Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Got This On My Mind: FIT

Had a GREAT weekend, even if little sleep was had. Time enough for sleeping in the grave I say. I had meant to take lots of pics for you, but I am not, it seems, a photographer. Here's the one I took. That's my friend Jinx. And the Naptown Sirens. Can you tell, in either case? No. You cannot.

Thanks to Allie Gator, from the Mad Rollin Dolls, who wrote Joan of Dark and I asking if we were coming down to Brew-haha, I ended up in Milwaukee on Sunday, watching some of the best Derby I'd ever seen. In the space of answering her letter, I went from "Well, no, I gig Saturday night, Joan is in Indiana, what are we meant to do, fly her up here and drive all night?" to "What a FABULOUS idea!"

We went for it. It was barking mad, and shouldn't have worked, but it did, and I am glad of it. Beyond inspired, seeing skating like that. Sirens, Belles, Dolls, MN Roller Girls: Thank you. Needed that. I know what I'm working for, and I know what I want. I want to be that FIT and skate that well. I love you all and someday, I really want to hit you. (did I just hear a mass "That's what she said"???

Here's me, Allie Gator and Joan of Dark, before Allie's Bout.
When I started Blogging last August about getting FIT, I told you: No more secrets. It was all going out there. The good, the bad, the wins and the FAIL.

Got a FAIL going on now, and in the hopes it might help me get over it, I'm writing a bit now. I'm doing GREAT on the workouts. Skate three times a week, doing sports training with some of my teammates twice a week, seeing Little Evil privately an hour a week but I'm not eating right.

Sure, I know HOW, it ain't rocket science. And I can cook, really well. I cook for my Boss, Vegan, healthy meals that belong on a cooking show, those salads are so pretty (if I do say so myself) and I do pretty good in the daytime, but I am mucking up far too often. But I'm not doing it for myself.

It's too easy to think (or NOT think) "Chips won't hurt, oh look, chocolate, ah, hello pasta..." when I get home so tired and late. I'm mucking up and not liking this about myself. I don't quit or fail in the workouts, but I have a trainer, or teammates there right beside me. I don't have anyone cooking for me, saying: Here is your dinner, this is what you GET.

I'm telling you so I can look this in the eye and beat it. The reason I am not losing weight is I am not eating right. Must have BEEN doing it right, down 35 pounds since August, and yes, it DOES take a long time, but I've been hanging out here now for a couple of months now and nothing is happening.

And it's my ownself failing.

I need to think about this 24/7 and I need it to start happening.

Allie posted this on Twitter this morning, and it is that simple, and this true. And so damm hard to DO. But when you want something more than anything you've ever wanted, there has to be a way to reach down into yourself and Make It Happen.

"In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, & effort. -Jesse Owens"

There. That's out.

I want my dreams to come true. And I want it to start happening NOW.

Love and Dreams into Reality,
Lorraine

142 Comments:

At 09:18 Anonymous Erin U. said...

Hello Pizza! Eating right is so difficult.

It's crippling to be tired and need to eat. Prepared food, which is usually not great for you, is so easy... so alluring... so insidious. It is the one thing I haven't been able to overcome.

I have been carrying an apple and a banana in my purse like pepper spray...my weapon against snacky-hunger.

My heart feels for you!

At 09:20 Anonymous Anonymous said...

You can do this, Q. Sometimes, it helps to just...not keep that stuff in the house. Buy it only if company's coming. I don't know if that's feasible, but removing the temptation (at least for now) might help.

If you get quick stuff you can just throw together that's still healthy, it will help when you're exhausted but starving. Something like whole grain pitas (slice off the top, make a giant pocket) stuffed with scallions, low fat cheese, shredded carrot and/or shredded radishes. You can either mix in a little bit of low fat Ranch (if you make it yourself, with the packets and low fat mayo, it's MUCH healthier) or a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It takes five minutes to toss together, and it's healthy.

A friend of mine used to eat an apple before every meal. That way, even if she was having something unhealthy, she would be inclined to eat less of it.

If you like, I can email you some fairly health recipes to try. Sometimes, preparing stuff for the week (on the weekend, if you can manage it) helps, too. That way, you come home and eat. Or heat up stuff.

I know that a lot of the problem is contingent on time, because you do so much -- and you're here, there, and everywhere.

But Lorraine? For what it's worth, even with the Eating Fail -- you look fantastic. Your hair is wonderful. And I love that shirt you have on the picture. You'll push through this problem. *shakes pom-poms* I promise.

Sending love! ~Ali

At 09:32 Blogger Cecily said...

Blogger hates me trying ONE MORE TIME

At 09:37 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Don't forget that you are putting on muscles and these are heavier than fat. And you are looking GREAT!

Having said that:
- Do not buy/keep dangerous stuff at your house. You don't need it. Purge your cupboards (give away dangerous stuff to a food bank).
- When you have the time, prepare some healthy meals that you can keep in the fridge or freeze (soups are great for this)
- Have plenty of fruits - when everything fails and you are just too tired or too hungry to cook or even reheat something, they can be there for you. You cna snak on them regularly in order to avoid food crraving too.
- Eat slowly, so the benefit of food reaches your brain cells quicker than the excessive bits you might already have swallowed if eating fast (don't I know that problem!!!)
- Keep a diary of what you eat. Twit it or blog it. With pictures even better! Having to go public help realizing how much or how often you are eating. (I know this does wonders to curb my snacking attacks).

At 09:40 Blogger Cecily said...

(OK...let's see how much of this long comment I can remember)

There are two women I know that when they say they are going to do something, I am damn sure it's going to get done. My sister-out-law, and you. YOU CAN DO IT.

