Woke up new.

I didn't really mean to start something and so quickly discard it. I do that so often now, don't I? I do have at least one good excuse:

My little niece was born! Clara Mae is adorable upon adorable. And she also lives in Vallejo, which is at minimum a 30-minute drive and can max out at 2 hours. You know traffic, it can be quite lovely and unpredictable! I've spent the last week or so going back and forth, making food for the parents and cuddling the little one. Holding her is completely awesome.

I also recently watched "Julie and Julia" and got a little inspired. I'm not sure if Julie (the modern girl blogger) is a person that lots of people relate to, but I certainly do. Her whole thing of starting things and not finishing them? Ahem...cough, cough. That's pretty much been my M.O. since graduating college. So I thought, what could I do? I could use a project like that. I thought of a few things and this is what I settled on:

Cat's Living Healthy Part Deux Challenge

1. Exercise Every Day for One Year. Okay. That sounds a little crazy and weird, right? I mean, it's smart to take recovery days, especially when you're training for something. But what I really mean by this is to work-out/exercise 4 to 5 days each week, but require myself to do something else active on the other 2 to 3 days. For example, go on a long city bike-ride, take Stella for a 2-mile walk. You know, something that doesn't involve drinking wine on my couch :)
   
2. Only Social Drinking. I realize that I may be airing too much of my dirty laundry on the internets (even though no one is reading this), but honestly it's been a bad year. I've had bad luck piled upon feeling bad for myself piled on top of well, you get the idea!  I've drank my weight and then some in beer and red wine. So here's the rule:  no drinking alone at home and no more than 3 drinks when I'm out, unless it's a seriously SPECIAL OCCASION. Like, perhaps my 29th birthday next May? Eick! I am going to commit to this for a whole year as well. It's obviously for the best for my mental health and also to help decrease my calorie intake.
   
3. Food Log. I am going to wait to start this until January 1st (let's be honest, it will be painful over the next two weeks). And I'm going to commit to doing this for 3 months. So January 1st - March 31st, I will be logging my eats on here:  www.nu4you.net

Oh and one more thing:  I am going to blog about it! I need some motivation, I need some accountability and I also want to track my progress in visual and written form.

To that end, here we are. It is December 21st. I completed 3.75 miles on the elliptical machine at the gym today. I've been policing my eats. And we are off!

Try, try and try again.

My dears. It is Tuesday night, 5 minutes before midnight, the temps are dropping outside, I am all cozy with the heater and dog. And all is right with the world.

The past two days have been busy, busy and I have not done a workout! Ooopsie! I had intended to take Monday off after my epic weekend (a total of 9 miles in one weekend, hasn't happened in SOOO long!). However, I was slightly decadent in my eats Monday.

And then came Tuesday. I awoke. I went to the vet, waited an hour for a scheduled appointment, was told I needed to wait more to which I replied, um, no. So irritating. I then had breakfast with one of my bestest friends, Fischer. I then scuttled over to my volunteering gig at public high school in SF. The kids are awesome, even though they are really challenging. I love it. They make me feel good.

And then I had a bunch of work to do. I immediately ceased working at 5pm though. And then I napped. I should have went to the gym, but I was so tired that I just couldn't do it. My head hurt, it's cold outside and Stella was peacefully sleeping all evening. The only problem is that I ate awfully today -- I think. Breakfast out always feels decadent and to top it off I had 1/2 of a sandwich from Ted's Deli this afternoon that wasn't making it on the pages of health blogs anytime soon!

So tomorrow I will do 3 miles and then I will go to Double Dutch. And I will be all caught up with my workouts! And I will not have a decadent breakfast!

And it will be a great day.

All the laughs and the smiles.

Well hello winter. It's downright dreary in San Francisco today! And rainy to boot! But never mind that, I was up and out of the house by 9:30am today.  Took Ms. Stella to the dog park where she had a rousing game of fetch with  a sweet mutt named Artie.

I then went to the gym. And kicked some booty on those 5 miles! I burned 624 calories! Damn! My legs are tired, my hips are sore, but I feel AMAZING. I haven't felt like this for at least 2 years. It's quite a relief to know that I had still had it in me!

One thing that I wanted to mention tonight was about the scale. I'm not a fan of checking my weight every morning. It drives me crazy. I realized that at this stage in weight loss, for me, it's actually not at all motivating to weigh myself. I know I did this in the past too (without thinking too much about it). I mean, I know where I started off, give or take a pound, but I don't need a daily reminder of my progress. It will come over time. That's why I'm waiting until the middle of next to step on the scale. I don't need to get the wind knocked out of my sails at this point by seeing a number that is unpleasant. I hope that by that point, I will have something to proud of. Let's hope! I know that I already feel like I'm trimming down, but we'll see.

