Week Three and The Buckaroo Man!

I'm calling this one a "Bi Week".

I didn't see any change in my weight, although I do feel a little "slimmer" so maybe it's a "re-distribution" week. I know there were a few things I could have done differently - I didn't drink enough water, I didn't do ANY of the work outs I was supposed to do (I was feeling a little "off" this week), but tomorrow starts a new week!


Totally off topic; (Amazing Luck/Horse Story alert!) we had an unexpected, and very welcome house guest Sunday night and Monday. I may have mentioned the "Californio Traditions/Vaquero" facebook groups I belong to. I've never 'met' so many truly kind people, willing to help and share their experiences and advice.

Before you freak out and say "You're letting people into your home that you've only met ON LINE!?" I have to tell you - That is not something I would normally, under normal circumstances, do! But this is a small, private group, made up of carefully selected individuals (many of whom have met and worked with each other before). Ranchers, horse trainers, veterinarians, clinicians, historians, enthusiasts, traditional Vaquero gear makers/craftsmen, etc. How I was somehow chosen to be included in this small group of wonderful folks is beyond me, but I'm not going to say anything and hope they don't notice that I don't have a lot to bring to the table!

We have our fair share of beginners, but even the beginners have far more horse experience than I have. What we all share, however, is the passion for this training method and tradition.  The California Style Bridle Horse/Vaquero path that we've chosen is a challenging one, to say the least, and not for cry babies (which I can be from time to time). The help we're able to get from this group is priceless. The history that is shared, the stories, the topics of conversation and discussions are always useful and interesting (well, sometimes late at night it can get silly!). I've spoken with several of my "Vaquero friends" on the phone, and through private messages/emails, and of course on the Facebook wall, where I often lament that I need help with this or that, what is my horse doing? What am I doing? What am I doing wrong? HELP US!!!!

On one particular day, feeling especially lost, I put it out there that I needed to actually ride with someone. I needed hands on help. It's wonderful to get all the written advice, but without knowing exactly how to apply it correctly, with no one watching to see if I was doing it right, no one in the flesh showing me, it was proving to be just a bit beyond challenging. It was time to start looking for people in my area to ride with (I can tell you, there aren't a lot of people in my area that follow this method). I don't have a horse trailer, so in a sense, I am isolated. This has caused me to lose a little hope and confidence at times.

But then....

And here is where my story gets interesting! On Sunday morning, I get a pm (private message on line) from Cody Deering. He is the one who founded one of the two groups I belong to. He lives in North Dakota but has family in the bay area and was coming through town (a bit unexpectedly, long story). He wanted to know...if I wanted him to stop by the ranch? Maybe show me and my horse a few things? WHAT!?!?!? (I cried a little).

One thing led to another through our logistical planning, and I invited him to stay with us! I had to call Rob to let him know that "I think I just...may have... invited a cowboy to spend the night. Would that be ok?" Of course Rob already knew that Cody was planning on coming out to the ranch and possibly coming for dinner. So without skipping a beat, Rob said "Yeah! I'll go out and get more beer!" (I love that man). You see, Rob loves my group too. He has seen me go from dejected to confident (I can do this!), with just a few key strokes on my computer. He has learned a lot about this tradition and we often discuss the parallels between this style of horsemanship and his art. He feels like he knows a lot of these people, he trusts my judgement of character, and of course, we do have an open door policy with friends and family so...

Cody stayed with us and spent an entire day working with me and my horse. I learned so much, I can't begin to explain it all here. He did some body work on her, some ground work, a few different riding exercises to help me "help her" to get her feet and body right, and probably most importantly, showed me how to set her up to listen for the cues and how to deliver the cues properly with the hackamore/bosal (where I definitely needed hands on training).