What you need to do is figure out some sort of method to help make it easier. Like you could make a list of seven meals for the week. (shop for those meals and don't get the tempting extras) The meals should be easy and sound appealing. Don't pick which days you will have them on so that you don't ever feel like "ugh, is that what's to eat today?"

Examples:
Currant and walnut salad
apple slices with peanut butter and cottage cheese
Minestrone soup (from a can)
rice and chicken (or tofu)

Some of these things can be premade and kept in the fridge. But anything on the list should be easy enough to make so when you come home exhausted you can still manage it. And part of the beauty of the list, is when you come home so exhausted you can't even think well enough to figure out WHAT you want to eat, you will have already thought of things.

Also, DO NOT GO ALL DAY WITHOUT EATING. It is extremely bad for you. With all of the exercising you are already doing and rapid calorie burning, if you aren't eating 4-7 times a day, you body is freaking out on you when you do it and trying to store everything put in it. Snacking is a MUST. It doesn't have to be a lot, just something to keep your metabolism going so it never hits panic storage mode.

Also, (((HUGS)))

At 09:47 Blogger Cecily said...

OH! Something my acupuncturist told me too...when eating raw foods, one should drink tea with them. She says in Chinese Medicine it is very important to always eat cooked foods, and if you are eating raw to drink tea so the tea 'cooks' it in the stomach. It apparently makes the digestion better, which in turn makes the body happier. I have gone back and forth on that piece of knowledge, but I thought I would pass it along in case it rang true for you!

At 09:48 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Thank you my Dears, this is what I needed. Some supportive ass kicking and ideas.

One thing, the shirt is a generic tank, it just opted for a curvy pic. Go figure.

I will do this, I want to look like the women I saw this weekend. Solid muscle they were. I want to skate like them and I can't do this FAT.

At 09:52 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Of course, you will!
I have perfect and absolute trust in you.

At 10:40 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

You have done more since August than I have managed to do my whole life. A lot of times, you are my inspiration. I have been working out every day for the past week, and a lot of it is because I see how far you have gone and how much you have worked.

At 10:41 Anonymous Erin U said...

Q, you can totally do this!

Just remember, eating something unhealthy isn't a fail if you only do it once in awhile. Sometimes you just need a slice of pizza and not the whole pie. :-)

And Nathalie is right, muscle is heavier than fat. So, don't let your body trick you into thinking nothing is "happening."

(Blogger doesn't like me today. It won't let me sign in...)

At 11:06 Anonymous Allie Gator said...

I'm currently struggling with the same issue - food/diet. It's so easy to get into a food rut and eat the same old easy, quick, comfortable foods. we ordered a pizza last night, bad Gator. Food will always be my Achilles heel. I'm an emotional/bored eater. But I'm going to go see a nutritionist in a couple weeks. I'm going to start tracking what I eat so I can go in information and have a good plan. I've started talking to my teammates about what they do. Baby carrots, love them, great snack.
And I agree with “Spacedlaw” – if you haven’t already, purge your cabinets at home. Stock them with healthy ingredients and snacks. Whole grains, no HFCS, lots of green – you know the drill. Soups or big one pot meals are great, easy to make and eat all week long.
You’re doing great, stick with it. I’ll make ratatouille when I come up. (my version at least)

At 12:02 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Blogger won't let me log in...it's me, Chantrelle!

First off, you look AMAZING. The hair really looks good on you!! (and the FIT of course!)

And to echo everyone else. If it's not in the house, you can't eat it.

I find myself eating far, far better during my CSA season because that's what's in my fridge, fresh, local veggies. The quickest thing I have to grab for lunch is a big salad. I'll also cook up chicken and keep some leftover int he fridge for the next couple of days but throw the rest, sliced up, in the freezer to defrost and toss on salad in chunks. It's not as good as when i first cooked it but it's fast and easy.

Having said that, i've already had pasta twice this week just for convenience so....*sigh*.

I have at least 6 ladies interested in what I'm now calling "Derby without Doctors". :) I have to organize it now which i am TERRIBLE at. Call the roller rink for hours and cost of renting...call around and find out who carries skates locally, if anyone.

I need a Fabulous one to set this up for me!

At 12:20 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ergh...Blogger ate my nice long comment.

The Cliffs Notes version is: figure out how to make the good stuff more convenient than the bad stuff.

-Arwenn

At 12:35 Blogger Marjorie said...

Don't lose sight of the huge progress you've already made - you are so much fitter and stronger , and have already lost a lot of weight!

I was going to suggest making meals ahead of time and freezing them, too.

that way, you can make a big batch of something (curry, f'rinstnace) when you have the time, and when you come home hungry and tired you don't have to think about what to cook.

Also, lots of fruit and raw veggies for almost instant snacking.

Also - while i agree with the purging unecessary stuff, you may find that it is helpful to allow yourself some trears but in smaller quantities - for example, fun-size chocolate bar rather than full size.

Pasta etc,,. are not bad per se, it's the sauces, or sheer bulk, which may be an issue.

If you are trying to reduce the volume you it is worth getting smaller sized dishes. It makes the helpings look bigger and folls your brain into thinking you've eaten more.

Vinegar helps suppress appetite so a small salad with a vingegary dressing, at the start of your meal, may help.

And remember it takes about 20 minutes from when you eat for your stoomach to notice, so if you atill feel hungry after eating, make yourself wait 20 minutes before eating anything else.

Most of all - believe in yourself. You can do this. You ARE doing this!

At 13:22 Anonymous Erin U said...

And now for the "woo woo" advice! :-)

Use blue dishes and bowls. I saw some program a couple of years ago that talked about how color stimulates or suppresses appetite. Apparently, blue is a suppressing color while red and other bright/fun colors are stimulating.

