Balsamic Vinegar

I feel like I'm swimming in it these days. It's pretty much the only thing with any "twang" that I can eat or drink on this cleanse and so I'm downing it like a college student with a beer bong.

It's in my salad dressings. It's in my marinades. I use it to dip stuff in. I seriously suspect that I have begun to sweat it. That and garlic and lemons. Those come a close second.

In truth, the food part of the cleanse is not that hard. Yeah, it takes a ton of time to prep everything but since I have my primary ingredients for every meal in a baggie at this point - garlic, lemons, onions, spinach - it's getting easier. And it's not like I ate all that bad to begin with.

What I'm missing like CRAAAAAAAAZY is..... coffee.

(Ha! You thought I was going to say wine, didn't you!?)

I don't even drink that much of it: one cup, maaaaybe two each morning, and perhaps a trip to Starbucks with the huzband in the early evening once a week. Yet I just feel like my day can't start without it. I wake up in the morning and seriously am unsure of what to do with myself. I just want to hold a warm cup of rich, french roast in my hands. I want to wake my mouth up with the dark, creamy taste of it. Plus, smelling it brewing for my husband every morning is just torture.

And before you say it: no, it's NOT the caffeine. I have not had any withdrawal symptoms and I would quite happily drink decaf. It's 100% about the taste. I LOVE it. I MISS it. It will be my first indulgence after this thing ends.

Other things I miss? Again, not the food itself but the function of food in my life. On Fridays we usually go out for dinner as a family and now our Friday choices are basically limited to Jack's Urban Eats, which is a "build your own salad" restaurant. Then on Saturdays, Daisy and I usually go out for some kind of treat together, either breakfast, lunch, or a cupcake. Last Saturday I took her to Whole Foods and salivated while she devoured a carrot cup cake and I sipped on bottled water. (TORTURE.)

On the positive side, I have been experimenting more with food than I have ever done. I seared my first ahi tuna steak last week (delicious), made my own marinade for salmon (yummy), and tonight made some KILLER sweet potato fries with garlic, oregano, rosemary, and olive-oil. Finger-licking good! I think I will definitely continue to incorporate some of these basic principles into my diet beyond the end of the cleanse. Eating like this religiously, for every single meal and snack for the rest of my life? Um... no.

I am still waiting for the results from my food-allergens test, however, so I may find that there are foods I should not incorporate back into my diet. We'll see what that looks like.

As to how I'm feeling, I would definitely say more energetic. I'm not getting the afternoon energy slump I was before. I'm not sure how much of that is related to the diet vs. the fact that the constant adjustments and massages are alleviating my neck and shoulder pain more. I'm sure both were/are contributors to my energy level.

So, yes, there is some improvement on the physical side. It's slow and in fits-and-spurts but I'm starting to have more "good" time than "bad" time with my pain. It hasn't gone away completely but has, for the most part, reduced to a manageable level... background noise if you will, vs. the full-on rock concert it was before. Sitting at a computer for any length of time, however, is my key regressor.

The main functional improvement I have experienced is more comfort in bed at night. Instead of the popping and clicking and general feeling of destablization that had forced me to box myself into a back-laying position with pillows, I now find I can freely change positions in bed. This, in turn, is helping my back because I'm not locked into one position all night.

In addition to appointments with my chiro, I have also begun a plan of clinical Pilates sessions at my local gym. The teacher there, Deborah, had a car accident ten years ago, at about my age, has many of the same issues as me (particularly in her neck) and so she is tuned-into what I'm going through, not only physically but functionally and emotionally. In addition to being a Pilates instructor, she also works at a physical therapist's office, and is a a certified BodyTalk practitioner. (More on that later.)

One of the things Deborah has been working with me on is my posture and basic movement patterns, particularly as it relates to the relationship with my pelvis and knee pain (which continues). To put it simply, my various dysfunctions have caused my body to compensate in a number of unhealthy ways and now, to even perform basic activities, I'm using the wrong muscles and/or firing them in the wrong order. So now I'm re-learning to walk, stand still, climb stairs, sit-down, and get-up out of a chair.

Some days I feel like I just need a complete remodel, ya know?

The Great Weight Loss Shame Off – Week 3 and 4

Last week I was soooo busy I forgot to post my weight *progress*. Ok, maybe I was busy but didn’t exactly FORGET. It was more like I did not want to admit that I went backwards.

Last time I posted, I was here. This week… I’m in exactly the same place. Still trying to kiss that 150 goodbye.

Although you don’t know it (because I *forgot* to post about it) this actually represents a week-over-week loss. Last week I was actually 151.8lbs. So, yay for me, despite drinking like a fish and eating truffled Mac and Cheese at 1am in the morning last week, I managed to get back to square one.

Whew!

None of this, however, bodes well for the 15lbs goal me and Jess from Dude & Sweeties set for ourselves a month ago.We’re 4 weeks in to our 8 week plan and I’ve only lost 2.4lbs. The only “good” thing is that I think she’s not doing an awful lot better.

