serinde

So the leadership program of great renown had its last session the first week of this month; and once that heat was off, as well as the start-of-semester wharrgarbl dying down, I determined to make another go at the various lifestyle changes I had worked out back in June. If you don't feel like making the clicky, it boiled down to these:

1) stop what I'm doing by 10:30, be in bed by 11
2) do some yoga or other calisthenics in the morning, rather than coffee-and-stare-at-internets; carry coffee into work
3) ride bike more
4) spend less money; take lunch more, cook more
5) be diligent about tracking what I eat

Concurrent with this, right after the program ended I was feeling unusually down. There are, of course, any number of possible contributing factors--kitty, major project stress, seasonal change?--but it made a useful benchmark.

For each of the last three weeks, I have done yoga 4 of 5 work mornings; rode my bike to & from work either two or three times; been increasingly good about food tracking (it's not 100% but we're getting there); and been cooking and taking my lunch more often than not*. I've also been going out less. I have not been entirely diligent about bedtime, but I'm in bed by 11:15 more often than not.

Results thus far:
+ I am in much, much better state of mind, on the whole.
+ Weight is at last starting to creep downwards.
+ I have spent a lot more time working on my stuff, whether it be knitting, sewing, cooking, or domestic improvements.
+ My complexion has gotten clearer (!). This makes little sense to me, considering I haven't eaten less sugar or chocolate, neither of which is usually my downfall anyways, but there it is.
+ The apartment is getting closer to where I want it to be.
+ Biking is becoming easier! I am in my top gear (of 7. don't judge me.) for much of the ride, and I can get up the first half of the OMG DOOM DOOM hill under the GWB.
- So far the yoga has not yet seemed to improve the weakness in my left leg.
- I keep waking up half an hour before my alarm, at what seems to be the end of a REM cycle? Then drifting back to sleep, then snapping awake when the alarm hits.

This looks like pretty unqualified success, and although it's really hard, in that first five minutes, to drag myself from the warm snuggly bed and go to something exercise-y, I always feel better when I do; and one morning the lizard brain had convinced me to lame out, and within ten minutes I found myself on the mat anyways. So it is full speed ahead, and maintain these changes as best I can through the exigencies of the holiday season.

* of course then I spent money I shouldn't have on fripperies, but I mean, one problem at a time

Postulate 1: If it's really hot, you don't feel like eating.
Postulate 2: If it's cold, you tend to eat more.
Postulate 3: Our societal ass started spreading in the 70s, when air conditioning became more prevalent, and has increased unto the present day, where central air is all over the place (and the average set temperature is lower).
Theorem: Air conditioning makes you fat.

... in which case I shoulda lost weight this summer. Perhaps I should have bought a scale first.

so. fucking. sick. of salad.

The recipe is actually "Penne col Sugo di Tonno e Peperoni", but I don't need the empty starch calories. Of course, I didn't need the HALF CUP OF OLIVE OIL, either. And I was too lazy to roast the peppers in advance. Edits, as you see, were made.

Minced two cloves of garlic, chopped two bell peppers, and sauteed them in (much less) olive oil until nummy. Added salt, pepper, and 2 T. capers. Turned off fire, threw in 2 cans of tuna (water pack, drained). Made a slice of sprouted-wheat toast and applied as much of the glop as would stay on it.

Result: pretty good, and tolerably health-conscious. Obviously with the mercury business you don't want to eat it every day, but I haven't had tuna in a goodly while so I don't think my brain will immediately liquesce.

As expected, vacation = bad for diet. Finally stepped on the scale this morning; not quite back to square one, but ground definitely lost.

Which is sad, considering how little I was eating while sick. But the procession of delicious poached eggs during our Sydney stay seems to've been my downfall.

Down another pound and a half, which makes it 7 lbs in 4 weeks. (I can say this for the Too Stressed To Eat diet: it certainly works.) The blouse I'm wearing is now sorta loose on me, which is a little unfortunate since I like it so much; but this is, after all, the point.

In another few pounds, I should be able to bring back the first round of clothes that I spent last weekend laboriously banishing to dark corners of my closet. (Which probably contributed to my success.)

No running today, as between the wound on my heel and extremely sore legs due to lack of pre-run stretching yesterday, it just seemed too stupid to attempt. Also, I worked through my lunch hour.

This morning was a giant pile of steaming chaos, so I ran during lunch instead. This week's leitmotif is:

* 3 min. run
* 1.5 min. walk
* 5 min. run <-- DOOM DOOM DOOM
* 2.5 min. walk
* 3 min. run
* 1.5 min. walk
* 5 min. run
* Fall down

I managed the first five-minute run by downscaling speed...a lot...but pushed myself hard on the second one (for values of "hard" which are laughable to actual athletes, even amateur ones). Having drunk insufficient water this morning, I ended up overheated and dehydrated. Hurrah! But I did manage to evict much of the morning's spleen and ire. (Don't worry, it will refill.)

Up two pounds, but did not weigh myself immediately upon rising, and there was rather a lot of chocolate consumption this weekend. Ahem.

Or, "Pollo al Forno col Pomodoro Fresco e la Cipolle". Maybe. I think. I MADE IT UP.

Trying to come up with something that is a) South Beach compliant and b) I actually wanted to eat, I let myself be inspired by Happy New Cookbook. I chopped half a yellow onion and two garlic cloves, and let them slowly cook in a bit of olive oil. When the scent was pretty well filling up the room, I dumped it all over the three boneless, skinless breasts in an 8X8 baking dish, ground some pepper over top, covered with foil and put in a 350 deg. oven.

Meantime, I peeled two vine-grown tomatoes (still a pain in the ass) and chopped them coarsely.

About 5 minutes before I figured it was done, I raised the oven to about 380, removed the foil, and put the tomatoes over top. (Only then it cooked for maybe 10-15 minutes because I got involved with laundry.)

I meant to add basil, but I forgot. It was still pretty good.

This diet business still seems to be working. Bataan Power Walks during lunch are apparently enough to keep my metabolism awake (though the lack of aikido is starting to tell in stiffness and backaches). Another pair of new slacks are somewhat loose now. Wherein I realize a truth: although women's dress pants may have belt loops, they are functionally useless. The waistband is usually cut to ride low, or even slant slightly down, so trying to wear a belt with them doesn't work right at all. (Aside from the fact that, depending on your blouse, it may deform the line somewhat.) WHY DO THEY BOTHER?

I need more skirts. Beth is eager to teach me patternmaking, particularly for skirts which she says are easy and fun, but I have sworn I'm going to clear off a bunch of my sewing obligations before I start any new projects. And I have a lot of them.