Update from Fleeing the Blog

Hi Everybody,
Sorry for taking off and not blogging lately. I went on a trip for 4 days and had a fabulous time skiing, sight seeing, and museum hopping in Vancouver...and yes, I brought most of my food with me and stuck it in the refrigerator at the hotel.

Here are some pics.

Of course, you are used to me taking pictures of myself...so here's another crazy one, but at the British Columbia/Vancouver Int'l Airport as I arrived.

Here I am taking another pic of myself at the ski rental facility on the mountain. It was great fun. Met a few people who I skied with the first day... otherwise, I sloped it solo. 

Here is a pic of the Capilano Suspension Bridge not too far from the ski slopes. I spent several hours walking the tree bridges and the cliff dwelling bridge. It was fabulous fun doing this by myself. 

And at the end of the day, here was my view from the hotel room. I enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal each morning, making oatmeal with boiled water from the room's coffee maker, and enjoying my favorite two hardboiled eggs I brought with me. 

One night I ate out...and did not stay true to my nutrition plan. It felt good, but got right back on my program. Although for the one meal...the food at the restaurant was not very good. 

And a week later...back at home....working out downstairs in the garage, here I am...

Since the trip, I've stayed true to my program during the week, but have relaxed my eating considerably during the weekends. Yesterday, I decided that I'm craving my low calorie, fixed, body competition meals, and don't want to slide off my program during the weekends anymore. Honestly, it just feels good sticking to what feels good, and for some reason nothing really tastes as good....unless of course I find a terrific meal at some restaurant...and in that case, when I'm ready to go off the program, I will enjoy some quality foods. 

My workouts have been the same each day downstairs in the garage. So, all the posts that I've blogged thus far with my workouts are still what I do. 

While I thought I would try the April competition; I feel strongly that I'm not ready. I'm looking at June...and then again, I'm a little skeptical of this 45 year old body in direct lights on stage...without having put more time into my workouts to tighten my leg muscles. 

We'll see.

I'm not sure how often I'm going to post. I've been focusing on paint colors again for the girls' bedrooms and attempting to write a book and voraciously reading....aside from homeschooling the kids, cleaning the house, and making meals, and so on....

In a funny way, I don't feel exhausted most of the time. I spend little energy shopping, or wasting any time watching television (as you know), or idly passing time getting my nails done and so forth. I really try to maximize my time doing only meaningful things, which seem to include plenty of time working on myself, my hobbies, or interests. So, I'm really enjoying most days. 

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

Update on Carb Cycling

So my friend calls me yesterday and says she saw my blog and says to me that I should probably carb cycle. 

I probably agree with her, but I'm fighting having to change up my routine. These changes cause me anxiety and frustration at having to reevaluate my nutrition program. 

Just like anybody who has to go through a change where one does not know exactly what the outcome will be is hard to do. 

Yesterday, I was reading more about carb cycling. One article pointed out that it's a good idea to drop the cardio and strictly do weight training. Since the body has to restrict carbs one out of three days, we don't want the body getting out of control hungry, and the weight training is sufficient as a "cardio" machine used to burn fat. Am I going to drop the cardio? NO WAY:)

Further information on carb cycling explains that the carbs will be high one day, fat almost nothing, and protein grams proportionate to body weight. That day, the body may feel like one has over eaten, but the type of carbs you are allowed to eat is not open ended. The body may gain weight, but after a time on the cycling, the body can drop significant weight leading up to a competition. 

I'm going to pull a mock nutrition plan together tonight or tomorrow and see if I'm willing to try this new method. 

I'm fighting it from within, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to entertain the possibility or even try it. It could very well prove to be exciting and rewarding. 

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

I'm Back from I don't know where

Sorry,
I took a hiatus. I didn't mean to be gone so long. I am still on track for my competition, but I just got so busy, and then didn't feel like blogging. 

Okay,
So this is what has been going on....

I ended up talking to our health insurance / husband's company's work fitness coach a few weeks ago. He wanted to check in with me to find out how my fitness goals were progressing. 

Long story short...he said that I might think about cycling my carbs. What? you say....

He explained this process of where you have a high and low and medium day of carbs, but along with that you do some other things to your fat and protein intake. 

