Fell off the wagon

I had a burger for lunch today.  Granted, it was a turkey burger, but a burger nonetheless.  With garlic fries.  It wasn’t that great, but the guilt was delicious. 

This is, however, about a week into my workout program/experimentation with Slimmetry.  I like it a lot: I feel healthy, and regular, and I’m fitting into my smaller pairs of pants, one by one.  But like I said, a lot of it also has to do with my increased workouts and conservative diet schedule.

Current progress: last week, I ran about 20 miles total- not awesome, but not too shabby either, considering the heat.  This week, I’ll make it 25 and slowly increase the total.  I’ve also taken Rhodiola with my workouts, which I’m still not certain of regarding its effectiveness, but I’ll go on a few workouts without it this week and see if I can tell the difference.

Oh- and I have two new things in the product lines that I absolutely love: XS Energy drinks, which I’ve talked about before but are seriously awesome, Double X vitamins, which I will continue to swear by forever, and Glister toothpaste, which sounds silly, but this is seriously the best toothpaste I have ever had.   

Oh, and my new favorite condiment of the day: lite cream cheese mixed with mustard.  I spread it on crackers.  No idea why I love it so much.

Snobby Arugula

I’ve been noticing lately that almost every op-ed piece in the papers these days makes a clever quip about the price of arugula. I didn’t get it until I found this article, which refers to Obama lamenting to rural farmers about the price of arugula at Whole Foods.  So now it seems like arugula is equated with foot-in-mouth snobbiness, which is just sad.  Because I eat the arugula stigma almost daily.

Today I made snobby soup: I doctored up some ready-made roasted red pepper and tomato soup for lunch.  I added corn, black beans, ground cumin, minced garlic, garlic herb seasoning, and a sprinkling of arugula and chili powder on top.  Snobby!  About the only thing I was missing was maybe some fresh fontina cheese.

Day 1 of the new plan: workouts and salads

This morning, I went for a 4-mile run, at a moderate pace.  It felt great.  But then I was incredibly hungry for the rest of the day. 

Me being hungry means that I’m a terrible carbmonster.  So I’ve been working hard to keep fresh, delicious salads on hand- not so much to eliminate the desire for carbs (would never happen), but to at least keep me full enough on the good stuff so that I don’t go crazy at the bakery.  I have a bad habit of eating way too much at lunchtime anyhow.   

So today while I was obsessing over a sandwich (which may still happen), I remembered that I was smart enough to pack an interesting salad in my bag this morning.  In an effort to incorporate more fresh berries in my diet, I threw some blueberries in my arugula salad, and then I topped it with some lite balsamic vinaigrette, parmesan cheese, and then a few sprinkles each of garlic salt, chili powder, and cinnamon.  I had no idea how it would turn out, but I knew that it would at least be good for me- turned out it was awesome!

This morning was also my first day of pairing Rhodiola  with my workout.  I’m not sure if it felt great just to be out running hard again, or whether the supplement actually helped.  I’ll have to do a day without it tomorrow, and then try again.   

On my way to the supermarket now, to get a soup with crackers instead of the big old sandwich meal.

A nice summer recipe

I have food on the brain; I went for a longer run than usual today, and so now my  body is annoyed that all I tried to feed it this morning was cereal and fruit.  So it’s not even noon, and I’m thinking about a) going to get a sandwich somewhere, and b) what I want to eat for dinner already.   

Bittersweet blog just posted a very cool and healthy summer recipe that is worth trying:

Cold Sesame Noodles

7 – 8 Ounces Soba Noodles or Spaghetti

1/3 Cup Tahini
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
1 Garlic Clove
1/2 Inch Fresh Ginger Root
1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 – 1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Carrot
1 Zucchini

2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 Tablespoons Chopped Chives

Cook the noodles as you normally would, drain, and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, soy sauce, vinegar, and water. Finely mince the garlic and ginger before stirring them in as well, along with the sugar and pepper. Dump the noodles into the bowl and toss them so that they’re all thoroughly coated with sauce. Peel your carrot and julienne it, along with the zucchini, before tossing them into the bowl and mixing again. Cover with plastic wrap and throw the whole thing into your refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. It will last 2 or 3 days, but the sauce will become thicker/dryer as it grows older, so you may want to stir in extra water if that’s the case.

When you’re ready to eat, just sprinkle sesame seeds and fresh chives over the top.

Fajita marinade!

I ripped this fajita marinade recipe off from my friend Brittany’s blog- she got it from her mom.  So here’s Mama M’s fajita marinade- easy and healthy, and it sounds awesome!     

