Me, You & Food...are you what you eat??

 

  Who's cooking your food? 

  What are you eating?

     Do you know what's on your plate?

Could your great grandma recognize it?

My fitness detour????

So, I decided on Tuesday to jog around the University Lake like I did on Monday and headed there right after work with pure excitement. Why? Jogging allows me to think, clear my mind and enjoy my surroundings. Also, I was told around 5pm was a good time to jog since it was not too busy. I got into my zone to accomplish 3 miles, set my fitness watch and got my warm up started; within 2 minutes I was in my jogging zone around the lake until I was faced with a jog "block" that I did not see coming. 

Earlier, navigating the geese poop was more than enough to keep up with but having a portion of the boardwalk roped off was not in the plan.

I had three options at this point: stop my jog and go home, jump in the yucky lake water and swim around the caution roped off area or sprint through the work area and continue with my jog. At this point, I thought about it for a few seconds while jogging in place then dashed over the woven ropes and sprinted through their work area and continued along. My mind was set on accomplishing a 3 mile jog so finding a way around my 'jog' block was imperative. By the 3rd time around, I looked right at the men and kept going; I believe they realized I was not to be stopped prematurely.

In the end, I reflected on my beautiful scenery totally sweaty & victorious. 

          

                             

Fitness roadblocks??

What have you allowed to set you back and why?

Your Time vs Your Money

*CHOICES*CHOICES*

I opted to keep my money and utilize my time/skills on this afternoon. Now, what would you have done in this situation (given our current economy)?

So, I had plans to get in a full body workout on last Saturday morning by mowing the mountain of grass displayed thanks to our showers; however, it was raining that morning and continued on and off all weekend long so I finally got around to it yesterday.

The question posed to you is, would you had even bothered to cut the grass yourself or would you had utilized a lawn company and done something else with your evening?

If you did opt to cut the grass yourself, please give your reasoning behind it.

If you would have quickly hired someone else to tackle that mountain of grass, what would have been your reasoning behind of it?


AFTER:

                                                            

Saved by my Adrenaline while jogging

Disclaimer: This is not for the dog lover.

My Adrenaline saved my legs; the dog and its owner from deadly force. Yes, it was that type of AM jog I experienced this morning.

Once I cut my grass on Thursday evening, I had to decide what my Sat AM workout would be so I concluded it would be a jog in my community. I would save myself time, gas and finally know the distance of my community via my IPHONE (my workout stats etc). By 8 am I was up and heading through the door at 8:30 excited to see my workout stats in a few. For a slight second, I thought to walk with my long broom stick carried while walking but declined since jogging was the agenda of the day. This lady and her two dogs were ending their morning walk and my vibe told me to cross the street well before passing them and I did. My community has various hills so my goal was to make it to the front and once there make it back to the house since I've been doing a combination of jogging/walking recently but not an entire route of jogging etc. Well, all HELL broke loose the last 6 minutes of my jog. At this point, I’ve made it back up the steepest hill and just need to finish this last street and head for the house. Well, the previous vibe came over me again and I quickly realized the big dog was speeding towards me with death in his face. What did I do? Well, I did not run but began to scream so loud and violently that it stopped the dog in its tracks and caused a neighbor to pay attention. Well he did nothing but chuckle as though he was at comedy zone but I could not even deal with his stupidity right then and there. The dog and I looked dead at each other and he charged again. This time I screamed but dipped to the ground with only freshly mowed grass to defend myself. Again, he stopped and all this time my moron of a male neighbor just stood there looking as though now he’s watching WWF. Now, besides being bit up by a protective chicken hen as a child for being too close to her babies and getting chased by aggressive geese, I've been okay in terms of attacks. By now, I realized there is silence and my IPHONE is not playing any music so I immediately got overly pissed off with the thought of thinking my accumulated workout data was lost dealing with this vicious dog but it was not. The dog was not backing down and my eyes concluded there were no objects around but my screaming brought out a neighbor and she finally got the dog to her with food from inside her house. I did scream to find out the owner’s residence and she provided it to me so as the dog ate from her, I charged to the door with the force of the US Navy Seal but decided not to handle her as my mind envisioned since the dog would sense his owner’s distress and charge after me again (adrenaline pumping but reasoning still in check somewhat). What truly put me over the top was when I yelled for her to get her dog and she calmly yet quickly said he would not bite me and she got it good from there on and fled my presence to find her dog. I thanked the neighbor that saved everyone from some sort of bloodshed and told the owner she needs to keep her dog on the leash. She yelled thank you and I responded if not gunshot and bloodshed…and she headed to the house as I continued my jog.