On the high day of carbs, you would limit drastically your fat intake. On medium days of carbs you would balance out your carbs and fat and protein....kind of like what I have been doing the whole time.

On the low days of carbs, I would increase my protein and fat, and drastically limit my carbs. 

So why do this?
Well, he explained that you can pull your body out of a rut. It's kind of like interval training for the physical body. Carb cycling is for jump starting your metabolism so that you can continue to lose weight. 

He said he does this a few months out from a competition. He happened to be a fitness coach who also does body building. 

So, at the end of the conversation, I was exhausted, and just ended up sticking to eating my bars for two meals and my eggs and all the other things I  have mentioned in the past. 

Also, I felt a little scared to try something new after he told me that I might put on a few pounds, only to drop them later. He said this process really helps to see the muscles show through.

Am I going to do this? I don't know. The funny thing is that I decided to take two evenings off of my nutrition program and eat whatever. It felt so good. Then, I got right back on my program. Not easy! But I did it. 

...and guess what? 
I dropped a few pounds over that week...so now my size 2 jeans fit (ha!)

I haven't done the carb cycling since...and he's supposed to check in with me in a month. HMMMM...we'll see if I do it. 

FYI: I'm totally crazy about kettle bell workouts vs. weight lifting. It's so much easier on the joints. Invest in a good one and get it from Paul Daniels at thebodywarehouse.com
They are the right kettle bells to get, when there are so many inferior ones on the market. 

I'm also getting ready for another ski trip. I thought I was done for the season, but I just have to get away again. It's just so wonderful to have some quiet, peaceful, and selfish time in nature being a little dare devil down the mountain. 

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

Quick Vegetables

Our national diet is sorely lacking in eating vegetables. We are  fast paced and impatient and expect quick eats, and unfortunately vegetables takes a back seat to all other food groups for ourselves and our children. Yet, veggies should be a number one staple in our diet. 

While at Costco, my husband, who frequents the place on his way home from work, saw these frozen bags of veggies.

There are several reasons why I like these bags of vegetables rather than the ones in the supermarkets. I like that they are organic, and don't cost too much. The size is great, because I take it as an opportunity to make more veggies per meal. Whether I buy fresh or frozen I usually don't buy large quantities of vegetables, so these large bags have convinced me to make more vegetables daily. They are fast and easy to cook and everybody seems to like them. 

With the stir fry vegetables, I add a little of this chinese sauce for taste toward the end of cooking. The kids love it. I bought it at Vons grocery store.

This is what it looks like after I stir fry the veggies:

Add your favorite meat on the side for a great dish

These are chicken apple sausages BBQ'd. The kids like a little mustard to dip them in. These sausages are 130 calories per link and have 13 g of fat . It's not bad considering that the vegetables with the sauce will not put the fat or calories above your limit.

Dinner doesn't have to be extravagant. Eat like a pauper at night and save yourself some grief over having to stay in the kitchen for more than 30 minutes. But don't sacrifice a quick and easy and inexpensive meal for a drive thru fast fat food place. It's not worth it around your waist or wallet. 

This is another example of how I make a quick, low fat meal for myself. BBQ'd chicken breast with stir fry vegetables and Culinary Circle sauce. 

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

COMPARE PROTEIN BARS

OK. 
I'm going to try to do my best comparing what I think are the most important factors in protein bars -taste and composition.


I have tried many bars on the market and wasted lots of money trying to find a good one or two that I would enjoy eating every so often or daily...depending on my mood. 

The taste of a bar is most important to me. I want to know that the calories are worth eating, so taste in premium.

I love Promax bars. You can find them at Costco, Ralphs, Trader Joe's, and many more places. Although you will not find them at Target. I've tasted all of them and truly all of them are good enough or the best bars ever. However, that being said, I'm not as much a fan for their newest low sugar version. My husband eats this version, but then, his tastes aren't as discriminating as mine.
I could make him fish for dinner, and he'll think it's chicken. That's a whole other subject (LOL)

I like most of these flavors, but my favorite is the cookie dough:

A taste test study was conducted and Promax was the leader in taste -above Optimum Nutrition Protein Diet Bars, Pure Protein, Bionutritional Power Crunch, Zero Impact bar by VPX, MetRx, and Myoplex.

