Yesterday a friend of mine asked me "now that you've completed your six-week mini triathlon, what's next?" Great question! Experience has taught me having a new goal to work towards keeps me motivated.

Photo from The Art of Self-Motivation

I've been thinking a lot about stretching exercises, so yoga is a possibility. I'm looking for a yoga course that I can take in the fall, but that's a couple more months away. What do I want to do between now and then to build upper body and core strength? Well, since it's still summer, I'm looking for places to kayak.

This Sunday, I'm going to a conference in Boston for a few days and I'm looking at guided tour options on the Charles River. I'm finding rates of $15 per hour, which is decent. I'll let you know how this works out for me. I'm going to be out of town for the next several weekends, so I'll be looking at options in Rhode Island (a couple options: Narrow River or Queens River), later in August. I may even be able to get my brothers or a friend to join me!

Meanwhile, after being so pleased with myself about completing my six-week mini triathlon, I haven't been in the gym all week. I did get out and walk at lunch today, nothing fast, but stretching the legs was a good plan. My gym buddy Aime is on vacation and I have to keep myself motivated to go on my own. A gym buddy much more fun, but I know how good I feel when I'm working out, so I'll be back into the gym tomorrow.

What are the rest of you doing for exercise this summer?

July 25, 2012

Patty posted this on Facebook and it looks great. I haven't tried it yet, but wanted to have this recipe handy.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) package of full fat cream cheese (room temp.)
• 2 eggs
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Garlic powder
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup jarred marinara sauce*
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I suggest cutting way back on this)
• Sauteed pepperoni and other meats - keep meat and veggie ratio balance)
• Garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 9×13 baking dish
3. Blend cream cheese and eggs and season with pepper & garlic powder
4. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until combined
5. Pour into buttered baking dish
6. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown
7. Let crust cool for 10 minutes before adding toppings
8. After crust is cooked, raise oven to 400 degrees
9. Mix together marinara sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper & oregano
10. Top crust with marinara and spread evenly
11. Top with mozzarella cheese
12. Add toppings (suggestion from others: load it up with meat, and limit your fat for the rest of the day)

Bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

The crust is not crisp like traditional pizza. Make sure you cook it til the top is golden brown and let it cool the full 10 minutes before adding the toppings and that will help. You still may end up with a fork, but good, soft pizza is better than no pizza!

July 25, 2012

I created this yummy lemon chicken recipe a few weeks ago and thought I'd share it with the rest of you. Okay, so I took a few bites before taking the photo...

Lemon Chicken; photo by Theresa

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup lemon juice 
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• onion powder 
• ground black pepper to taste 
• seasoning salt to taste 
• 2 teaspoons parsley

Place the chicken in a pan with the olive oil and lemon juice until it is cooked; turn chicken once or twice. After the first turn, add onion powder, pepper, salt and parsley. 

Here's a similar recipe for the grill, courtesy of: goodenessgracious.com:

Basil Lime Chicken

This looks so much like my recipe above, well perhaps tastier than mine!

Ingredients

• 4 Limes (juice and zest) Divided
• 3 T Olive Oil 
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I do not use this much...I eyeball it)
• 3 T Dijon Mustard
• 3 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• 6 Green Onions Chopped Divided
• 4 Cloves Garlic Minced Divided
• 1/4 cup Chopped Basil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 lbs Chicken Breasts
• 1 jalapeno

Instructions

1. Combine the zest and juice of 2 limes, Olive Oil, Mustard, Worcestershire, Soy, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Cut chicken into even cutlets and place in a gallon sized baggie.
3. Pour marinade over the chicken and marinate for 2+ hours (I marinate overnight)
4. Preheat grill or grill pan
5. Place chicken on grill and grill for 7 minutes.
6. Then flip and cook until internal temp reaches 170.
7. Remove from grill and let meat rest.
8. Meanwhile combine juice and zest of 2 lime with extra virgin olive oil, 3 chopped onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, jalepeno, basil.
9. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces and pour sauce over top.

July 25, 2012

I got a round-about funny compliment this weekend. I ran into one of my mom's friends who I haven't seen in a while. We chatted and then went our separate ways. My mother calls me to tell me her friend had called her as soon as she had gotten home from running into me. My mother proceeds to tell me that her friend was shocked at the weight I had lost. She was worried that I had been really sick and was calling my mom to see what was going on and if I was alright. She didn't dare mention the weight loss to me when she saw me because she was positive I was or am really sick.

