Everything tastes as good as skinny feels. (Part Deux)

Yes, I know it has been WAY over 24 days since the 24-Day Challenge. Ma bad!

It's actually been about 44 days. Although I stopped taking the prescribed vitamin supplements and went back to my Women's One A Day after 24 days, I have continued to eat 6 small(er) meals per day: cutting back on dairy, pasta/bread, sweets, and coffee. The first 24 days I was probably 90% "on" and now it has probably dwindled to about 70%. Not bad.

I haven't had a burrito since January. I did, however, chow down on some cheese and crackers one day and ate an entire Subway foot long meatball sub with cheese another. They were on the weekends, and after major workouts. I hope that counts for something. (Yes, I can still take down a foot long Sub. I don't remember the last time I did that.)

Remember my hypothesis for this diet?

1.) It will be really hard.
2.) I might be really cranky.
3.) I will look better.
4.) I will be hungry all the time.
5.) I will succeed with the 24 days, then go back to eating burritos because they definitely taste better than skinny feels.

1.) It is pretty hard, but not as hard as I thought. The worst part is meal planning, and deconstructing food.

2.) I haven't been cranky because I eat plenty of food. This is not a starvation diet - not even during the cleanse portion did I have to starve myself. In fact, I eat more throughout the day, just more fruits, veggies, and lean meats. In fact, I have gone through 4 dozen eggs, a couple jars of peanut butter, and 4 celery stalks in the past month or so. That's more celery than I've eaten in the past 5 years.

3.) I haven't lost any significant weight (maybe 2 pounds but still hovering at 134), but my tummy feels a bit more toned. Have you ever heard that it takes 90 days to see a difference? That might be the case. 

4.) I am not hungry all the time. See #2.

5.) I have not yet gone back to eating burritos, but I'm sure they taste just as good as they did 44 days ago.

To be continued . . . 

Before - February 11

Somewhere around day 30

Ain't got time for that

I would like to thank Sweet Brown for reminding us that sometimes, you just ain't got time for that. 

I am amazed the time that people have to do things. There are so many things I want to do, but I just can't imagine finding the time to do them. There was a hilarious article in The Onion called "Find the Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights and Weekends." Brilliant. There are so many things I would do more if I could just find the time:

1.) Take a class
2.) Read more books
3.) Go to more music performances
4.) Sleep

I work a full time job in the Silicon Valley where people are constantly moving in different directions, looking for the hottest idea, or starting a new company. Although I'm not an entrepreneur (yeah, not at all - those people are crazy), I somewhat feel like I get caught up in the be-ridiculously-busy-all-the-time vibe. It's kind of like "keeping up with the Joneses" but instead of the desire to buy a Mercedes, wear Prada, or look for the perfect private school for my children, Chad and Brenda, I like to keep myself busy with projects.

You know. Like events and stuff. And then I write about it.

Recently, I signed up for a 12-week Human Physiology class at Duke University through Coursera. Pretty cool site that allows you to take university courses for free online. I was interested in taking an Anatomy class, but it got cancelled for some reason, so instead I signed up for Beginning Human Physiology. There was nothing beginning about this class. The first session was about the endocrine system and all kinds of sodium and potassium getting moved all over different containers of the body. I had barely remembered what [Na+] or [K+] was referring to. But, I kept watching lectures - 3 weeks worth.

Then I took the first practice exam, and got only one question correct. Yep, I have no idea what they are talking about. Nice try, though.

Truth is, I'm just not passionate enough, nor do I have the time to take a Human Physiology class online. It was way too much of a lofty goal. Sure, I could have bought a text book, or participated in all of the online forums and asked a bunch of questions. But shit. I ain't got time for that. I was literally trying to watch a video lecture in the milliseconds of my life when I had nothing to do.

Facebook is an interesting place, because I see people doing things and think to myself, "When do they have time to do that?" Take my favorite, time sucking website, Pinterest, which I still have no interest in joining. I'm not going to make my own insect repellent!! I'm going to go to Target and buy some. I'm not going to knit a sweater!! I just can't sit that long.