This is Cody Deering on his bridle horse, Lena. Rob and I consider him a friend and a Vaquero. And maybe a little bit of an Angel (or Leprechaun as he might say). Even if we did meet on line!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYPWHeqSa7I

And this is me and Maddie working on one of the exercises:

Week Two

I know. You don't have to point out to me that I've had about 20 "Week Two"'s since I started this blog a few years ago. But this is my last Week Two, I swear!

This was my first full week on Chris Powell's 7 Day Carb Cycle Solution and I lost 1 pound. I'm perfectly happy with the 1 pound because I'm sure it's real fat now, not just water weight. Plus, I'm kind of bloaty this week, so to be down one pound while up one bra size is a super win-win!! (yay)

I've eaten more this week than I think I ever have in my life, I haven't broken/changed/made up my own rules (much), and I haven't used a free day, instead I had wine with dinner a couple of nights (and for dessert).

It's only been 10 days, but I'm counting this as week two, so here are the updated stats:

Starting Weight: 167.5
Cycle Week 1: 164
Cycle Week 2: 163
Goal Weight: 145

Total Pounds Lost:  4.5 (in case you're as good at math as I am)

The First Week

Today is the 7th day since I started the Carb Cycle Solution. I'm down 4 pounds and two inches off my waist!

I'm going to use last Saturday as my weigh in day for the first week though, even though that makes my first week only 4 days long and total weight loss 3.5 pounds, (because I was supposed to start on a Sunday and I started on Wednesday). But going forward, the week is Sunday - Saturday.

It was an exhilarating first week, watching the pounds melt off day by day. My biggest challenge will be to keep the excitement and motivation going even when the weight loss slows or stops temporarily from time to time. My 2nd biggest challenge will be to stick to the rules and not decide to make up my own! I did briefly consider making every day after 5pm a "Free Time".  Then realized one whole free day, or three free meals a week, allows plenty of "cheat" opportunities. I'm still pretty stoked that cheating is even part of this thing! I'm going to stop calling it cheating though. That has such a negative connotation, and it really shouldn't be considered a "negative" to enjoy the things you really love, good or bad, now and then, in moderation.

The 24 hour cycle really helps with my 2nd challenge too, because I only have to wait one day to have what I want. I had cheese yesterday. Today will be the cracker. Some days definitely feel longer than others, but I can always wait a day. And I can have wine on Saturday! (and maybe before if I do the 3 X a week instead of one day thing).

Here is how I will record my stats going forward:

Carb Cycle Solution
Starting Weight: 167.5
Cycle Week 1:   164
Goal Weight:      145

Look Ma, No Hangover!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last night I made "corned beef & cabbage" flavored chicken and cabbage, and had no beer, green or otherwise. It was still fun, and it was even more fun not waking up with the "Day After St. Patrick's Day" headache! I felt so great, in fact, that my friend and I hiked the two hour killer (steep) hike up Morrison Canyon this morning.

The chicken and cabbage was actually delicious and we're having it again tonight, but boiling some potatoes in the left over broth (yesterday was Low Carb, today is High Carb).

I used 4 or 5 large bone in chicken half-breasts, added carrots, an onion, celery, cabbage, 2 bay leaves, 2 T peppercorns, 4-5 whole Allspice berries, a few dashes of clove powder, salt and pepper, covered with water, put the lid on, and cooked the heck out of it for 90 minutes. Yum!

I weighed myself today, 4 days in, and I'm down 3 pounds! I'm counting this is a full week and starting today as my new week so that I will be on the correct "cycle" schedule. My next weigh in will be Saturday morning. I had to run out to the store for a couple of items, some more produce, bread, olives, etc. and I've got my meals planned out through Wednesday.

One thing I've realized is that there IS a cruel little twist to this diet. On the days that you can have carbs with your protein, you are not allowed extra fat. On the days you DON'T have carbs with your protein, you CAN have fat. So, for example, High Carb Day: spaghetti with meat sauce, yum! But no cheese. Boo. Low Carb Day: meat sauce with cheese, yum! But no pasta. Boo.