I had to laugh! I needed that. I have been a bit down as the weight isn't coming off as fast as I want it to and the compliments had slowed down also.

Then in church yesterday I wore a shirt my friend Luanne handed down to me and low and behold got a few more compliments, so something is happening, I am just not seeing it in my sizes.

Then thinking over my adult life, I have never been a size 16 since I had been 20 years old, a long time ago. So I guess I can see why my mother's friend was so shocked.

Also, I have never in my adult life, been able to accept hand-me-downs and have them fit! That alone is MAJOR in my life!! No one had hand me downs big enough to fit me!!!

I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I am NOT SICK and am loosing weight so effortlessly and enjoyably! and not starving myself!!!

helps to put things back into perspective!!!! Thought you would all enjoy a chuckle today!!!

July 23, 2012

I'm continuing to explore options out there in the world of fitness that I might enjoy. Someone at work offered to do a spinning class, to help us finish up our mini-triathlon goals; the six week challenge ends this Sunday. I never thought I'd find myself in a spinning class, but that's just where I was today. Wow, that was a workout! 

Image source: Gables Fitness

I doubled the distance I've been getting on the recumbent, and that's great because I still have another 18 miles to bike this week. Right now that seems like a whole lot of miles and an impossible goal to achieve, but I am determined and so close to my goal. I can't let myself down! I will make my goal!

It's these great little challenges that keep me going back to the gym. I'm still feeling pain in my achilles heel, but not when I'm on the bike. One good thing about this spinning class: at the end we did stretches that are exactly what I'm supposed to do to help heal my heel. Support comes in strange ways.

July 19, 2012

Earlier this month, Linda wrote about Exercising Around the House and asked us to share ways to exercise in fun ways around the house. For example, she has an aunt who does knee bends while washing dishes. Linda wrote about how she exercises in their in ground pool, which sounded like a lot of fun. I don't have much to say about exercising around the house in fun ways, but I've had a lot of fun in the water during my summer vacation.

Boat harbor where we took off in Long Beach.
We sailed the small boat located in the front right of the pier.
Photo by Theresa

Usually when I vacation in Southern California, my exercise consists of only walking. Each year the walking seemed to be less and less distance covered because my weight kept going up and up. Not this summer. This summer I not only walked a great deal, I gave my upper arms a good workout too.

I swam laps at the Belmont Olympic indoor pool until my arms ached. This experience was quite different from the last time I'd been in swimsuit, which was in 2006. That year, and at my heaviest weight, I wore a swimsuit (size 30/32) and I swam in the beach on the windward side of Oahu. Unlike my friends who sunbathed most of the time we were there, I was in the ocean the entire time at the beach. I love swimming. I loathe sunbathing. At least I didn't let my weight or vanity stop me from getting into the ocean. Prior to 2006, I hadn't been swimming since 2002, when I took an aquatics class. Prior to that 1989 was the last time I swam. Obesity has kept me from one of the great pleasures of life: swimming. Not anymore!

I sailed while on vacation too. It's been years since I've been at the helm and I had forgotten how much fun it is. I also forgot what a workout tacking can be. My friends wanted to give me a refresher on tacking (sailing close-hauled on alternate courses so that the wind is first on one side of the boat, then on the other), so they had me steer all the way and out of a channel, where I had to tack again and again. It was a blast! My arms ached for days after.

I also enjoyed kayaking this summer. Now here's a fun way to get in an upper arm workout! When I was in Alaska last summer, I declined on an opportunity to kayak, because I knew I didn't have the upper strength to get in and out of the kayak. Alaska is no place to be in stuck in the water. It was depressing seeing everyone else paddle around while I stayed on the main boat. That's why this summer I took the opportunity to learn how to kayak. one of the friends I traveled with in Alaska was my Long Beach kayak teacher. I enjoyed this so much, I can barely holding back from running out to buy a kayak. Instead, I'm looking for places I can rent a kayak near my home and friends to join me.

I told my Long Beach friend if I hadn't been swimming for several days, followed by sailing, and kayaking, I would ask her to take me to the emergency room. That's how bad my arm ached! That just solidified the need for me to continue to find ways to have fun and build upper arm strength at the same time.

