developing new eating and cooking habits. So... the computer is on the austerity plan and the fridge is now stocked with entirely different food items.

The next big change will be the daily workouts. I meet with my trainer for the first time tomorrow afternoon.