I have no idea if this is true. I tried it but my blue plate was very large! LOL. So, not terribly helpful.

At 14:03 Blogger Jaime said...

Random thought - which may have been mentioned in comments already but if I read all the comments first I'll be all distracted by the shiny, awesome ideas from fiends (I love them all. Marvelous people - wise and fabulous. *hugs, love and glitter!)

SO! Wait, where was I? Oh yeah! Random thought - yes. You are eating poorly. Stop that, Quiche! *does the dreaded scolding finger wag!

People have weaknesses and addictions. Food is one of those that is SO difficult because we NEED it and we can justify what we eat in so many ways.

I've tried to change how I think about eating - so... say you go to derby practice. It's hard. You're sweaty and stinky and a tad bit euphoric.

Afterwards, do you grab a wet wipe and wipe down Iraqi Freedom style or do you take a shower?

While the baby wipe might seem like a reasonable idea since you're tired and a bit sore and that bathroom is AWFULLY far away, you generally shower so you feel clean.

When you eat or drink something, it's like an internal shower. Do you wanna wallow in the mud and have that all over your insides or do you wanna eat well and have the insides performing as well as your outsides are looking?

Without the right fuel, you can't ride, skate, lift, LIVE.

Clean your outsides and your insides. Drink your water, eat healthy, no guilt. NO GUILT!!!!!

Cheat days are acceptable. If not for a latte in my life, someone would die on Monday mornings.

If you wouldn't wanna serve it to your friends or your boss? Don't serve it to yourself.

I love you. I wanna see you bout. I wanna see you MVP of a bout!!! I wanna scream "QUIIIIIICHE!!!!" from the sidelines and frantically snap your picture as you scream around the track.

Eat right. Skate hard. Make memories.

No guilt!

Mad love and healthy food!
~me!

At 15:50 Blogger Phiala said...

Hey, blogger is working again!

Here's my two cents:

Make yourself an account at fitday.com (free) and use it. It will let you track your workouts and what you eat, including nutrition. Tracking inputs and outputs is a good thing, says the scientist. As hard as you're working out, you want to make sure you don't eat too little either: it will mess up your body and make you more likely to eat the unhealthy things.

Better yet, you can make sure your carbs/fat/protein proportions are in the right zone, and figure out how and where to make compromises so you can happily eat things that you like and crave without messing up the overall plan. An occasional donut (or whatever your weakness is) is NOT A BAD THING as long as you eat it intentionally, and adjust elsewhere to compensate.

Eating things you like makes you happy, especially if you know that doing so doesn't interfere with the FIT.

At 16:17 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I have nothing to add to the wonderful advice already given. I am seriously considering printing out all the comments so I have reminders myself.

At 16:36 Blogger Kelly McCullough said...

Some of it is the transition to spring I think. In our part of the world that seems to change everything, at least for a little while. I've fallen off the food wagon pretty bad myself the last two weeks, and need to get back on. I've still got pounds that need to go away.

At 17:12 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Figured out a Plan with my Boss. Whatever I make for HIS dinner, I'm taking a pod of it home for MY dinner.

Have a GREAT bean/veggie/Tofu/Quinoa salad on deck for post practice starving-ness.

I love all the love here! I will do better, see? How could I not with all of you watching me and cheering for me. I'll make you proud!

At 17:40 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I bought skates!!!! And pads and laces w/ skulls. :)

At 17:40 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Oooh, i could post as *me*...now ticky box.

HI!

At 18:05 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Right there with you, but without all the exercise. Stress eating to the max.

Cute hair!

Will blogger let me comment this time? Let's see shall we?

At 19:27 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

I don't know if it'll make you feel better, but you look like crazy stunning with your new haircut.

At 21:15 Blogger Jess said...

I like your Pod Plan. It is a fair and wise plan. Chef ought to get some of the good stuff she makes.

At 21:19 Blogger DataGoddess said...

*tick*

At 21:38 Blogger Pi R Squared said...

If it's not there, one can't eat it.

Apples and almonds and carrots? Check!

Don't get down, you are doing great and looking fantastic...

(Love the hair!)

You have an understanding and helpful boss too!

At 01:39 Blogger vampi said...

tickadoodledoo

At 06:46 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

GOOD MORNING FIENDS!

What are we doing today? Taking over the world? Perhaps. Need more coffee first.

At 06:48 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

I just finished my coffee and would like to take over the world now.

At 07:33 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Getting ready for the afternoon storm (we have one a day this week).
I have a splitting headache too.

At 07:49 Blogger Phiala said...

It's not going to rain today! The sun is out! I finally made a car appointment! Let's take over the world!

Just let me finish my coffee first.

At 09:48 Blogger Jess said...

I'ma go buy me some coffee, then contemplate the rest of you guys taking over the world while I sit and drink it. Sound good?

At 09:52 Blogger vampi said...

I think so, Brain, but if we give peas a chance, won't the lima beans feel left out?

At 10:34 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Today I am working 8+ hours, then going home to make myself dinner, then writing while bf Alex is banished to work. And, probably going to do lots of reading. My apartment complex has a lending library, so I've been grabbing lots of cooking magazines and books. I'm also going to do my wii fit workout.

Also, one thing I think has been helping me not overeat is that I have the stuff to make homemade ramen in the fridge, so when I need something real quick, I just boil the noodles, make the broth, and throw in things like bean sprouts and corn. Quick dinner! It keeps me from picking up bad foods on the way home.

At 10:47 Blogger Roxanne said...

You can do it. You really can. I am doing it. And, if I can do it, you can, too.