Then there are big things like remodeling part of a house, buying property, having children,. . . whoa! The thought just rattles my brain. I definitely don't have time for that.

Now, I'm sure you are all thinking, "Why does she have time to write this?"

Touche.

Why I skipped the 408k

Race bib never made it on my shirt. D tag timing chip never made it on my shoe. I never made it to the 408k.

I have a confession.

I skipped the 408k race last weekend.

I paid the entry fee months ago, and even made myself and a friend late for a bridal shower (sorry Christine and Monica) so I could pick up my race bib on the Saturday before. I had arranged a ride to the race start (boyfriend), and lunch with a friend after the race too (sorry Tiff).

So what happened?

The end of daylight savings time. I even went to bed early enough, but when I awoke to darkness, my first thought was, "Oh F@#$ this! I am not getting up this early to run less than 5 miles!" and I went back to bed.

Aside from being lazy, now I'm a distance snob too. You know. One of  those people who can't be satisfied with a mile or two. Every run has to be over a 10k or it's not even worth it. Sad.

I tried to make up for it by swimming 1600 meters of drills, the running 5 miles later that afternoon. Still, for the past week I have been looking at pictures of my friends at this race, and have been reading emails about all of the days happenings, and I have some regrets. Had I gotten my lazy ass out of bed, it probably would have been a fun day. Looking at results online, I probably would have been close to the top 10 in my age group too.

Everyone has their off days, I guess.

Let's talk about wrestling, shall we?

Wresting is a great sport - super intense, man on man fighting, but it takes more skill than it does the ability to just punch someones face in. One quick move, and the entire match can go your way . . . or their way. I watched enough of it as a  high school student in Iowa to appreciate the intensity and how much dedication these wrestlers put into their sport. They wrestlers and my high school were the first kids up in the morning, and the only kids in the lunch room who couldn't afford to eat in fear of not "making weight" for the match that week. I dare say, wrestling was more popular than football. It was pretty much accepted that you could ditch school and go up to Des Moines for the day to watch the Iowa State Wrestling Tournament.

I recently saw an article about a senior wrestler at the University of Iowa who threw his second place medal in the trash, and needless to say, it really pisses me off.

Wrestling is a big thing in Iowa. In Iowa, they call Michael Jordan the "Dan Grabel of basketball." Dan Grabel is the long time head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. Did you know that? I didn't, but I know who Michael Jordan is.

No offense, Iowa.

But seriously, I don't want to start an argument about the importance of wrestling or any other sport. Anyone can say, "(Fill in the blank) is the toughest sport..." or "You wouldn't understand unless you played (fill in the blank)..." You can make an argument that any sport is the best. But, the mental game of any sport is the same. It's about being able to use your body to the fullest potential, and that includes your brain, which includes your attitude. Bad attitude usually leads to defeat. Geez, haven't you seen the Karate Kid? Those douche bag kids get their asses handed to them by a younger, weaker kid because he has heart and the ability to catch flies with chopsticks.

To praise this kid for "taking nothing less than 1st place," or saying, "It's his medal, he can do what he wants with it," is just complete bullshit.

Now you all know I think giving out medals to just anyone who participates is a little overdone. But, a second place medal in the Big Ten college tournament is nothing to scoff at. Even being in the tournament is a huge accomplishment. Whether or not you decide to respect a piece of metal that represents your achievements is up to you; but throwing it in the trash at the tournament as a sign of your disdain is a sign of mental weakness. (And makes you a complete douche bag, by the way.)

When someone gives you a medal, you should realize all of the pain and hardship other people have put into giving YOU the opportunity to compete at a tournament. People went out of their way to coach you, mentor you, make your singlet and athletic supporter for you, and someone in a back room somewhere made sure that your name was engraved on a plaque somewhere. Have a little respect.

I also had someone tell me, "It's a guy thing, you just wouldn't understand." Excuse me, I don't have a penis, but I've taken enough science to understand how it works. I've also played enough sports, and had enough goals and ambition in my life to understand that you don't win all the time, no matter how hard you try.