However, with no trips planned in the next week, no relatives in town to take to dinners out, and a busy week ahead, I’m aiming to kiss the 50s goodbye. Last night I got out the ole Lean-Mean-Fat-Reducing-Grilling-Machine and meanly grilled some mango curry chicken, which Daisy and I gobbled up – she with tater tots and peas (yes, my kid eats peas – let the mommy hate begin) and me with just the peas.

Ok, well, maybe I DID eat a tot or two as I was dishing up. You see, this is my problem…

(This and about 30 other things, of course.)

The Great Weight-Loss Shame-Off - Week 2

Ok, so one solitary pound lost this week. Not exactly FALLING OFF ME, is it? Still, a loss is a loss. Wonder how Jess is doing over at http://www.dudeandsweeties.com/?

This coming week will be a real test. I'm in San Francisco with family all weekend then in Chicago for 4 days for work the following week. Big cities with cool restaurants always make me want to eat my face off.

The Great Weight-Loss Shame-Off - Week 1

This is going to a quick one because I've got to get out the door this morning...

WEIGHT LOST: 1.6lbs

Honestly, I have not been as good on my diet as I could have been this past week. Shame on me. So any loss is a win. Eyes on the prize. Eyes on the prize.

The Great Weight-Loss Shame-Off

I am dieting again. (Pause to allow you to groan.)
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This time I've added a twist, however. I'm competing to my finish line (15lbs) with fellow blogger, Jess, of Dude and Sweetie.

Rules are as follows:

1. Picture of ourselves on the scale this week, on our blogs, at our starting weight
2. Goal is 15lbs
3. We're giving ourselves until the end of October
4. On November 1, we take another pic of ourselves on the scale and determine who is the winner. 
5. Person closest to 15lbs wins, unless we lose more. Basically, most loss wins.
6. Loser is subjected to a grungy, early-morning (or late night), no-make-up, no-hairdo, no touch-up, potentially double-chinned photo, at the time, place and location of our husbands' choice, which will be posted on our blog to shame us.

 So, shamefully, here I am.

I love that there is a "Caution" sticker between my feet. Exactly.

Yes, the last time I subjected you to my weekly weigh-ins, I had achieved 147lbs. So shame on me already for putting 5lbs back on.

And because I'm a little bit of a masochist, I plan to post my weigh-in photo every Tuesday, not just on November 1.

Progress

Oooooo, don't you just love the sound of that? Progress! It's a fantastic word, isn't it?

Well, I'm happy to report further progress with my back/hip issues. Ok, well, happy may be a severe understatement. If you've been following this issue for a while now, you'll know the depths of despair dealing with this injury has dragged me to. So 'progress' is pretty much like saying "multiple orgasms" to me right now.

Today was my last physical therapy session. I've basically moved beyond "treatment", doing so well with all the exercises they have given me and being all-but pain free now for quite some time. Sure, there has been the odd mini flare-up, where I haven't paid attention or have overdone it on something I wasn't supposed to be doing (like housework, conveniently enough) but they are short-lived and I am bouncing back much faster.

This was not my last time going to the physical therapist, however. The facility also does sports specific and personal training and we agreed that it would make sense for me to continue on a program of personal training for a while. You see, my previous issues all flared back up again as soon as I was discharged from physical therapy and tried to return to a more full-body fitness routine. It was like, by trying to take one more step forward towards being strong and fit once more, I would wind up 10 steps back.

Since I don't want that to happen again, I really want to take the next few steps under supervision of an expert. Dustin, my PT, is an athletic trainer and the types of exercises and instruction I have received from him and Kyle, the owner of the facility, include a lot of routines and approaches that are different from anything I have ever done before. So, despite my prior status as a personal trainer, their experience is far greater than mine and their approach rooted in athletic training, which means a focus on preventing injury as well as increasing balance, strength, and endurance.

So, from hereon out, the focus is all on progress. We're going to build upon the foundation we have created, without flaring up my symptoms and with the goal of making me strong and more injury resilient than I have been for quite some time. Which is everything I have been hoping for and everything I have wanted from a treatment program.

I am sooooo incredibly happy that I did not give up and that I kept switching and changing professionals and strategies until I found one that worked for me. I could never quite accept that I was out for the count at age 35 and I'm pleased to say that, although there may be some things that I may never do again, and others that I have to do much less than I did before, I have every hope that I will return to little miss buff Rantypants in the near future.

Now, for my part, all I need to do is start eating more healthfully again. That has definitely been a lagging factor. Although I haven't been eating POORLY (its not like I'm a drive-thru-junkie or anything) I definitely have not been making proper nutrition the top of my list of priorities. That needs to change now, especially if I am going to be upping the ante on the workout side. I'll need a quality diet to fuel my routines.

All in all, this sounds suspiciously like the old me is returning. It's been a long time coming, let me tell you, but I'm glad to meet the old Ms. Rantypants again. I liked her much better and have missed her a lot.