One thing that has helped me is that I have stopped purchasing snacky-type foods. I simply don't allow myself to buy that candy or that ice cream (I LOVE ice cream) or those cookies, etc. If it's not in the house, I can't eat it. A nice side effect of this is that I save money, too. Believe it or not, I am actually getting used to not eating goodies. It's a habit like any other. And good eating can become a habit. Now, when I walk into a convenience store, I find that there is nothing in there for me to eat. It is all junk.

Also, I am doing this program called Naturally Slim. It has online video classes once a week. One important thing I have learned is about something called "H2Orange": that's 7 parts water to 1 part orange juice. Sounds gross. It's not. Drink it first thing in the morning, instead of eating a breakfast first thing. We dehydrate while sleeping and lose 2 lbs. of water. After drinking my H2Orange, I feel like a million bucks. (It also helps stabilize that blood sugar that dropped over night.)

Second important thing I have learned is to only eat *when* *I* *am* *hungry.* Really hungry, not just an "I could eat" kind of feeling. On a scale of 1-4, a Level 3 hungry. It is fascinating that, at my age, I have never really thought of when I am *really* hungry. And then you eat just until you are comfortably full. Not stuffed. Not uncomfortable.

The stomach is only the size of a loosely held fist. Hold up your hand and make a fist. Now look at all of the food on your plate. That in and of itself should make you feel a little sick.

You can do this. You don't want diabetes or heart disease. I can't believe how hard you have been exercising. Cutting out the crap is just another piece of the puzzle.

Take care,
Roxanne

At 11:04 Blogger Jaime said...

Definitely need more coffee to face the day. I'm contemplating open skate tonight - but it's been hard to get myself out to skate as often as before, with my sweetie getting ready to deploy. Arrrgh.

Finding the balance when there are changes upcoming in life is rough!

Hope your salad was wunnerful last night!

At 15:40 Blogger Precision Grace said...

I have two words for you: protein and soup. ok, that was three words but you get my meaning. Also. Important. If there are NO chips or chocolate in the house then you can't eat them. I have these soups in sachets made by a well known chef /ok made by factory to his recipes that are sooo yummy and take two minutes including the time it takes to boil a kettle. Trust me, soup rocks. And make salads for yourself too. Some lettuce, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, few olives and lots of virgin olive oil. Or egg instead of cheese. Or tuna from the tin. Or mackerel from the tin. Or... it all takes 5 minutes and no effort. and is super yummy. You can do this!!!

PS half a lemon in hot water first thing in the morning is AWESOME for fat metabolism.

All right, that's me done. Hugs all around. Going back to my syuper busy life, wish I had time to read all the comments :(

At 17:11 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Good plan for dinner Q! I'm just trying to catch up from yesterday's blogger suckiness.

Working the new contract job yesterday and today. I really like having a job that's what i'm good at again. Although it really is taking away from my ability to update FoodPorn! I'll figure it all out eventually.

We pick hubby up from the airport friday...we've missed him! Only gone 9 days but i like having him around ;-)

I need to pick up some moleskin for my skates until their broken in. The heel is really stiff (like new hiking boots) and they hurt my achilles tendon, especially if i brake w/ the stopper brake dealy. I'm sure more things will hurt once I start really using them!!

At 18:29 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Has the world been taken over while I slept? Didn't hear anything about a Fiendish plot on the news so I'm presuming it wasn't.

At 18:32 Blogger vampi said...

sally, we are the media...

At 18:53 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Didn't exactly take over the world, but made some progress.

Had a long talk with Little Evil during the workout tonight about why the heck I am mucking this up all the time, which went really well. I like laying things out in the open and I'm not afraid of saying I need help.

And I do.

I know HOW to eat. I am a stellar cook. I know what to do.

We have plans now, things will get better. Apparently after about 35 pounds, workouts can only take you that far. Now I gotta eat right.

And get on the scale with her every week. ACK! No possible WAY I am going to fail, not in front of her. Putting it out in public.

Therein lies the strength to DO.

At 19:04 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

I'm definitely not in the same position but I can certainly say I really, really hate scales. They freak me out.

At 06:56 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

WAKE UP! I am here. And lonely.

And had stressy dreams all night. Then woke up and worried about work.

At 07:13 Blogger Phiala said...

Morning Q. I,m in the coffeeshop drinking coffee (duh), reading stuff for work, answering email.

I'm sorry you're stressed about work. We could compare notes...

At 08:32 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Awake? Not sure if I can manage awake. I thought I slept well enough last night, but it sure doesn't feel like it now.

I hate it when stress dreams just add to our daytime worries. That whole "wish fulfillment" theory was bollocks. Wouldn't it be nice if it were true though? We could go to bed and say, "tonight I wish I were on a picnic with fascinating people on a sunny day by the lake" and then go to sleep and dream that.

Lordy, I need coffee. I really miss being able to have coffee at my desk. As it is, I suspect the morning break will have to come very early today.

Hope your day improves.

At 08:34 Blogger Marjorie said...

Good Morning Q.

Sorry you're stressed. There must be something in the air. I@m strssing over a bunch of work-related stuff at present. Stabby-level VERY high.

This week has gone on long enough and I want it to be Friday.

In more cheerful news, have you seen these? Wonderful Doctor Who art. (I know we mentioned them on twitter but not everyone may have seen them...)

I shall soon have them on my walls :-)

At 08:48 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Pretty cool art, I say.

It's just a weird stressy time, it ebs and flows, ought to settle down next week, I am thinking. Hoping.

Apparently, we get to push sleds across the room in sports training tonight. That'll settle a girl down.

At 09:02 Blogger dabbler said...

Definitely in the air, this stressy thing...me too! And my poor hubby has it in spades. One of those bosses who thinks the answer to things not going well is to find someone to blame.....it HAS to be someone's fault.