Thank god for Free Days!

And now, without further adieu, I'm off to the kitchen to prepare a few meals....

Three Days Down

And no reason to stop. This is great! My "Free" day was going to be today (Saturday). I realize it is only 3 days into the plan, but I was actually supposed to start the plan this Sunday and I started on a Wednesday because I couldn't wait! Our evening plans for tonight were cancelled, which is just as well because today is a low-carb day for me (did I mention I started the program on the wrong day?) and you aren't supposed to have a "Free" day on a low carb day.

SO, I decided to splurge a little last night (wine and popcorn with butter). But I still woke up and did my "Shaper" exercises, had breakfast, and have all of my remaining low carb meals planned out for the day, including chicken and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day dinner!

Starting tomorrow, which will be a High Carb day, I will be back on the right cycle schedule, which looks like this:

Sunday (High Carb/Free Day) - I won't make this a free day, because I don't feel I need one after last night!
Monday - Low Carb Day/Shaper Exercises
Tuesday - High Carb Day
Wednesday - Low Carb Day/Shaper Exercises
Thursday - High Carb Day
Friday- Low Carb Day/Shaper Exercises
Saturday - High Carb Day

On all days, except Sunday, you are also supposed to do "Shredder" exercises which are cardio/intervals. I only did them once this week, Friday, because they are a little complicated. I need a watch with a timer. You do low intensity for 3 minutes, then moderate intensity for 2 minutes, then high intensity for 1 minute. You do these 5 times which equals 30 minutes. You can do any activity. I chose to walk, walk faster, then jog for my first Shredder work out.

So far so good. I still have a fridge full of food, enough for at least a few more days. This is a good diet if you're on a budget too!

I Inspired Myself!

Yesterday, I ate so much I almost felt sick. It wasn't massive quantities of food, it wasn't even more than I typically eat, it's just that it was never ending! I had to eat every three hours, hungry or not.

I woke up this morning and got on the scale (figuring I must surely have gained weight) and was surprised to find that I was 1.5 pounds lighter than I was the day before! How did that happen? I'll tell you....I was up going to the bathroom every hour all night. I'm sure it's water weight, but who cares? Did I mention that I ate a lot of food!

I really didn't want to get out of bed at 6am this morning, but I told myself that I would be committed and follow all the rules this time, no making up my own. One rule is that on the morning after a High Carb day, you're supposed to wake up and do 10 minutes of "Shaper" exercises (a series of sit ups, push ups and squats) and then have breakfast within 30 minutes of waking. I had to get up at 6am because if I have to eat 5 times a day, 3 hours apart, I need an early start or we'll be eating dinner at 10pm.! (I learned this yesterday).

So back to not wanting to get up. It was 6:15 (am!) when I cracked open my eyes and realized I was already 15 minutes late for my date with the mat! I briefly considered staying in bed. But then I remembered something that Chris wrote in his book. I'm going to paraphrase because the book is in the other room and I'm sore from my Shapers (yes, I did them). He said that in order to be successful, we should act as if we are already the lean, fit, healthy person we want to be. And what would a lean, fit, healthy person do? Lay around in bed to get an extra hour of sleep? I don't think so. Personally, I would have preferred to do just that. But I'm the other person now. The dedicated and committed, lean, healthy and fit one! So this morning, I hopped my sorta-fit, once-leaner body out of bed, threw some clothes on, and jogged myself into the kitchen (to warm up). You should have seen the look on Rob's face! I jogged in place while he made his lunch, both of us marvelling at my dedication, still committed after an entire 24 hours! We both did some jumping jacks in the living room, contemplating our high ceilings and wondering if jumping rope was a possibility (I'm a fitness fanatic now!), then I started in on the Shapers. I never knew 10 minutes could feel so long!

I felt so great afterwards that I did some yoga too.