On an unhappy note, I came across the Facebook page of an "ex" or rather someone that I dated on and off again for over a year. And then some. He was a bit of a mess and a party-machine, but we has this torrid affair and I was mad about him for some reason that I still can't pinpoint. I last ran into him in the Summer of 2008 and he seemed to still be on that path of destruction. According to his FB page, he is now in really great shape, is super hot and is in a seemingly vomit-inducing, sugary sweet, happy relationship.  What gives world? Sometimes it'd be nice if the internet just kept it's big mouth shut -- I really didn't need to see that! It's always a bummer to see someone change into the person you wanted them to be. Oh well, he's probably still much like he was before. You can't believe everything you read on the internet :)

You're not satisfied.

So I finally drug myself out of the apartment for a workout at the gym at 6pm. I was surprised to find so many other people at the gym on a Saturday evening. Made me feel a little better about how un-cool I felt :) I accomplished 4 miles, which was awesome. I burned around 500 calories, which is a great workout in my book.

This is what Stella and I did most of the afternoon (watch TV shows on da internets):

 

And after my workout, I made this:

a veggie burger between 2 slices of ezekial bread with onions, arugula (are you noticing a theme? I put it on EVERYTHING) and some hummus.

This is the hummus. I bought it at Whole Foods because it was the cheapest they have and now I'm in love. so effing delicious!

And then Stella and I settled in for some more couch time with a little TV, a little text messaging, a little walk around the neighborhood and now it's just shy of 11pm and I'm considering going to bed. I feel a little silly doing so, but I'm not doing anything tonight and if I'm going to keep on my training schedule, I need to do 5 miles tomorrow. Oh snap!

I also wanted to mention how awesome icing can be. And by icing, I mean taking something really cold and pressing against your skin to alleviate muscle pain and soreness. It works my friends. My hips and thighs are damn sore and I iced this evening and the relief is almost immediate. Try it!

Okay me and the pooch are off to bed to rest up for tomorrow!

Alibi

So, I have a confession. I didn't do my 4 miles on Thursday. Boo! I feel guilty about it, but things happen. My brother came to town and wanted to take me out to dinner, so who was I to argue? Honestly, this is one good reason to NOT do your workouts in the evening. Besides sleep there just isn't usually anyone competing for my attention at 6:30am.

I had a good time on Thursday night and then woke up Friday morning and did a little workout DVD at home. I had a busy day on Friday so I knew I wouldn't be able to get to the gym or do a run. So I did a little 30-minutes Jillian Michaels (Biggest Loser) cardio kickbox workout. It was pretty decent, lots of squats and lunges. My thighs were actually sore from Double Dutch because we practiced "low jumping" on Wednesday night. So between those two workouts, my thighs are screaming a bit. It's always a good feeling to be sore though, don't you think? You know you are making progress, at least!

Breakfast today was yummy, yummy, yummy! Besides the french press Blue Bottle, I made an omelette:

I added some turkey bacon, sauteed shitake mushrooms, onions and some raw arugula (it wilts):

 

And then I added a wee bit of avocado and ate it with some Ezekial toast:

 

So today, I must get on top of my laundry and either get to the gym for that 4 miles or do it outside. But first I think a nap is in order for this girl who can't seem to sleep in past 7:30am even on a Saturday these days! Yuck!

Why

Was reading another blog and came across a list of "Why I Run". I thought, hey, I should do that! I think that it's a good idea to remember and keep telling myself why I'm doing this to help keep me motivated. Although mine should really be "Why I Run, Jump, and Work-Out in a General Sort of Way"

• to de-stress and forget about my responsibilities
• to see how happy my dog is when we run together
  
• to see how far I can go
• to prove that I can
• to get in touch with the world
• to breathe in the scent of eucalyptus trees in Golden Gate Park
  
• to drink beer guilt free
  
• to see the City from the vantage point of my feet
  
• to be outside
• to feel confident in my skinniest jeans
  
• to be healthy and active throughout life and into old age
  
• to absorb some vitamin D
• to say and know that I did it

Roll with it.

Oy vey! It's totally challenging for me to deny myself the things I want food-wise. And so it was that yesterday I had a moderately-sized fish burrito for a late lunch with Rick (brother-in-law and co-worker) and it was heaven.

And then last night was my Double Dutch Class. I've graduated to Level 2 and it was our first class in Level 2. It was fantastic. The best time I've had at one of our DD classes yet! We learned a few new tricks, one of which I couldn't really get my mind and body in sync, but got some of the others, so it was good all in all. The class has shrunk from about 12 people in our Level 1 to 4 in Level 2, which was actually really nice. We all got to jump more and I'm sure we'll all get to know each other more. And it's not a bad workout either! I was thinking that I should wear a heart rate monitor to class to see how many calories are burned, just to have an idea. Check out this video of the girls that run these classes. Adorable!