As far as cost per gram of protein, Promax was not listed, but it does contain a high and comparable amount of protein to the bars that were leaders in cost per gram of protein. Those bars were MetRx, Myoplex Deluxe, Methoxy-Pro & Pure Protein.

I will say that I've tried and like Pure Protein as well. 

You can buy Pure Protein at the same stores as one can find Promax, but Pure Protein is also at Target, and pretty much any place. The bars are smaller, so I don't feel like I get to eat as much as if I went with a Promax bar. Also, I tend to like the taste of the Promax bar more. Pure Protein does taste more like a candy bar, but that's not really the taste I'm after. Promax has a calming effect on me, and the Pure Protein makes me want to have more. 

Here are some pictures of the other brands:

Actually, I hate the taste of MetRx. There must be many people who don't, since it sells well, but it's not my cup of tea.

I've seen this bar at Natural or Whole food markets. I haven't tried, it. Packaging doesn't grab me:)

This is the Promax bar that is low in sugar. It's okay, but I like knowing there is sugar in my bar...so I'm probably biased because I think I'm getting away with more if I eat the regular Promax.

I hope this information has helped. This training competition I have only had bars on my Tahoe trip to compensate for the fact that I wanted to stay quite strict on my nutrition program. 

Two years ago, during my nutrition training for the first competition, I ate one and sometimes 2 bars a day. I've wanted to eat cleaner, and wasn't drawn to the bars as much this time around. 

I'm more into a tablespoon of peanut butter or roasted honey peanut butter from Whole Foods Market. So Yummy.

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

PROBIOTICS

Getting ready for a competition or just getting into shape takes effort, which can be undermined by getting sick. 

Every day I take two probiotics in tablet form by this label:

They are a little pricey. This box with 120 tablets will cost around $24.00. You can buy a smaller box for 1/2 the cost, or shop around online. 

The girls and I have been taking them since the summer of 2012 every morning 30 minutes prior to breakfast. There are other products I/we also take, but I wanted to mention these first.

This box can be found in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods or Sprouts (previously known as Henry's). I'm sure you can get them at other health food or organic markets if these two markets are not in your area. The most important thing is to keep them refrigerated and eat them right away when you take them out of the box. They are live microbes, meaning that they are live strains of good bacteria. 

There are many different strains of good bacteria and if you have a certain condition you may be able to find out which probiotic is right for you. However, we are taking them for intestinal and immune health to prevent illness and longevity of a sickness.

Prior to the summer of 2012, the girls were getting sick too often, and of course I was the catch all for lots of germs, laying low myself quite a bit. 

I had enough with conventional medication. While I see the purpose of it, I don't think it's the end all for optimizing, sustaining, or curing. I think that the body needs good stuff inside it to help prevent and reduce illnesses. With so many antibiotics and over the counter medications robbing the body of good intestinal flora or compromising one's health,  taking substances to counter the negative effects of traditional medications is important.

Here are some of the noteworthy benefits of probiotics:

• Improve digestive function
• Help with side effects of antibiotic therapy
• Help reduce the risk of certain acute common infectious diseases
• Improve tolerance to lactose
• Enhance immune function

You can go to USPROBIOTICS to learn more about research and clinical studies and information. 

All the hard work one puts into getting into shape should not be undermined by a week or two being taken away from workouts or eating well, because you got sick. It's so hard to get back on track once the inertia is set in a different direction. 

I couldn't tell you that the probiotics are the only thing keeping this family healthy, but we have not been sick since the beginning-middle of last year. I think it's related to the probiotics, because we did not get the flu vaccine this year, and the only other supplement the girls take is a multivitamin /mineral, which we have taken for years anyway. 

Plenty of water consumption and plenty of quality sleep shouldn't be underestimated either. 

Workout Today:

30 minute run

30 minute upper body with kettlebell to include two arm swings, one arm swings with shoulder presses, upright rows, bent over rows, bicep curls, and overhead tricip extensions.

Foods I ate yesterday:

yogurt

eggs

chicken breasts

vegetables

cashews

raisins

rice cakes

Example of what I ate for dinner: Stir Fry vegetables with a Teriyaki sauce and BBQ chicken in garlic asian sauce. 