I'm just trying to figure out where my practice vanished to... I had a busy busy first quarter....and now things have dried up. No real way to figure out why. These things have their own flow, but I wish the bills would follow the same flow.

Keep breathing!

At 09:02 Blogger dabbler said...

tick

At 09:13 Blogger Cecily said...

I'm awake, I'm awake! *fumbles* ok not quite yet...did someone mention caffeine...?

At 09:14 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Been doing scientific reading on the Discovery.com website. Informative stuff there.

At 09:19 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

No, no coffee, we're doing Animal mating rituals. That'll wake you up.

At 09:21 Blogger Jane said...

So much good advice re eating well - and the plan of take home what you cooked for Boss - that is a fantastic idea.

Weighing in with LE is a good idea - I know when I did WW that the weekly weigh-in was a big motivator - also the counting food points was very helpful, not to mention eye-opening in terms of what one is actually eating.

There is no way you won't succeed at this - look at all you've accomplished so far!

At 09:22 Blogger Jane said...

I'm still caffeinating...

Katie, I can't believe there aren't loads of people out there needing your services - people are nuts! (to use a technical term)

At 09:29 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I will win this one. I am very sure of it. Just one more step in the process.

Katie, what do you do? And do you live near me? REALLY need a nice women to come and make dinner for me every night and then maybe sit in the hot tub.

At 09:32 Blogger Cecily said...

"No, no coffee, we're doing Animal mating rituals. That'll wake you up."

Should I be ashamed or amused that this did in fact wake me up slightly?

At 09:38 Blogger One Sock Short said...

We *really* need to get that Fiend Commune going. Even if some of us could only be part-year residents, there would be a steady rotation of Fiendish cooks.

I'm not so much for hot tubs, but I do have (and love!) Isa's "Appetite for Reduction", which Boss just recently plugged on Twitter.

At 09:41 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Great book! I am making lots of stuff for him out of it. Also Angelicas Kitchen.

Love this Vegan/Veggie eating.

At 09:41 Blogger Cecily said...

I'm down with communal living, but I grew up living communally and have a good background for how it works, and how it doesn't work.

Also, hot tub, MUST. :-)

At 09:54 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I do love hot tubs...and you know I can cook! Not sure what to do about your weather and my family though ;)

I did the veggie...or nearly veggie...thing for years. Big fan of lentils and quinoa for yummy protein sources. I was never fuly vegetarian though, I ate fish so if I was feeling deficient, I'd have a sushi dinner :-) Just one of the reasons Boss and I got along!

At 10:42 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Good morning, good morning!

I had lots of weird stress dreams right at the end of the semester a couple of weeks ago. I hope they go away, and from now on you only have sexy-time and calming-time dreams.

At 12:46 Blogger LihuaEmily said...

Hope you're feeling better now, Quiche.

At 13:34 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Know what's hard? Sitting on a gym ball (my desk chair) with roller skates on!

At 14:59 Blogger Marjorie said...

I hope your day has improved, Madame MeDeadly.

At 16:30 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Well, I do feel fine, been kind of a non stop day, but I didn't have to kill anyone.

Off to the team sports training thing. Sled pushing and all.

At 20:22 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Brown rice. Fake chicken patty. Brocolii. Salsa. Freaking healthy.

That sports training stuff is freaky evil. Freaking freak freak.

Yeah. Nearly killed me.

Want hot tub. Suspect I will sleep tonight.

At 23:40 Blogger ariandalen said...

It's good that you will sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, you won't lose weight.

A little bit, say 1-2 oz., of 60% or higher cacao chocolate daily is good for you. We're talking the size of 1 Ghirardelli chocolate square. Chocolate has flavonoids, which help fight off bad things, like cancer. (Not pushing any particular brand of chocolate, just using Ghirardelli as a portion reference.)

Mushrooms are apparently good for upping metabolism. Bananas are, too, especially first thing in the morning.

When I was pregnant with Ariane and had gestational diabetes, I was told to plan meals and snacks 2-3 days in advance. Worked well, didn't have to think about what I was going to eat when I got tired because I'd already planned it out, yet still had room for going out occasionally. Had to enforce portion size, too. Even ate pizza, though made on a small whole wheat tortilla or pita, with toppings I weighed/measured out. Single serve pizzas can be made with English muffins, too. I haven't tried it, but I'll bet you could make several at a time and freeze them.

Whether you start out focusing on exercise or diet, everybody reaches a weight plateau.

At 23:54 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I used to make mini pizzas a lot with muffins as a base. Delicious and healthy (my toppings were, anyway) and so easy just to throw in the oven.

Wish I could find a good gluten, dairy and egg free muffin to use now.

At 08:13 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Good Morning!!! Lots going on. Brought all the plants IN last night and now I have to take them OUT again.

Never stops.

I did buy them their own POTS and will attempt POTTING them this weekend.

Big plans going on here.

I have an article due in 3 days, you see, and I will do ANYTHING rather than write the thing.

At 08:25 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Typical...

At 12:14 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

One of my coworkers gave me dying office plants. I've had them for three days, and I've managed not to kill them, yet.

Between me and the cats, I don't have much hope for them.

At 16:24 Blogger Kat said...

Echo echo echo to the "muscle weighs more than fat" and the "clear cabinets of worst foods" comments.

Here, look at this. From my kick-ass friend Batty:

http://www.batty.us/2011/05/what-5-lbs-of-fat-actually-looks-like/

and: http://www.batty.us/2011/01/be-strong-not-skinny/

Also, if the pasta is a crutch, just get the less-bad pasta (whole grain, etc.) and use less of it -- but top it with lots of fresh and easy veggies, like zucchini and tomatoes.