Since today was a Low Carb day, I finally got to have those roast beef with olive tapenade lettuce wraps this afternoon. They did not disappoint! The only real disappointment was breakfast. It was too early, too eggy, and too potato-ey. I'm going to stick with yogurt and granola with fruit. My mid morning snack was the best chocolate peanut butter protein shake ever! (I'm going to send Rob off to work with one tomorrow. At 6:45, since I'll be up!).  For lunch, I had a broccoli/cauliflower salad with real bacon bits, cherry tomatoes, onions, celery, hard boiled egg whites and a sweet vinegary-mayo dressing. Dinner was an Italian Turkey dish (ground turkey sauteed with mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, and then simmered in marinara sauce and topped with low fat cheese.

But the BEST part of my day today was what I didn't eat. I had a late afternoon training class that lasted from 1 - 5pm. The trainers bring us treats to help keep us awake, usually candy. Today (of course) it was a spread of pastries, bagels and cream cheese, cakes, muffins and an assortment of breads. Can you believe it?

I wasn't even tempted!

Olive Tapenade. I'm Not Joking.

I'm so excited! I just started a new diet! I know, I know...I just re-started Weight Watchers a few weeks ago, but you know that old saying about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? That's where I felt I was, and I was starting to embrace it. It was becoming a simple truth, the way of my life. The idea that I "really don't have to do anything different but I'm sure it will work this time!"  has finally lost it's appeal. I can fool myself a lot of the time...but not forever. I'm just not believing that story anymore (not seeing results for the umpteenth time is not believing!).

So, I wanted to do something CRAZY. Something that would require some planning, some work, some change, and even some dedication and commitment. Pretty scary, right? Who wants to work? Who likes change? Dedication and commitment sound kind of "effort-y".

Today I started Chris Powell's 7 Day Carb Cycle Solution. He says it's not a diet...it's a way of life! (That is one of the most annoying sayings and I know that I use it often, with every "diet", but the question here really is "which diet is going to fit into my life, thereby becoming, my way?). I should probably clarify here that when I say "diet" it just means "the way I eat". I can eat a 5,000 calorie a day diet of potato chips and pizza and it's still a "diet".  Not a very healthy one, but....you get the idea.

The premise of carb cycling (which has been around for 30 or more years and used by body builders), is that if you restrict your calories long term through dieting, your metabolism will eventually slow down to accommodate the lower caloric input until the body learns to "make do with what it's given" and there is no more weight loss. This explains the dreaded "plateau" and why many people who restrict calories don't see much weight loss and are baffled. For me, I've always seen some weight loss when I eat less. But since I can only stay on a diet for a week or two (really, just a week), I would have no idea if my metabolism slows down or not, I just know I go off the diet and gain whatever I've lost. I do this because, no matter how healthfully I like to eat, eventually I cheat. And then I feel bad about it. So I give up.

With the Carb Cycle Solution, it kind of feels like you go off the diet every other day! If you are a relatively healthy eater, it's not difficult to do the High Carb days. You must stick to whole grains, lean proteins, very little fat, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. On the Low Carb days, you have to say goodbye to carbs for 24 hours, but you get to eat healthy fats, even cheese and olives! I don't know which day is my favorite yet!!

Then the real treat comes on day 7. It's off! You can eat and drink whatever you want - pizza, cheese puffs, snack shack nachos, wine, ANYTHING. And you have not fallen off the wagon, you are not a loser. You must do this to convince your body that, while it may have thought it detected a calorie restricted diet, it most certainly did not. Ha!

After three consecutive weeks of the 7-day carb cycles, you do what's called a "Slingshot" week. You go all 7 days in a row 'High Carb'. This is to make extra sure that your body keeps it's metabolism high, and you do not always have calorie deficits (Low Carb days are naturally lower in calories), and I don't even know or care why else.