As much as I have enjoyed outdoor activities, I'm grateful to have a state-of-the-art-gym at work. Until last October, I didn't use the gym, but I find when it's too hot or too icy outside, the gym works best for me. Plus, I have co-workers who workout with me or at least walk with me to the gym and then we go our separate ways. This kind of support helps!

Yesterday I planned to bike during lunch, but it was too hot to walk to the gym and I didn't get there at the end of the day as I had planned. I too am doing an at-work-fitness challenge, which has helped me get in lots of exercise this summer. I have to make up for the lost time on the bike that I missed yesterday in the next few days, as the challenge ends this Sunday. My plan is to bike 8 miles four times this week. Before my vacation, I did a little over 6 miles and was exhausted when I was finished. Earlier this week, I did 7 miles and I could have done more if I didn't have to get back to work. It's great to see that I've built up strength in my legs. Woohoo!

Based on how quiet this blog is, it seems I'm not the only one who is enjoying a summer vacation. When you get back, tell us what kinds of fun activities you did this summer. What fun things have you done this year that you couldn't do last year?

July 18, 2012

While on vacation in Southern California the past two weeks, I had some incredible meals. I want to share a few stories and photos from some of the meals on my trip.

Breakfast from Baja Fresh at LAX airport. Photo by Theresa.

Airport Food

When I was at the at LAX airport, waiting to depart for Hartford, I had lots of time before my plane was boarding to search for the best choice for breakfast. I found a place called Baja Fresh. I made up my own dish, which was inspired from a menu item they referred to as Baja Bowls. My version (shown in the photo above) included spicy tender steak, scramble eggs, freshly made pico de gallo, ripe Roma tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and topped with sour cream. Man, I really know how to order off-menu!

A lesson that I learned and I want to share with the rest of you who plan to travel: look at the packaging of the food you are going to travel with carefully. I bought a pack of pepperoni sticks and a package of beef teriyaki (jerky) to have for lunch between LAX and Dulles, WA. I figured the pepperoni sticks would be all I needed, so before sitting down, I tossed the jerky into my bag that I stored above my seat. You can guess where this story's headed.

After they came through with food, and I said no thanks, I pulled the pepperoni from my purse and discovered the pack was vacuum sealed. There was no way to open the package without scissors or a knife, which the attendants did not have.

Sitting next to the window (without a seat belt extension - I still can't get over that!), I decided I'd just wait until we landed to eat. I tried to busy my mind by watching a movie, but I it was going to be seven hours before we landed. At some point both people in my row got up to use the rest room, so I jumped up and grabbed my jerky. Yes, I could have asked them to move so I could get up, but I wasn't inclined to do that at the time. I may have asked if they hadn't stood up.

Dinner with Friends

The most challenging meal for me was the night I had dinner with old friends, shown in the photo below (yes, that's me with another new dress - thanks to Aime). They key word here is friends. If I can't ask my friends what they're serving for dinner and be frank enough to talk about other alternatives, then I'm not sure how I'll ever survive the rest of my journey. 

I took a deep breathe and I asked my friend Mary to put her daughter on the phone. Nina was cooking dinner, so I asked what she's cooking. I then told her it sounded wonderful, but I don't eat gluten-free noodles, so her lasagna wasn't going to work for me. Was there something else we could arrange? Nina said "no problem, I'll cook you a nice piece of chicken on the grill." It was that simple.

Theresa with Southern California friends George and Mary. Photo by Nina.

What was so incredible was that when Nina and I had a few minutes to ourselves, she thanked me for asking her for another option. She was so gracious. She said she could see how much weight I've lost, even since I saw her two months ago, and she was happy to support my staying on course with the program. That's a good friend! The was delicious chicken too!

BTW, when I called, I had every intention of saying I would bring protein for myself. I wasn't expecting such a generous response. 

Last year when I visited with Mary, she took me to an In and Out Burger where we ordered burgers from their not-so-secret menu. I went to In and Out this trip as well, and, as you can see in this photo, they wrap these burgers with lettuce instead of a bun!

In and Out Burger; lettuce wrapped instead of a bun. Photo by Theresa.

Hot Tub Breakfast

I cooked during my vacation too. Here's a breakfast I made and then ate by the hot tub, after a morning walk to the pool. Years ago I got a number of my friends into frothing milk for their coffee, so when I visit, I don't have to travel with a frother.