If you don't like being second, well you've got a really hard life ahead of you, son. You are not going to be at the top of your sport forever, so what are you going to do with your life when it's all over? Teach kids that they suck if they get second place? Get a grip, kid. College is supposed to teach you how to survive as an adult, not be a crybaby. I hope you are not sitting on a couch eating potato chips when you are my age, but let's face it - the odds are against you.

Lucky to have good friends

Obligatory jumping photo. Awesome Monday evening hike! Lucky to have a great friend, happy to have the extra hours of sunlight.

New gear on old gears

Instead of paying $6,500 in car payments on a new car this year, I decided to keep my old car and have a bike rack installed.

Donations are Fabulous - Thanks PH!

I'm cheesy, and I'm raising money for a great cause!

As many of you know, I am trying to raise at least $1,500 for Barb's Race this year. Vineman Charities donates proceeds from Barb's Race to cancer research because Barb is a long time Vineman supporter who battled cancer - twice - and won. I am going to battle this course another year. My goal is under 6 hours.

This is the only cause I will be fundraising for this year - if you can make a donation, CLICK HERE for my fabulous fundraising page.

A friend and fellow triathlete, Paul H., gave me a $150 donation, and I promised to dedicate 150 training miles to him. Since he demands documentation - here it is! (Click on the links for more information, and also a fun video!)

Saturday, February 23 - Ran 10 miles on my "home" route, the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

Sunday, February 24 - Biked 48.28 miles from Edgewood/Canada Roads to home.

Tuesday, February 26 - Ran a 6-mile track workout at Foothill College. A bunch of 400 meters fast. Wow! I haven't done that since high school! Oh, the tri club also put together this little treasure after the workout.

Wednesday, February 27 - Swam 1.1 miles at my gym's pool.

Thursday, February 28 - Spin class for another 18.25 miles. (Spin counts as biking, especially when it's still dark after work!)

Friday, March 1 - Ran 5.02 miles outside on a break from work.

Saturday, March 2 - Biked 58.18 miles with the tri club.

Monday, March 3 - Ran 8 miles on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. Swam .5 miles to cool down.

TOTAL Mileage = 155.33

That's right - above and beyond the call of duty. Paul H. gets an extra 5.33 training miles just cuz. Thanks for your support!!

I'm glad to dedicate training miles to anyone who donates $100 or more to my fundraising page. $1 = 1 mile of training. I have about 1,400 training miles left to go! Here's that link to my FUNDRAISING PAGE again!

I call Bullshit

I would like to start a series entitled, "I call BULLSHIT." Please let me know if there are things you would like to call BULLSHIT on too.

#1: BMI (Body Mass Index) - BULLSHIT!

According to the BMI, three of these women are obese. #1, #2, and #6. Remember when obesity meant you couldn't fit into an airplane chair? Now even fit people are overweight. F-you BMI. 

#2: Eye cream - BULLSHIT!

Item on the right costs as much as item on the left, but it is only for the 1'' area around your eyes. It is  a scam.  For two weeks I have been testing the eye cream on one eye, and you guessed it, both eyes look the same. Further testing required. But for now, it's bullshit.

#3: Counting carbohydrates in a banana - BULLSHIT.

If you are looking at this picture and thinking, "That looks like 72 grams of carbohydrates to me," then there is something wrong with you. Don't count carbs in a banana, just eat them for goodness sake. Geez.

Cheat list

It's been 19 of 24 days on the Challenge, and yes, I have cheated. Here is my cheat list:

Shredded cheese on salads - I tried to remove most.
A 1''x1'' piece of Tilamook Cheddar on a Triscut - Yes, just one.
Butter as a saute fat.
1/2 shot of Makers Mark
4oz. of red wine
A 2'' x 2'' piece of brioche french toast with strawberries - Strawberries are a fruit (justifying actions).
6 tortillas
Bacon pieces on a salad

I would like to keep up my healthy eating as much as possible, but there is just one little thing I miss that will be added back into my diet as quickly as possible. I'm not sure the reason for giving it up. It is coffee. Yes, coffee with a little non-fat milk and a Splenda. Zero fat (regular, trans or saturated), less than 1g of carbs, and it has basically zero nutritional value except it has caffeine and tastes delicious.