The family had the vegetables with an amazing lasagna I made:)

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

FYI: How well are you doing staying unplugged?

BIKINIS & WEIGHT

Just a quick update on coming back from the ski trip. I had dropped two pounds while skiing. When I got home I looked up calories burned during skiing. I couldn't believe how much -300 calories minimum for downhill skiing. It doesn't feel like much work when skiing; however, at times sidestepping up a hill or the continuous pressure on your thighs while flying down the hill can be tiresome. 

I am hesitant to be thrilled with a two pound weight loss in less than 4 days, because I drank less water on the ski trip, and it can take a few days for the scale to register correctly at home. 

There are two bikini competitions coming up -one is March 16th and the other April 13th. I'm a little hesitant on doing the March 16th. While my weight will most likely be low enough (104 lbs approximately), I'm concerned that I will not be toned enough. I may need more time to tighten. I will NOT get on stage if I don't seem fit enough. The competition can be fierce. These women are in great shape....even over 45 years old...so I want to feel that I am a real competitor. 

Here is the bikini that I wore in the first competition:

You can look at two year's blog around late October to see what I looked like in it. 

The purple suit is what I was going to wear and then got cold feet and changed. Good thing...there was another competitor at the time who wore this exact same suit.

I really liked this suit on my body from the front, but not so much on the rear end. The bottoms didn't hold me as well as I wanted around the tush. 


Congratulations to "Pinky" for picking some awesome choices for breakfast this morning at Moms Morning Out. Pinky likes to keep to a low carb diet by choice and wanted to share her food choices with me this morning, so I took a picture. 

We went to Panera this morning. "Pinky" brought this awesome looking boysenberry yogurt, almonds (which is the cadillac of unsalted nuts in my opinion), a hardboiled egg, and bought  coffee). 

If any of you blogger viewers are apt to share your experiences or want me to post something about what you are doing that is healthy in food or nutrition or thought...I'd be glad to showcase your experience.

No Workout Today:

Yesterday's Food Choices.

mixed stir fry vegetables
white chicken
banana, peanut butter, water, ice cube, protein powder smoothie
yogurt
rice cakes
hard boiled eggs
chicken breasts
salsa
Vitamins


RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

Report from Tahoe

I'm back!

I had a fantastic time skiing, being unplugged, and nutritionally in check.  

I skied for two days and was away for three. 
The weather was absolutely gorgeous the first day.

Then the second day towards noon, a storm was starting to come in. But I skied anyway for another hour, plugged into my iPod Shuffle and rode the slopes with music.

I did not workout on top of the skiing. Five hours the first day and 4 hours the second day was plenty. My uncle and I went out for my birthday the first evening. I ordered a starter dish of Ahi, vegetables, and Udon noodles -The Udon noodles broke my gluten free plan...but I don't think it was a horrible thing. I had one extra side of the Ahi, because I needed more meat in my diet. 

I did not buy any food on this trip. To my surprise I was able to get all my calories on the foods I brought -hardboiled eggs, salt free walnuts, bananas, apples, brown rice cakes, and Promax protein bars, yogurt, and Vitamins.

Some of the things I want to emphasize on how I unplugged were reading A LOT near the fireplace, in the hotel room at night, and in the bathtub. Bringing my own food was another way I got unplugged from the typical routine of eating out. Skiing both with and without music. Skiing by myself. Taking pictures. Having amazing conversations with my uncle and not worrying about how long they took even when they took some time away from the slopes. Just being present felt good. 

Last night I was thinking about working out -it was my first day back home- but I didn't. Instead I chose to start this morning.

And I got back on track with eating vegetables. I stir fried some vegetables in a nonstick pan and added 1/3 of a can of canned white chicken from Costco.

Tomorrow, I will most likely take the day off, since Sundays are my regular day off. Then, back to my 6 days a week in the gym starting Monday. 

The vacation did not ruin any of my competition plans. It helped it if anything. I was able to shake up the monotony of eating some of the same things and exchanged gym workouts for the outdoorsy sport. 

I have had my fill of being away from Southern California. It did psychologically much good to be away. 

At the end of March I'll probably start trying on my modeling suits and see what kind of shape I'm in for the competition. 