Today is day one and my first High Carb day. I've eaten so much I find it hard to believe that I have to eat again in an hour. That's right, you also must eat every three hours. This is where the planning and work comes in. I can't be in my kitchen all day every day. I have to work, haul the kid around, take care of the horse, etc. So I shopped for an entire week: 5 meals a day X 6 days (I will probably spend day 7 at the Snack Shack and Liquor Store). I spent just over $100, which I think is pretty darn good for 25 meals (enough for Rob and Jacob to have the dinners too!), I made two High Carb day's worth of taco fixings for lunches, and I'll make two low carb days worth of broccoli salad (with real bacon bits!). Breakfast I can make in the mornings (tomorrow is an egg white scramble with potato, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and salsa). I forgot to mention that you must have a high carb breakfast every day, even on low carb days. *sigh* (that was a sigh of contentment).

The snacks are a little trickier. I can make the yummy shakes when I'm at home (the Pina Colada shake is my afternoon snack today - pineapple, banana, shredded coconut, vanilla whey protein powder and almond milk). I'm not sure how I'm going to do the roast beef and olive tapenade lettuce wraps for my Low Carb snack at work tomorrow though. Pre-make and roll them in the morning? Olive tapenade? I can hardly believe what I'm typing!

So who is the genius, the man behind the Solution? Here he is....my new hero! He just looks trustworthy, doesn't he?

What do you think? I think I like it so far.....!

Play Ball!

It's Little League opening day today!

All across America, boys and girls in snappy team uniforms converge onto the field to sit with their respective teams as a local celebrity mc's the grand event, typically with sketchy sound quality, bad (but still funny) jokes, and a heart warming rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (usually performed by the same sweet-voiced kid year after year even though there are auditions). Baseball parents visit with the other baseball parents that they haven't seen since last season; "How is (insert name) doing in Junior High?", "Can you believe how tall (insert name) has gotten?", "What team is (insert name) on this year?" "Who is the Coach?" "Oh, yes. We had him two years ago, (insert name) is a Great coach!"

And my favorite part of Little League season.....?

SNACK SHACK

Sure, I love to watch my kid play ball. The older the kids get, the more fun it is to watch. This is Jacob's 6th year of playing and he's in the Majors now. But the snack shack...my kryptonite, my nemesis, my Achilles heel, my bete noire, my love, my passion....*sigh*. I dream about it during the off-season.

This morning I asked my son: "Guess what I'm having for lunch today!?" (in a far too sing-songy voice for 8am apparently).  He rolled his eyes and mumbled "nachos."

"That's RIGHT! And maybe Now n' Laters for dessert!"

Every year, around this time, I have to add in an extra hike each week so that I can munch away on so-bad-it's-good snack shack fair without guilt. I've stopped fighting it, stopped trying to rationalize it, and stopped feeling guilty about it. Here's why:

1) It has the fat/salt/sugar content that releases those feel good chemicals in my brain
2) It carries with it the nostalgia of being a kid and hanging out at the ball fields/snack shack which releases those feel good chemicals in my brain
3) I am supporting Little League with every purchase which releases those feel good chemicals in my brain

And nobody judges. Not even me.

Who would have the strength to fight that? I'm no superman.

So as I sit here, finishing up my bowl of granola (one needs a solid foundation), about to change out of these jeans and into a nice comfy pair of stretchy pants and head over to the ball field, I realize that I've elevated "Snack Shack Preparedness" to an art form. And I'm sort of proud of it.

Play ball!!

Sometimes I'm Just Not Happy

And I hate it! It doesn't feel like "me". I'm chalking it up to hormones.

I'm so ready to be 10-20 or 30 pounds lighter. Like, right NOW. Last week was not a good week. I didn't even bother "weighing in" (Ok, I did. But the results are not noteworthy).

In case you're wondering, I didn't post anything on Friday because I was too busy crying and eating corn chips. And the party just continued right into the weekend....and a little bit this morning.

But it's a new week! it's always a new week, isn't it?

SO, this FRIDAY, stay tuned for a spectacularly positive and uplifting post!!