Not that I am FIT. Far from it. My problem isn't food choices so much as beer. But at least I am cycling regularly now.

Just ... don't be a slave to the scale. Make healthy choices because they make you FEEL good.

As an aside, is Boss vegan?

At 16:38 Anonymous Wendy Withers said...

Kat!

Thank you for sharing that! I don't think I've ever realized how big 5 lbs of fat is.

I think I've already become too obsessed with what my weight is, because the wii fit weighs me every day during a body test.

At 18:16 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Thanks, Kat! Boss is def Veggie now, and mostly Vegan, but not obsessive about that bit. He just eats REALLY healthy.

I'm not obsessed about the scale, but I need to lose weight in order to skate and ride as well as I want to.

And I really, really want to be solid muscle and really really HOT. (yes, I mean hotter than I AM now, women need to start throwing themselves at me)

At 19:03 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Gee, I'm glad I wasn't eating when I looked at that blog Kitty, but wow - what a lesson it was.
If anything will make me want to cut out the crappy food, that photograph will.

At 19:15 Blogger DataGoddess said...

*throws self at Ms. Medeadly*

At 21:04 Anonymous Kat said...

Yeah, hell of a thing, both those posts of batty's. Cool about Boss; I did not know that about him.

*throws self at Quiche*

I am totally still willing to take that wife gig, you know. ;)

At 07:22 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hang on a few days with the throwing yourselves at me. Cramps do not make for feeling sexy.

At 12:24 Blogger ariandalen said...

Cramps do not help with the feeling sexy, but sex helps ease the cramps.

Personally, I'd like to achieve menopause before Ariane reaches menarche, but I don't think that's going to happen. ::sigh::

At 17:39 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Cleaned my house. I know, I know, never ends well. But it was that or write this article, so I went for it. Doesn't look BAD at all. More or less.

At 18:21 Blogger Cecily said...

I don't care how much sex helps with cramps, when I am crampy I am NOT feeling sexy enough for sex.

At 20:21 Blogger Jess said...

My cramps are sexier than your cramps. And my tits are at least three times the size they were an hour ago.

At 23:16 Blogger Beez said...

*extolls the Miracle Of Menopause*

WOOOOOO!!!!!!

heheheheheh. I am old, and NOT CRAMPY

At 23:53 Blogger ariandalen said...

I'm old, and I'm not generally crampy. I also have yet to achieve menopause. I haven't even had a heavy flow day in at least 4 years. I'm just tired of dealing with it.
::shrug:: It'll happen eventually.

Muscle relaxants help with cramps, too.

At 08:30 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

GOOD MORNING!!!!!

Cold, rainy and one of the Bengals just puked up breakfast. Joy, Sunday.

At 08:35 Blogger Marjorie said...

Good Morning! (It's afternoon here, and inyermittently sunny, but the principle is the same..)

At 08:51 Blogger Phiala said...

Good morning! Here it is very hot and humid. Or rather humid now, heading toward very hot, and hotter tomorrow.

I gave up on expanding the garden bed - far too wet - and planted stuff in the existing space. Hooray!

Now I am in the coffeeshop poking at this *(#)&$(*&# novel. Who thought writing would be a fun thing to do?

At 09:09 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Writing ain't fun when you have to do it. I think that's how you know you are a writer, when you HAVE to do it.

At 10:07 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Good morning!

Looks like we have sun today...rainy yesterday. Spring just won't come for us!

We went to see the Billy Nayer Show concert last night with ben and the poor guy barfed on the way into the show. It was in a cafe so we actually stayed a while so he could have some peppermint tea and settle his stomach. So at least we got to see some of the show even though it was with ben in my lap! He was sick one more time in the night but hopefully he's on the mend. We'll find out. He's having some oatmeal and applesauce for breakfast. Really really don't like having a sick kid :(

At 11:51 Blogger AletaMay said...

Hi!

Missed a lot here!

Have I said yet that I love the new hair Q? Because I do. It is lovely.

Dear Fiends. I have a job interview on Tuesday. Please send good thoughts!

Tick!

At 11:59 Blogger Marjorie said...

Good Luck, Aleta!
(what kind of job is it?)

At 12:02 Blogger Cecily said...

Good vibes coming your way Aleta!

At 12:07 Blogger Phiala said...

For the fast and easy and reasonably healthy recipe options, I've been eating a lot of this lately, or rather a simpler version.

Ten minutes total, one pan. Green leafy veg, carbs, protein and tasty. Vegetarian but not vegan, though it could easily be. You'd need to sub in a different protein source.

Here's my version, with annotations for the non-cook.

Ingredients

Fresh spinach (easiest: comes in big bags in the grocery, just rinse before using. For one person a third of a bag seems about right, which is a lot when raw but cooks down.)

Yellow mustard seed
Cumin seed
(Both entirely necessary to the success of this recipe, and very useful in other healthy vegetable recipes.)
Red pepper flakes or ground chiles if you like spicy food (optional)

Corn tortillas (two of the small ones makes a filling meal for one person, or you could use a single larger wheat one)

An egg
A bit of shredded cheese
(Sub in maybe tofu and avocado to get the protein and creaminess)

Let a heavy frying pan heat up while you rinse the spinach. Set it to medium-hot.

Put in a tiny bit of cooking oil, a half-teaspoon or so of cumin seeds and a teaspoon or so of mustard seeds. Let them toast for a bit. If the mustard starts popping they're done. Add the chile if you want it, and a pinch of salt.

Shake off the spinach and toss it in the pan. Stir occasionally until it's as cooked as you like it.

While it's cooking crack the egg into a bowl and mix it up.

When the spinach is cooked enough take it out of the pan into a bowl. If the pan is very wet inside either wipe it out or let it sit on the heat for a minute to dry off.