1 1/2 C. soy sauce
1 TBS honey
5 TBS cilantro (fresh, finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic
1/3 C Worcestershire sauce
2 TBS oil
1 1/2 C water
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together. Marinade boneless chicken breasts, or beef fajita skirts for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Cook on the grill, basting occasionally with marinade. When done (do not overcook), slice into thin strips with sharp or electric knife. Serve with sautee’d onions, bell peppers, guacamole, sour cream, tomatos, picantes, grated cheese and tortillas. These leftovers make for an AWESOME fajita salad too–sometimes the meat almost tastes better the next day (chicken especially).

Sounds like something I’ll try later in the week- here is a link to one of my favorite salsa recipes that I think I’ll try with it if I can find a mango at the market today.  Pair that with some whole wheat tortillas, fresh arugula, and some chips (this week, I’ve been mixing a cheap bag of regular tortilla chips with some low-calorie honey BBQ snack chips), and I have a pretty fun meal!

Fitness plan starts today

The Army Ten-Miler isn’t until October, but I am going to start training now, so that I can at least build up a good base and get some weight loss out of the way in the process.  

The general plan: 5-day a week running/lifting workouts, with a 6th day of just anaerobic activity (weights, yoga, etc), 7th day rest.  6-mile run (add extra mile every week until reaching 9-10) once a week.

Weight loss supplement details

First, some excerpts from a press release I recently found:

BUENA PARK, Calif., February 20, 2008 – The struggle to shed pounds through diet and exercise alone is a losing battle for many Americans, yet dietary supplements designed to help fight the battle of the bulge often over promise and under deliver. Quixtar Inc. and its sister company, Amway Corporation, are launching an all-natural dietary supplement that was shown in a human clinical trial to deliver statistically significant weight loss when used in conjunction with regular physical activity and a low calorie diet.

Quixtar is offering Nutrilite® Slimmetry™ dietary supplement as part of the Nutrilite product line. Nutrilite is the world’s leading brand of vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements¹. It’s the only global vitamin and mineral brand to grow, harvest, and process plants on its own certified organic farms². Quixtar chose Slimmetry because it is all-natural and clinically tested, further supporting Nutrilite’s commitment to promoting optimal health through natural methods. 

On energy drinks

Since I bought myself a variety pack of XS Energy drinks, I’ve been having fun trying out a new flavor every day.  Most of the varieties have about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, plus some b-vitamins…so it’s a potent energy punch, but nothing syrupy, sugary, calorie-heavy, or medicinal like Red Bull and some of its offshoots. 

Anyway, I’ve actually been drinking about one of these a day, because I like how light and easy to drink they are.  Not only are they good pre-workout, but they are also a good, carb-free substitute for soda while I’m working on a school project or writing a paper.   So far my favorite flavor is the Tea Berry Blast.  Although I still drink a Red Bull now and then, I’m adding this to my list of products that I’ll definitely keep as part of my lifestyle nutrition regimen.

For anyone who’s interested in how XS Energy drinks stack up to the other stuff (Red Bull, Monster, etc), you can find the chart here: xs_flier (pdf file).

Slimmetry, day 4

Yesterday was my fourth day taking Slimmetry- I’ve only taken one a day so far, and what I like about it most is how easy it has been on my stomach.  As far as progress on weight loss, it’s hard to tell after only 4 days- I feel like I’m making progress, but I can’t be sure until I get on a scale, or maybe try on one of my pairs of high school pants.

Yesterday I took one Slimmetry before lunch, went on a short run, and then walked to the Arlington American Legion, where I participated in the Montana State Society’s “testy fest.”  This event consisted of eating as many “Rocky Mountain Oysters” (fried bull testicles) as you could, washed down with a cold glass of beer or (not sure why they picked this one) Crown Royal.  Although this wasn’t exactly my healthiest night of the week, it was good to know that Slimmetry did not argue with me about it. 

Today, I’ve been sticking to non-fried, healthy foods (and water), in an effort to get some of that grease out of my system.  Gotta love regional traditions, though!

Validating the Nutrilite brand

Its nice to hear good things about the brand Nutrilite from the company itself, but it’s even better to hear it from an external source. A press release from PR newswire/Reuters (below) confirms that Nutrilite is now the world’s leading vitamin brand.

—ADA, Mich., June 24 /PRNewswire/ — NUTRILITE, the world’s leading brand of vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, posted a record $3.1 billion in sales over the last 12 months as Amway/Quixtar’s message of optimal health resonates with consumers around the world.

Owned by Ada, Michigan-based Alticor, Inc., the NUTRILITE(R) brand has more than 200 nutritional supplements – including tablets, capsules, powder drink mixes, and nutritional snacks and bars – for sale to millions of consumers in more than 50 countries around the world by Amway and Quixtar independent business owners (IBOs).

NUTRILITE is the world’s leading brand of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements, based on 2006 sales. NUTRILITE ( http://www.nutrilite.com/ ) is committed to total quality control of its plant concentrates from seed to finished tablet. It’s the only global vitamin and mineral brand to grow, harvest, and process plants on its own certified organic farms, located in California, Washington, Mexico, and Brazil.—