I must have burned more calories in those moments than I did the entire jog and it took everything out of me NOT to head back down to her house BUT I was soaking wet; hence cooling down, calming down and taking a shower took precedents. I was so disgusted with that experience that I ended up cooking a full breakfast to work off the excess adrenaline in my blood, mind and fingers (CNN breaking news).

Advice: Dog owners don’t be a naïve “rass” and think YOUR dog will not attack so protect others’ by using common sense if applicable and respect animal laws. Everyone, do whatever is necessary to protect yourself from immediate harm.

I have the permit so I’ll consider the heavier load as I jog in the future.

Break the PM fast pls!!!

 

 Good "ole" breakfast

When the alarm goes off, what thoughts come to mind after you have decided to really touch the floor (lol)?Are you a morning person? Do you look forward to having breakfast? During any given week, what types of food do you enjoy having for breakfast? If it had to be revealed, how would your stomach describle your (AM) food choices and preparation skills (be honest now)?

Do you get up, get ready and grab whatever is available at home?

Do you get up, get ready and grab the fastest or closest thing outside the house?
Do you make and pack your breakfast the evening before?
Do you get up early enough to enjoy breakfast at home or do you make and take it with you?

How does your day differ from having a planned breakfast vs a "go with the flow" breakfast schedule?

Based on your responses listed? Do you think you can step up your breakfast experience in a healthy and positive way? If so, how? 
 

Ezekiel Bread, Natural PB, banana & bberries



2011 is flying south?

I realized my bathroom calendar is still stuck in July yet August is half way over (hmm 4th of July was just here I thought sadly). I looked at it, shook my head and left it stuck in time.

Do you feel as though you're stuck in time as it relates to your fitness "resolutions" for 2009, 2010 and beyond? Are you struggling with the same challenges? Did you even bother to make fitness goals in 2011?

If so, what are some goals set forth and accomplished at this time? Have you made any positive changes on your fitness journey? If so, what has helped you along the way thus far?

If not, why? Is it a lack of interest, lack of motivation, lack of time management or lack of accountability etc?

Let's talk about it and help each finish the next four months better than the last eight.

Summer fresh produce--

Is anyone on a fresh produce overload "yet" this summer?

I believe in eating kindly and earthly as possible. Why? Well, it makes me feel at peace that I'm able to survive but more importantly flourish on such a clean diet with treats of course. I absolutely love the summer months for many reasons. We have longer days, less traffic (no school buses--yay), endless vacation options and most importantly, all the local fresh produce.

Early June I traveled to Myrtle Beach and had the chance to shadow my second dad to pick veggies from one of his vegetable fields and was forever changed. I woke up early and was eagerly waiting to officially become a county chick (as my friend put it). As a vegan, I was in heaven as we picked and washed carrots, squash, cucumbers, potatoes, beets, onions etc. I even tried a little salt on a freshly picked cucumber just the way daddy did. Everything he did, I did.

Finally, I roasted red potatoes, carrots, beets and onions "impatiently" in the oven. It was sooo good that I took some with me to a cookout and marveled in my leftovers all weekend long. Since then, I've been eating an abundance of fresh produce from the gardens of friends and colleagues'.

What are some of your favorite fruits & veggies to eat during the summer months? Do you have any current or former memorable summer experiences?

*Regardless of your food preference-everyone is welcome to share their produce faves!!!