Tomorrow I'll try to post the outfits I'm considering. 

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com

METAPHORICAL SKI TRIP

I can't remember if I had stated somewhere early on that this was the year for me to explore more, whether with or without family.

I'm celebrating my 45th birthday tomorrow by going to Tahoe for a ski trip with my uncle. I'm elated. The girls will be home schooled by their grandparents...which should be fun for them.

This scene represents all that it means to get unplugged and get plugged into things that really make a difference. Being one with the mountain, one with oneself, one with the elements is what being unplugged is all about. All the incidentals, like dining at a nice restaurant or buying something in the gift shop are completely insignificant and irrelevant to feeling and thinking, juxtaposed by nature. 

I look forward to not buying more stuff and keeping up with my nutrition vision for my competition. Let's not confuse enjoying with indulging. I think that most people do, and I'm not talking solely about food indulgence. I think vacations somehow give people in our society an excuse to spend more money, waste more time, and completely empty their souls. 

Since this is another get-away where I have to figure out how to stay nutritionally sound...I will pack enough food in my cooler to take on the plane with me tomorrow morning. The lodge doesn't have a refrigerator...but the lodge does have a place to buy some quick foods. I anticipate that there will be enough stuff for me to choose from without having to go to a restaurant for breakfast or lunch. 

I don't have to worry about the workout facilities, since I will be skiing and burning and building my body and hopefully top it off with a peaceful dip in the spa in the evening. 

Perhaps age has just gotten to me and the crazy pace and indulgences we all seem to have in Southern California...that I'm just checking out of the crappy expectations we all seem to place on ourselves and each other. 

I much prefer to live as the monks in Tibet, where your mind and body are challenged to the point where you must learn to create strategies physically and mentally to deal with being on the edge of destruction. We are given so much here in our first world country that there seems to be no challenge or need for people young and old to strive for greatness. Instead we are driven to undermine, circumvent, and prevent. 

This year at Christmas time, I decided that my husband and I would not buy the kids presents, other than a few stocking stuffers. (Actually their gift was a trip to Washington D.C that we took early in December). 

The kids would of course receive a few gifts from relatives, but we were not going to go and buy all the stuff again this year, only to see it stuffed in one crevice or another in the house. To our amazement, the kids started packaging found objects and significant toys for each other. On Christmas day they were so excited to give gifts to each other and give some of their favorite toys to each other...that I just about cried. It was simply the happiest Christmas ever. 

So, as I leave you with that thought....

I will be out of town until Friday. No blogging from me for a few days. 

In the meantime, get plugged into your true self / needs....and trust that moving forward with those steps will bring a calm into your body. 


RsmKettlegirl@gmail.com

Exercise:
30 minute run at 4.4
30 minutes of chest and back: 4 sets lat pull downs, 4 sets flat dumbbell presses, 4 sets seated rows, 4 sets push ups

Foods Yesterday:
Messed up day....for the first time. I ended up eating 3meals, 4....because I ended up having or needing 2-3 Tablespoons of peanut butter. My body was feeling a little undernourished...and I knew it needed more fat. So, I compensated for the calories, by eliminating my 3pm meal. I felt fine, however. I was not hungry. But at dinner, I also ate a little more, to compensate once again for the missed meal. I had two corn tortillas, ground turkey, salsa, and an apple...which I don't normally eat during the evening. The apple sugar tasted exactly the way I had hoped. I did not gain any weight...just stayed the same. By the way, I do weigh myself daily. I think that whether you keep a food journal or weigh yourself, you must be accountable for your actions. It's important not to fool yourself into believing that you are something you are when you are not...or vice versa. 

MEXICAN MEATBALL SOUP RECIPE & A LIttle Emotional Talk...