Put a tiny bit more oil into the pan, and pour in half the egg. Tilt the pan to spread it out into a circle the size of your tortilla.

Pop the tortilla straight onto the egg.

Let it cook briefly, until the top of the tortilla is hot to the touch. This is one case where it's good to squish the food occasionally.

When the top is hot, flip it over. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

As soon as the cheese melts, take it out of the pan. Fill with spinach. Eat.

Repeat with the second one.
This recipe favors eating immediately. Don't let the tortillas get cold.

(Guess what I had for lunch today? Oh, and dinner last night.)

At 12:56 Blogger dabbler said...

Yum, Phiala,
That sounds lovely!

I just invented a lentil salad to take to a picnic...lentils, leftover raita from last night's turkey curry (yogurt, shredded cucumber, cumin, mint)good bit of red pepper, more cumin, minced garlic, shredded carrots, more cucmber, couple of handfuls of roasted salted sunflower seeds and lemon juice. I like it, hopefully other people will too.

Happy Memorial Day to all, both those of you who have served, and those of us who have benefited.

At 12:57 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Good luck, Aleta. Thinking of you.

Had a lovely day out at a barbecue with a bunch of total strangers. Amazing.

At 17:20 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Morning Fiends
We have a beautiful sunny Monday morning here - great start to the week (nosiy concrete truck just pulled up and made Mulder into a barking fiend) - actually looks like a perfect autumn day for once.

Phiala - I am going to use that recipe with necessary adjustments, just the sort of quick meal I need for lunches.

Aleta - good luck for the interview.

At 18:26 Blogger Phiala said...

G'morning Sally!

Glad you like the recipe; it's pretty much infinitely tweakable to adapt to dietary constraints. Leafy green vegetables, spices, a protein source, a flat bread of some sort.

And Nick insists it requires bacon.

Almost dinner time: it's the time of year for the really good wild Alaskan salmon. Pricy, but oh...

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At 09:34 Blogger Siri said...

I'm not offering recipes, nor soccer jerseys.

I am saying thanks to all Vets (I'm looking at you, Lys) who served in ways great and small, even if they don't think they did anything major (I'm looking at you, CBG).

Happy Memorial Day all.

At 09:41 Blogger vampi said...

it is just amusing to me that the spam is turning into mad libs.

that recipe looks amazing, i sent it to boy and he is going to make it :)

At 12:38 Blogger Marjorie said...

It's awfully quiet round here. What's everyone doing with their long weekend?

At 12:53 Blogger Phiala said...

Making yarn into other colors, yard work, eating strawberries, catching up on Freak Angels.

All sorts of good things!

At 13:03 Blogger spacedlaw said...

I got a haircut and another ton of books.

At 13:09 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Trying to solve technology issues w/ my Mac and our Tivo...not having any success.

Mellow day today I think

Happy Memorial Day!

At 14:31 Blogger Jess said...

We went to the zoo and witnessed an otter doing things to himself that even an otter wouldn't do. And I finally got a photo of this billboard, which is surely a message of some kind.

Then I had a nap. Then I realised there'd been no coffee yet. Now I'm sitting here, typing at you all. Hello.

At 17:53 Blogger Na said...

woohoo on that bill board: they correctly capitalized Is! (says the editor who doesn't capitalize in social media.)

we had the Canadian May long weekend last week (Victoria Day). and over this weekend responded to a letter from the Chief Statistician of Canada, for the Canadian Census. this all still feels quite odd.

meanwhile, i'm addressing food issues in our home as well. beginning to talk a LOT to my family about what my guy buys at the grocery store, which invariably includes a lot of sugary/ salty/ food-additive-ridden stuff, or what the monsters choose for prizes at school, which is often candy. not good for any of us, probably worst for me. so we all went to the store this weekend, and came home with a lot more fruit and bread, and less junk. it's a start.

At 18:32 Blogger Stacy said...

Lorraine, don't beat yourself up. You fell off the wagon a bit and now it's time to get back in the saddle. (I mix my salads better than I mix my metaphors.) Just keep at it! We're here for you.

At 00:04 Blogger spacedlaw said...

"I mix my salads better than I mix my metaphors" would be GREAT on a T-shirt.

At 01:10 Blogger Dragonsally said...

I've been thinking the same thing Nathalie. We come up with some really good slogans here!

At 08:07 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I was working. And hunting Morels. Unsuccessfully, sadly. We found TWO. And 8 million stinging nettles. HATE stingnettles and don't tell me to eat them, these aren't that kind.

These just sting. Nasty buggers.

Need to do a new blog, don't I?

At 10:00 Blogger Jess said...

Yes.

How'd the article go in the end? Or shouldn't I ask? ;)

At 10:10 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Don't ask. Not done YET....

At 10:56 Blogger Chantrelle said...

So sleepy today. Won't ask about article. Just working and heading to rolfing soon.

It's raining and 50 degrees again. Can no one send the weather gods a calendar...and a map!? It doesn't rain here after April. That's the way it is. They are confused.

At 11:29 Blogger Jess said...

I retract the query.

Supposed to be finishing up the paint job on that new closet of ours today. See how motivated I am to get started?

At 18:10 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Its officially winter for us, and the sun is shining so brightly I've had to move the laptop to somewhere less glarey.
Why isn't glarey a word?

I love weather irony. Today is going to be the warmest day we've had for weeks.

At 23:06 Blogger AletaMay said...

Hi fiends! Job interview went well! Thanks for good vibes! Won't know if I get job or not for a couple of weeks but the experience was good.

Sally, we seem to go through all four seasons every week here these days. I think the Seasons Family are in some sort of feud.

