Time for a New Six-Month Challenge

OK, so there's been radio silence on my blog here for a while.  Summer came and brought some amazing vacations and lots of time outdoors with friends and family.  Throughout all of it, I was eating well and exercising regularly, so I felt great and looked fit.  Then at the end of the summer I seriously sprained my ankle in a soccer game.  Suddenly I couldn't exercise, couldn't run, well I could barely walk!  That threw me off and I got to feeling pretty low.  I'm not used to coming home from work each day and sitting on the couch for the evening with my leg up and an ice pack.  I was miserable.  No soccer!  No gym!  What was I going to do?  Dive into some snacks, I guess.  Pretty soon my diet was slipping.  Not too badly, but with the lack of activity, my weight crept up.  I needed to bounce back!

So, a few weeks ago I started my recovery.  I started to sloooowly clean up my diet.  Nothing drastic, just a little more mindful eating.  Then I started to gradually work in some exercise.  First walking, then a lot of walking, then short runs.  Now I'm back to soccer and just got back into the gym.  So, what's next?  Well, I'm goal-oriented, so I think another six-month challenge like I did last year.  This time, I'm starting a little earlier so I'll really be in full swing when the warm weather hits.  Plus, having a goal will keep my (somewhat) under control when the holiday revelry begins.  Starting tomorrow (mid-November) I'm embarking on another six months to Ryan Reynolds.  Maybe I'll tweak the name this year...I'll have to think about that.  Your suggestions are welcome.  More updates coming soon!  

Recovering from Weekends

I don't know about you, but for me weekends are the biggest wild card in my diet and exercise plans.  I can go through a whole week eating right and exercising ever chance I get, then...the weekend hits and everything is suddenly out of my control.  My weekends are almost always filled with social engagements that involve eating and sitting, sitting and eating.  As a result, I've recently developed some strategies for minimizing the damage.

1. Get Involved in the Plans

I try to sway the plans whenever I can to include a few simple elements.  I've found that these elements are much easier to achieve during the summer months.  Basically, I try to move the events outdoors (usually a park or a backyard), I try to work in some barbecuing, and I make sure that kids are involved.  Here's my reasoning for these choices.

Veggie Fajitas

This recipe is so simple that it doesn't even feel like a recipe, but it's great for a hot summer night when you might not really want to stand over the stove for hours.

First, start by slicing lengthwise some red, green and yellow bell peppers.  Then, slice up an onion and chop a handful of cilantro. (Make sure these are all organic!)  Marinate the peppers and onions in a ziplock bag with some organic soy sauce, cumin and a pinch of cayenne pepper for a few minutes up to a few hours.

Second, toss a spoonful of ghee into a pan over medium heat.  Once the ghee has melted, throw in the peppers and onions to sauté for a few minutes until they are soft and cooked through.

Third, heat a spelt tortilla in a dry pan.  (Trader Joe's makes a yummy, chewy spelt tortilla...of course, you could always go totally primal by skipping the tortilla all together and just wrapping your fajitas in a fresh, clean lettuce leaf.)

Fourth, assemble by layering your fajitas on your tortilla, then tossing in a dash of the chopped cilantro.  Another "must have" is fresh, organic pico de gallo and guacamole (my Whole Foods carries a local brand called Casa Sanchez that is amazing).

For a meatier variation, you could throw in some strips of chicken breast or flank steak marinated in a ziplock bag with a little organic soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, crushed garlic and cumin.  Really, the possibilities are endless.  I usually throw in any meat and vegetables that have been sitting in the fridge to long to be ignored.  Be creative and enjoy!

One Key to Success: Adaptation

"Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." - H.G. Wells

I'm learning that staying fit with a new born in the house is all about flexibility and adaptation.  When I started this program I was going to the gym regularly in the early morning hours before my household was awake.  I was able to tightly control my meals -- both in what I ate and when I ate it.  I had set times for bedtime, waking and naps.

Now,  that's ALL out the window!  My household is a 24-hour operation.  Feedings and diaper changes happen around the clock.  My older daughter wakes up a random nighttime intervals to complain about growing pains in her legs.  Most of my meals are eaten standing up -- often while holding the baby or hassling our older daughter to please, please, please just eat one spear of asparagus in order to earn the reward of dessert.

Week 20 Photos

I'm barely hanging on to my routine at this point.  I'm juggling my increased workload, newborn baby and a few visits from lovely house guests.  Still I'm getting in a few good workouts a week and I'm keeping a pretty good handle on my diet.  I'm thinking, though, that I'll extend Phase 3 for another month or two to make up for the fact that I haven't been able to be as strict as I wanted to be.  We'll see how the month of June goes!

Here are some recent photos to prove that I haven't complete lost my fitness level.  I'm staying lean, but not quite as lean as I think I should be getting during this phase.

Easy Spinach Omelette with Scallions and Salsa

 As I've started to cook more and more with clean, healthy ingredients, I've started to really believe that cooking by color is the way to go.  The concept is that a meal will have a good chance of being a healthy balance of macro and micronutrients, vitamins, etc. if it has a variety of vibrant colors.  Cooking this way is easy and really does produce some tasty, healthy meals.

Think about it.  A paleo/primal meal will most often be a combination of organic meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts.  This combination avoids the dull browns of factory-produced meats (which have a lot less color than their organic counterparts...unless some scientist has added an attractive color through chemicals--a common practice in fish and beef) or the blah beige and bleached white of grains, breads and rice.  If the colors don't jump out at you, you should really rethink what you're eating.  Natural food is meant to be naturally attractive.  That's what made people want to try the first bites of these foods thousands of years ago.

As an example, here is a dish I whipped up with some leftover ingredients based solely on their color:

Phase 3: Just 1.5 Months Left!

In the last few weeks, my topsy-turvy schedule has taught me some important lessons about flexibility when it comes to diet and exercise.  I thought I might share a few here:

1. Try a weekly view
Many diets or exercise programs work on a daily schedule.  While there is some logic to taking things one day at a time, I'm finding that when your life feels like a colossal blur it can be hard to maintain daily consistency.  Rather than put myself under the stress of trying to complete "X" workout on "X" day and plan out my breakfast, lunch and dinner, I have taken a step back to gain some perspective.  I try to think of my nutrition as a weekly endeavor and I try to make it to the gym a few times each week.  The benefit is that I never feel like I "missed" a workout...I just moved it to another day of the week.  And if I have a day where I indulge more than normal at my meals, I simply try to be more careful on the two following days.  The result is that I have some leeway to absorb life's ups and downs without feeling overwhelmed or completely losing sight of my goals.  (Plus, it makes these crazy goals much more acceptable to my family because I'm never going nuts saying that I absolutely HAVE TO make it to the gym today or I cannot POSSIBLY enjoy cake and ice cream at a social gathering.)