This dinner is really good and is low fat. It's hardy, tasty, comforting, and for the whole family. I will be upfront with you; I have had two servings of this meal on two different occassions, but of course I modified the meal. I take one meatball out and add it with a whole bunch of cooked spinach, so that way I am not eating the rice inside the soup. But if you are simply being more diligent at reducing fat and increasing the quality of your current foods, then this is a great addition to your recipe box.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 2/4 cups chopped onions ( I use yellow)

4 garlic cloves minced

2 small bay leaves

5 14 1/2 oz cans beef broth ( I used bouillon cubes)

1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup chunky tomato salsa 

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lb lean ground beef (I used lean ground turkey)

1/4 lb bulk pork sausage ( I didn't use any)

6 Tablespoons yellow cornmeal ( I have used this, but I used Italian breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup fat free milk

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup long grain white rice

Heat oil in large pot medium high heat. Add 1 3/4 cup chopped onions and 2 garlic cloves and bay leaves. Saute 5 minutes. Add broth. Add tomatoes with juices, and salsa and 1/4 cup cilantro. Bring to boil. cover and simmer 15 minutes.

chop the cilantro 

Meanwhile, combine ground turkey, cornmeal (or Italian breadcrumbs), fat free milk, egg, salt, pepper cumin and remaining 1 cup chopped onion, plus the 2 garlic cloves, and 1/4 cup cilantro in bowl. 

This is what is should look like (gross!:)

Shape meat mixture by generous tablespoons into 1 1/4 inch balls. Add rice and meatballs to soup and bring to boil, stirring occassionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice and meatballs are tender. Cook approximately 20 + minutes.  

End Result

Today was a day off from working out. 

Yesterday, I ran 30 minutes at 4.5 on treadmill and weight trained with kettlebell 30 minutes. With the kettlebell, I did double arm swings, single arm swings with shoulder presses, high pulls, and upright rows.

Yesterday's Foods:

Spinach

meatballs

banana, protein powder, ice, water, peanut butter smoothie

rice cakes

hardboiled eggs

pecans

asparagus

chicken

Emotional Tracking

I definitely have my ups and downs, but not with exercise or nutrition. I'm still just as motivated today as I was the first day I decided to go back into another competition. 

Although, as I speak to more and more women, most confide that it's the other stuff that triggers food temptations or elimination of exercise, and then complete abandonment of their hopes of attaining their goal. So, I'm going to try to address some of the issues that plague many people. 

How You Can Help Yourself

Feeling stuck in an emotional rut in any area of one's life would be best dealt with by changing the current environment, the perspective from which one continues to look through the lens, or the focus. How to get out of the damaging thoughts may be best dealt with by focusing on the things that make you happy. I wouldn't call food exactly something that makes one feel happy, unless one is hungry. Food should be reserved for it's intended purpose. Look at food as a means to nourish not destroy. If you are not hungry, don't destroy yourself by eating when your body doesn't need food. Instead, address the person you are upset with, or go inward and find something comforting to heal yourself. 

Do you remember the day (s) I was all pissy about not picking the right book to read? So, I changed the situation and checked out three books from which to pick up and read. It truly helped. I was so happy afterwards. I felt fluffy AND I really found two books that I really liked -I hadn't opened up the third book yet.

STOP gravitating towards things that consistently don't work for you. There are so many other ways to cope. You may not or choose not to deal with a person who is driving you bananas, but it doesn't mean that is your only source of feeling good. You can simply rely on your own power to change your circumstance, which in turn changes your thought process. 

GETTING UNPLUGGED

Okay,

This is the month of getting unplugged. Getting unplugged simply means anything you are willing to do to help you unplug from the rat race of life. 

If it means turning off the television, not shopping for clothes, not going to fast food restaurants, or wasting gas in the car driving to too many places when you could have consolidated trips, then do it. 

I have chosen to unplug by not buying extra things that I don't really really need. I think that I have a house full of "stuff" and I'm a little tired of "stuff" these days. I feel like a slave to all my things when I have too much, so I decided that unplugging from this part of my weekly routine would be cleansing. Yesterday, I went to Target to buy airborne chewable tablets...the newest and greatest addition to the Airborne family of products. I bought one Kleenex box as well. I resisted buying anything else. It was easy only because I was conscientious.

Secondly, I've decided to be more diligent about using all the food in my refrigerator before it goes bad. I hate that sometimes I have food in the refrigerator that I intended to use and then have to discard it later because I opted to reroute the evening menu. 

I don't watch television (but on rare occasion) and I watch few movies that I don't really need to unplug from this area. 