Scrambled egg with Parmesan, dill, and chives, with asparagus and tomatoes. Photo by Theresa.

We did a lot of grilling at another friend's, almost every night for a week, which I really enjoyed.  I love eating outside in the yard. Living in a condo, I don't do that. 

Exercise Mojo Explained

This is not related to my travels, but I want to explain a comment I made to an earlier post. I referred to "mojo" in one of my comments about exercise and I want to explain what I meant by "mojo."  I was playing with words. What I meant to say was that last summer (2011) Julie gave my group an exercise suggestion to help us. I referred to Julie's "exercise suggestion" as mojo, meaning to be humorous, but my meaning was lost in translation. Sorry!

In any case, I had a few more thoughts about this that I explored tonight. For whatever reason, I didn't take to Julie's exercise suggestion last summer, but I did start to exercise in October.  I was curious about the time I started to exercise versus when I had last seen Julie. Looking at my calendar, I saw Julie a week before I started exercising on Oct. 25. I know because I logged my couch-to-5K progress and my sessions with Julie. What makes all of this (slightly) interesting is that I was out of town when I started to exercise and later that day I found out that Aime started a couch-to-5K that same morning. We both thought it was a funny coincidence, but looking back now, I realize we went to the Oct. session together. My guess is Julie gave us another exercise suggestion and that time it worked for me, as well as Aime.

July 17, 2012

Oh my! Did I really post a photo with me in a bathing suit? Yes I did. Yikes! I can't believe I did that. Today I'm going to write about negative self-talk, so I can get it out there in the open, out of the dark corners of my life and into the light. I am changing my life and I no longer need to stand in the shadows.

Del Mar, CA. Photo by Theresa

I'm currently at the same size that most of you began your weight loss journey, so it is a mixed bag when I see your photos. I'm inspired to see that you went from the size I am now to my goal size (8). At the same time, I look at my photos and think about how big I am now and I'm horrified at how large I was six sizes ago. I feel great about my progress and then when I see my photo I have mixed feelings again. I see how much I've lost and I feel good, but I also see how much more weight I have to lose and then I don't feel so good.

But all is not lost! I have positive thoughts to push me forward and away from these negative ones, some of which come from within and others from the support of this blog and the Facebook support group. Thank you all for sharing the way you do. Your stories inspire me and encourage me to stay positive about my journey, which is fantastic.

Other positive thoughts come from friends I've known for years. While visiting my friends in southern California, where I lived for eight years near people I've known for 35 years and others I've known all my life, they said some wonderful and positive things to me. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Wow - you look so different! 
• Do you realize how much you've changed?
• This is the first time I've seen you in a dress in twenty years! 
• It's wonderful seeing you wear fun clothes again!

It was fabulous to visit my friends and for them to see me being active once again. During my visit, I found that I was filled with negative thoughts again and again. I can't walk as fast. I can't move as fast. I don't have as much strength in my arms. One night I was to sleep on a futon on the floor and I was caught up in thoughts about how difficult it was going to be getting on the floor then getting up again in the morning. But then I would remember:

• I am changing my life. 
• I am moving. 
• I am moving faster. 
• I am building strength in my arms, legs, and my core. 
• I did get in and out of the pool. 
• I did go kayaking and swimming.
• I am an active person once again. 
• I did my stretching exercises last night.
• I am living life in the light.

It's not about being the fastest or the strongest. It's about being strong and living my best life. It's about living life in the light instead of in the shadows.

Another positive experience happened the day after I returned from my vacation, at the Holyoke mall. I discovered that Aime was right when a few weeks ago she told me that would be my last time shopping in the woman's section of Macy's. After trying on a few items in the woman's department, I wandered over to the other side of the clothing area and when I went into the dressing room to try on 18's and 16's (nobody stopped me at the entrance) I was ecstatic that I found items that fit. I didn't buy them because I just wanted to know if they would fit, I wasn't ready to spend any money. I may go back in a few weeks and try on a dress that I liked, but I wanted it to be loser around the hips.

Woohoo! Now I know what people mean by shopping therapy!

Oh, and it's pretty safe to say, as several of you have reported recently, I too lost weight while on vacation! I'm moving into the light and the lighter side of life!

Del Mar, CA. Photo by Theresa

July 15, 2012