Author: mc4119

can I really own this blog from a phone? For this trip, let’s give it a whirl yes? Need sleep now, in hopes that tomorrow I’ll actually pack my bathing suit and not a sweater.

Tick tock tick tick…we’re almost on our way…

Big adventure alert..headed to Croatia.  Croatia you say?  What in the holy hell are you up to?

Who knows what I am up to, but tomorrow I jump on an evening flight, Philadelphia to Munch and then on to Split Croatia.. where I will behold the Adriatic Sea for the first time and do some cycling for the next 5 days.

Wahooooo!!!

Tonight..packing, and maybe enjoying a few pre-vacation cocktails.. which means I will find myself in Croatia with no contact solution, maybe no underwear, and a sweater instead of a bathing suit..

Anyway, just brushing off the blog.

C’mon along…

 

Last post in May, so full of hope and measurable goals…and today, 7/29/16, the reconciliation of what I’m gonna do and what I did…oy, not so stellar.  Can’t even bear to write out what I did not accomplish.

But crown me the queen of “it’s never too late to start somewhere”.  Somewhere was last night on the track at Radnor HS.  So here is the goal for the next month in anticipation of my cycling trip in Croatia starting 8/28…

• Well, cycle, that would be helpful and seemingly common sense
• Lose 4-5lbs, less hauling of the ass and gut, gotta find a scale
• Write in this beautiful blog, do I dare commit to daily..
• And, don’t laugh, do planks for 30 continuous days
  • last night at the track was Day 1 / :60 seconds woop woop

That’s all for now, workie work calls..

 

So I am paying for the dang-a-lang domain name, why not use it!!

Latest mission…Half Iron race in July.  Rode my bike outside for the first time last night…so you get the drift of preparation eh?  But I really want to do it.  Swam through the winter, can knock out 1.5M swim with no problem…and no speed.  Should be able to grunt my way through 13.1 run.  And so why couldn’t I sandwich those efforts around a 56M bike ride.  Insert an emoji here that says, are ya crazy??!!

Anyway, training is underway…

Day 10 of the Whole30…and I cheated, just now.  I am a nervous gum chewer, the way some people chew a pen cap and don’t even realize until the whole conference room notes the destruction of your Bic, well that’s me with gum.  I can chomp away unknowing that I am giving Daisy the plow horse a run for her money on “chewing the cud”.  But today it was more about wanting to chew something, anything, that was different.  .

The no gum parameter makes sense, besides the fake and chemical nature of it, per the program, “Chewing sends a message to your body that food is coming. If you spend a lot of time chewing, but not eating, your body is going to get quite confused in its responses”.  I’m determined to complete the 30 day mission so I feel like I can control the hatfields and mccoys of taste messages and no food coming.

Big round about rationalization on my part, but that’s what I’m going with.. and it feels great to chomp away on something besides salad, chicken, beef.

On the plus side, while I won’t call it an epiphany, I am not craving a big bowl of mint choc. ice cream with cookies crunched on top.  In fact I asked myself today, “myself, do you really enjoy those bounding overflowing bowls?”  There was a noticeably softer response.

So anyway, 10 days in, hanging in there, still feeling good, and tucked a shirt in for the first time in forever.  Not that it looks good, but I tucked it in..

Off for a run, 🏃

Week 1 has passed and we’re into Week 2.

Overall I cannot deny that I feel better.  Less sludgey, less fleshy, which feels good.  On the flip side I am still longing for certain food, not so much craving, but truly longing.  For example, tonight was a yummy breast of chicken, chopped vegetables, an avocado, all good, but a few tostitos would have been great.  And the orange for dessert was also very flavorful, but no match for a bowl of ice cream.

Also missed a cocktail this weekend, but no cheats.

This week the goal is to branch out a little more on the menu and really step up the exercise.  Last week was light.

Gotta run

Today.. not so flush with enthusiasm.  I’m cranky and want to eat what I want.  My gym was offering soft pretzels this afternoon…and it killed me to walk passed them.  Really want a diet soda and a sandwich.

Clearly I am in withdraw mode.  No cheating.

Did feel lean in my swim suit again, but that was the only rush that occurred; the swim was otherwise anemic!!  And today was a scheduled 2-fer so I was on the bike early this morning…equally lame effort.