Third, I've decided to not get pissed at the kids for something that rubbed me the wrong way. There's simply no point getting angry, because it doesn't do any good. When I get angry, I'm angry, and they just look at me thinking I'm crazy:) It's pretty hilarious, because the right way to deal with a frustrating situation is to either ignore them, redirect them, help them come up with alternatives, or discipline appropriately. 

So, if there's a way to "GET UNPLUGGED" 
There is also a way to "PLUG IN"

My choices to get plugged in have been to knit, read, listen more carefully, and focus on the gorgeous light coming through the window sprawling over the bedroom duvet, and the crisp clarity of the sky meeting the tops of the coastal range, and the warmth of the water dripping down my face in the shower. For these moments, which are fleeting, I will thoroughly enjoy the amazing
life we are so lucky to have. 

My friend is the one who came up with the great idea of doing a word of the month. 

If you'd like some ways to unplug or get plugged into being more creative, quiet, or excited about projects, check out her blog:

http://shiftctrlart.com/BlogPost/uj33

Foods yesterday:
banana, protein powder, peanut butter
sweet potato
bell peppers
asparagus
hardboiled eggs
rice cakes
BBQ chicken
chicken cold cuts
yogurt


Workout Today:
1/2 hour run (at 4.5 speed)
dumbbell chest presses
pull down lats
seated rows
pushups

Shampoo & Conditioner for Losing Weight

Sorry for taking a few days off from blogging...I got so busy that I couldn't find the time. My daughters are attempting to move up a few classes in a music class and therefore I've had a lot of homework correcting and music solo practices to attend to. 

Aside from that I'm very excited to be back into my blogging. I've been wanting to blog on some hair products I've been using. However, I do not have any results to share with you. My hairdresser told me about them, because I told her that during the last phase of training for my last competition, my hair started to thin. I think I was getting so thin for my frame that my body was pulling nutrients from the hair follicles to feed the rest of me first. 

My hairdresser said that she had lost a lot of weight a year or two ago and that her hair was starting to thin. She told me about these Redkin products and said that the hair was starting to grow back in about a month of using the products consistently and as directed. 

Even though I'm not ready to compete yet, I thought I would try using these products as a preventative measure. 

They have a tingly sensation on the scalp, but not bothersome. The shampoo lathers up really well, which I like. The second product looks like a conditioner, but the hair doesn't have the silky smooth feel that I expect after using conditioner. 

The third product is a pumping foam that you put in your hair after towel dried. Then I use the regular blow drying products I normally do to style my hair. 

I've only been using the product one week, so I don't see a difference yet. I'll keep you posted.

Foods I ate yesterday:
banana, protein powder, peanut butter, water, ice cube smoothie
yogurt
hardboiled eggs
sweet potato
salsa
ground turkey with seasoning
asparagus
red bell peppers
BBQ'd chicken
BCAAs
Vitamin Supplements

Workout Today
1/2 hour running on treadmill. I'm getting faster naturally. What I mean is that at 4.2, 4.3, and even 4.4 my running feels slow. However, if I bump up the pace to 4.5 I'm actually working it a little. I didn't have to put any effort into bumping it up. Naturally, the body just seems to want to go faster now, because it's had time to adjust. Listening to the body is really important.

Two arm kettlebell swings
one arm kettlebell swings
supersetted the following: bicep curls, overhead tricep extensions, upright rows, bent over alternating rows.


I am starting to see more changes in my body now. The skin seems tighter and the muscle underneath is apparently more developed. I'm not so squishy. I'm still not sure if I can get back to the place I was in the first competition, but I try to let that thought go, since what I have now is what I have to work with. 

I would be sadly disappointed if I didn't feel fit enough to compete, but I sure like the process of challenging myself. Why it feels so good is that it gives me something else to focus on that is not about the family. I hate to be some selfish parent or role model, but there are just so many things I enjoy doing for myself and I want to do as many of them as I can. 

Lately I've let my piano practices slip, because the kids have needed to take over the piano to get their studies in to advance in music, and the time I want to sit down to practice is the time they need at the bench. 

Tomorrow, I'm going to talk about getting "unplugged" (the word of the month).... what I'm doing and giving you some ideas of what you can do to get unplugged.

RsmKettleGirl@gmail.com