At 23:33 Blogger Dragonsally said...

crossing fingers for interview result.

A feud in the seasons family makes sense, the weather has been so all over the place everywhere.

At 00:08 Blogger spacedlaw said...

That's good news, Aleta. Still keeping my fingers crossed for you.

How did it get to be JUNE already? Wasn't it like April, just the other day? And why I am already booking meetings in July?

At 08:53 Blogger Ms T said...

Meanwhile I'm wondering how 2 days of my 5 days off have already disappeared. What happened? I had plans!! Oh wait...it's stupid o'clock and I've just spent far too long trying to figure out how many craft classes I could get to at Handmade. That'll be it. :) (There was an Excel spreadsheet involved. I had to get Excel onto my laptop first. I'm weird that way.)

Oh well, at least I went for a walk today (I'm not quite at the stage where I feel brave enough to enlist my own Little Evil) and I avoided buying anything from the supermarket aisle of doom when I did the grocery shopping. Baby steps, fiends.

And Lorraine, you are an inspiration - struggles and all.

At 18:58 Blogger Chantrelle said...

it is awfully quiet around here.

At 08:03 Blogger Jane said...

Aleta May, sending good vibes re getting the job! Love your comment about all 4 seasons every week :-)

Waiting for the painter/new windows/multiple repairs person to come and give us an estimate of what it's going to cost - maybe I should go out and buy some new shoes before we get the estimate because after we get it, I won't think I can afford them :-( That wouldn't be wise, would it?

At 08:05 Blogger dabbler said...

Perhaps unwise, but oh, so tempting!

At 11:24 Blogger Jane said...

Yes, and this is my birthday week, so why not???

At 09:28 Blogger vampi said...

anyone in and around chicago july 5-7 & 12 and want to meet up let me know. i'll be in madison wi 7-12 for discworld con, also hoping some of you might be there. :)

*twirls*

you know, i appreciate my apartment building for keeping up repairs on the sprinkler system, but i dont like waking up with the water turned off :(

and i don't think i mentioned it before, but i love that jesse owen quote. very inspiring.

At 09:35 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Vampi - Yes!!! I can't go to the con, but I'd love to see you any of those dates in Chicago.

Qitou, how did I miss that it's your b'day week? Happy Birthday Week!

I went to my WW meeting this morning and got the cold, hard, numerical facts about how much I'm slipping backwards. I have got to Get It Together. I feel miserable.

At 17:32 Blogger Na said...

(metaphorically) keeping fingers crossed for you, Aleta!

this week my guy and i got to see U2 in concert!!! (we'd bought the tix for last year.) astoundingly great concert. the lads are consummate musicians and performers. the stage is the most elaborate thing you could imagine; Bono described it perfectly in referring to it as "madness". but they make it work. i last saw them in 1987; a lot's changed since then! i cried through some of the songs because they simply made me so, so happy.

tonight my guy is playing in a foosball tournament. silliness. i think it's a for-charity thing. and i think i'm taking monsters to a movie while he's at that. there might be pirates.

happy weekending all!

At 17:34 Blogger Na said...

{Sock} one can have neither progress nor setbacks without the other. deep breath, and step back on the path.

At 19:28 Blogger Marjorie said...

I've just spent a really lovely evening with my brother - discussing all sorts of things. Tomorrow I'll see him get his OU degree - very impressive.

What's e eryone else up to this weekend?

At 20:54 Blogger ariandalen said...

Ariane and Seren are now officially finished with third and first grades, respectively. Ariane has dance recital tomorrow afternoon. Then, on the 25th, we'll be going to Sea World in San Antonio with their Girl Scout troop.

We'll try not to damage each other in the meantime.

At 22:47 Blogger dabbler said...

Just spent the evening with the parents of my unofficial son, and his brother and girlfriend...lovely evening, but we appear to be out of wine....all the dinner was consumed, and there was much conversation....
Discursive, delightful and profound. The best sort of evening!

At 15:33 Blogger Fluffy said...

Greetings, Fiends! I've been keeping up as well as possible on FB, but decided to come in and see what everyone is REALLY up to...

Now that I've read everyone's comments I forgot what I was going to say. I guess I'm too tired after working outside in the heat.

1. Gorgeous hair 2. Cool recipe 3. Luck on jobs and other important things 4. Discworld convention, people!

At 22:40 Blogger Ms T said...

Happy Matariki fiends! (That's the Maori New Year.) Happy belated birthday Queen Lizzie! (It's a public holiday in NZ today.)

I had a great time at Handmade this weekend. I did sock knitting for beginners, and a printmaking workshop - so much fun. :) Oh, and somewhere in front of Te Papa (the National Museum) there is a tiny patch of my wonky blanket stitch that is helping to hold a crocheted blanket to a column. (Others did much, much more.)

At 23:04 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Happy Matariki to you Ms T.

Guerrilla knitting FTW - sounds like you are having a wonderful long weekend.

At 00:17 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Just got back from our friend Charlie's memorial. Amacker was there...one of those worlds collide friends. I figured out they knew each other the last time time I saw Charlie, in November at my cousin's birthday party. I tweeted a picture of Charlie and I to amacker. So glad I did that, it's the only picture I have of us. Who knew it would be the last time I saw him. He was barely older than me.

Live very day like it's your last. Tell people you love them.

I love you guys.

At 01:26 Blogger Dragonsally said...

((((((((((Robyn))))))))))

At 10:16 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New post is UP! And I need you.

At 12:43 Blogger Marjorie said...

Sitting in Colston Hall cafe, waiting to see JoCo & Paul & Storm show!

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This blog is very inspirational as you are not just telling the good but also the bad.

Will be bookmarking for more posts in the future. :)

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