I made an awesome and healthy dinner post class of quinoa and veggies, so I hope that I made up for the indulgent lunch!

My plan is to do a 4-mile run today. I think I may end up doing it at the gym, just because I'm worried about my knees and all the impact with the running I've been doing, the jumping and the extra weight I still have on me. But I also may try to get some single-rope jumping in today, too. I'm starting to get into this whole Double Dutch business!

An Alternate Plan

Woo hoo! I made it to the gym last night. All I did was 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, but I was pushing myself pretty hard and I burned 415 calories. That's not bad in my book. I then came home and watched Biggest Loser. I don't know why, but I get a little emotional sometimes when I watch it. I seriously shed a few tears when they were finishing the marathon. Definitely inspiring to see these folks lose 100+ pounds and do this. If they can do that, I can certainly drop 20 and run a measly half-marathon in February, right?

I woke up early-ish (for me) this morning at 6:50am, grabbed some Blue Bottle Coffee, a cult favorite in SF and I'm addicted just like the rest of us. Lucky for me it's only 2 blocks from my house! For breakfast:

This is one of my favorite all-time breakfasts that I make for myself. It's 2 pieces of Ezekial bread topped with arugula, 2 poached eggs, thinly sliced onion, a dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt, pepper and sea salt. So good! And it feels a little fancy, no? It's just about 405 calories, so it's not a small breakfast, but it doesn't break the bank either. I'd rather have a bigger breakfast to start the day and a smaller lunch.

I'm pretty obsessed with poached eggs, by the way. The secret to easy and fast poached eggs? Vinegar! I boil water in a frying pan and add a generous pour of vinegar.  You then crack your eggs in the water and you have your beautifully poached eggs in just a few minutes.

That's all for now folks.

The best that she knew how.

Welcome to my little world. My little world exists in a very charming little neighborhood, in a very beautiful city surrounded by water: 

Ah, San Francisco! So pretty. And I live with my best friend:

 Oh, Stella!

I run a fitness business with my brother.

And yet I still struggle with my own fitness. 4 years ago, I didn't give much thought to working out. I started working for my brother and voila! I was addicted. 2 years ago this month I was running 4 times each week, doing all sorts of other workouts and prepping for the Kaiser Half-Marathon (a beautiful San Francisco race in February) without as much as a second thought. I was in great shape. I ran a timed 1.5 mile at 11:22 on November 26, 2007 (per my old blog archives!). And if memory serves, my time at the mile marker was 7:35.

And I was happy. I rode my bike all over the city in my free time, spent lots of time going out to eat with my friends and I wrote. Basically I was doing all the things that I love most in life. Sometimes in life it's hard to pinpoint when exactly things changed, but right after Stella entered my life in March 2008, I was running and ended up with this:

And yes, that IS a running injury! I'd always thought I'd end up with a knee injury, not a cast on my hand! But this is what happens when you trail run and trip on tree root that you just didn't see. And fall very hard. And break and dislocate your ring finger. And dislocate a few extra fingers for good measure. Eick!

Fast forward to today, experience a bad relationship, work stress, a run of general bad luck and you'll see that I'm 20 pounds heavier. Oh noes! It's interesting how this happens. Because I'll be honest, I haven't been just sitting on the couch these past months. I've been working out. But it's been less. Mostly I'm pretty sure the weight is due to the fact that I haven't watched what I eat. I'll gladly topple a bottle of wine or 4 beers out with friends. I've been eating pizza and spent the summer in Europe eating croissants. It's been great in some ways, but honestly it's getting old. I'm much happier when I'm active and spending time in my kitchen creating healthy eats.

But I'm back! Oh baby I'm back and I'm here to talk about it. I recently started running again on a regular basis. It feels great! It's hard to describe but there is some sort of inner joy that comes from working out and I wasn't feeling it in the last year. Every time I worked out, it was a complete chore. But that changed. It was a distinct moment about 2 weeks ago while I was running up Fell Street in SF and something just boiled up in me and I felt SO GOOD. Can't describe it.

But I'll admit that my joints have noticed the extra weight. And I've been taking it much easier on the boozey and the foodsy. I even registered for the Kaiser Half-Marathon that is on February 7th. I'm excited to do this race because it's meaningful for me. It's the only race I've ever ran, it's in my favorite place in the whole world (Golden Gate Park in San Francisco!) and it will be a great sense of accomplishment for me to finish it. Probably even more meaningful the 2nd time around since it is going to take a lot of work for me to get back to where I was.

So I'll be here, detailing my progress and hopefully using this blog to help motivate me when the last thing I want to do is run! And on that note, I'm due for a trip to the gym!

See you outside!