Tonight will be some combination of potatoes / vegetables / protein.  Is it dinner yet?

Drinking lots of sparkling water.

Oy vey if this is Day 3 and I have not even encountered a weekend without a cocktail.  Luuuucy, we have a problem…

TheWhole30 Program…eeeks…so I’m buying into the buzz.  Or maybe the junk food junkie buzz is so loud in my hear that I have no choice but to listen.  Whatever, this program caught my attention.

My goal aligns with the spirit of the program, have a better relationship with food.  Spend 30 days consistently eating from the single source healthy buckets; liberate and energize your taste buds, and better understand undesirables.  Or to use a movie star reference.  If Cate Blanchett is the gold standard, then she is my single source, good for me, protein/fruit/vegetable friend and I should spend lots of time with her .. and I’ve been overlooking her.  Jennifer Anniston is my good time girl, think cocktails, snack food.  So lovely when you are together, but there must be limits.  And the Kardashians…oy vey, they represent diet soda.  A habit that must be broken.

I will never not like chocolate chip ice cream, chips and salsa, potent cocktails, but maybe there are better ways to interact with these “friends”, and 30 days is a nice lump of time to figure it out.  There is even a “re-entry” plan once the 30 days are over.  So while it seems counterintuitive to create a countdown calendar, I look forward to a better relationship with food…and a cocktail on March 7th.  And oh by the way, while it is not a goal of the program, if I drop a few lbs., good on me.

So alas I spend Super Bowl Sunday yukking it up with Jennifer Anniston, but prepping for time with Cate Blanchett.

Day 1 Thoughts – Monday was a bit of a thud, but I resisted the calls of “just one can” from my diet soda enemy and “are a few pretzels really going to hurt” and made it through the day / night.  Overall, I was a bit headachy and pretty tired, but lest we forget, Sunday was not healthy from any perspective.  Did not work out but it was a planned off day.

Day 2 Thoughts – early AM pool workout – felt GREAT!!  Could be psychological but I felt leaner, more energized.  Call me bored already with chicken breast.

More later

Quickie note.. I have 2 weeks off from work.  Or more correctly, I have two weeks between jobs. Left current job on Friday night, amicable parting, time for something new, blah blah blah.  Start new job on 12/7.

How often do we as working professionals get 2 weeks of unencumbered time off?  Even on vacation, some thought at some point in the day, contemplates works.  But these 2 weeks, not so.  The only contemplation each day is whether it is a play day or a chores day.  I have a list of both options.  Today is a combo.

My blog goal is to write everyday.  But right now I have very important things to do like go for a swim, stop at the Micros Center, schedule my license appt at the DMV, clean the pantry closet.. so so busy changing the world today..

So the Mr. is out of town this weekend.  As he frolics in Colorado with pals I am forced to eat globs of cheesy nachos, generally washed down with a big bucket of tequila, while watching really bad tv.  The dog and I chat, agonize over squirrel problems (his), dissect age changes (mine).  All in, a very painful weekend, she says sarcastically.  But alas some check offs do happen on the honey do list.  This morning it was an analysis of old sweatshirts – yup, could not give any away but they are folded very neatly in my closet – that counts for something right? And while mucking around in the catch all closet, the sock bag called out..yoo hoo, haven’t seen you in a while.  Point of reference, I love socks, buy them randomly, sucker for color, stickler for thin vs thick (both needed but selected judiciously).  And all that said, I am more often than not without socks, even in the winter.

For running however, I need socks.  So the sock bag referenced above is the running sock bag where thick vs thin is very pertinent based on the running shoes being worn.  Matching, however, is overrated, hence a sock bag of unmatched socks, where a match is 2 thicks or 2 thins.

So here comes the metaphor…I have a lot of running socks, really cool running socks, lots that have not been worn for a while.  Like most people I grab from the top and replace on top, it’s easy.  Hmmm…are you with me…it’s like life, sometimes we need to do a little inventory and really savor what we have, nurture it, don’t let the elastic rot for lack of use.  Mix things up, dig deep, don’t take the easy route.

And on that note, I have to go back to matching socks and maybe even sending some on to their final destination, acknowledging that I have let some elastic rot…eeks that sounds grim eh?

Talk soon –