A Loud Call of Chips and Wine!

Habits. Aren't they oddly more noticeable in others than in ourselves? Maybe it was the recent never ending string of colds and flu or a last chance to make a resolution, but I decided to make some changes to my diet and my overall health.

It's not because of my age, or because I have a kid, or because of breastfeeding or because my husband doesn't eat as well as I think he should, or because he should be exercising more or because nobody ever calls me to motivate me to go out and exercise,  or "at least I think I do more than so-and-so friend, or because my work-out clothes are ugly, it's not because it's too dark, or too cold, or too rainy or too late, or too early, or because "The Good Wife" is on. It's BECAUSE of ME. I have adopted habits and beliefs, seemingly some without my own knowing,  that are not working for me.

1. Spending too much time in coffee shops with or without my friends and their kids drinking coffees and eating muffins, cookies or biscuits.
2. Telling myself that I need something sweet to feel like my meal is over? (wtf? this one is weird.)
3. Baking is better than store-bought, which might be true, but not if I end up eating 10 of the 12 muffins I baked.
4. I don't like most veggies.
5. I'm not overweight.

So for the last two weeks or so I've been implementing some new or forgotten habits to my routine...

1. Daily green drink. One first thing in the morning and one at 3pm.
2. Five minute meditation just before my husband leaves for work while he plays with the kid.
3. No sugar, honey, jam, yogurt, milk, cheese, white rice, wheat toast and pasta, pancakes, muffins, maple syrup, butter, and eggs. Hardly any meat and if so only the size of my palm.
4. If I can skip coffee I do, if not, I put a tiny bit of milk in my coffee.
5. More greens; broccoli, kale, collards, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers, and fresh herbs.
6. My snacks are less coffee, muffins, raisins, toast with jam, dried fruit, cookies, and waffles and more apples, almonds, ginger tea, blueberries, and green drinks.
7. I go for the 60-40 rule; 60% of my plate consists of veggies or fruit.
8. Daily activity: I've found a variety of neat yoga, strength training and cardio workouts on youtube, and I make a point of doing at least 30 minutes every day especially if I can't make it outside to exercise. Cafemom Studios and Ekhart Yoga are great!

and I've noticed some significant changes:

1. No more bloating, gas, stomach aches, and heavy lethargic feelings after meals.
2. Fruits that didn't used to taste that sweet like apples and berries are super sweet to me now.
3. I crave sweets much less and I've been more or less able to curb these cravings with distractions or ginger tea. This is the biggest daily challenge. It's funny, I found myself online one afternoon searching for "healthier" desserts for almost 3 hours!!! Crazy.
5. I don't feel deprived when I see others eating a bacon and egg breakfast of champions, a mountain of nachos, or slices of chocolate pecan pie. It's funny, I thought I would, but it seems my body has taken over my mind and happily steers me towards the fruits and veggies.

I had one relapse. There was this bag of chips, not a bag of pretend healthy, organic pita chips, real O'lays salty, crispy chips leftover from a party we had. It was Friday, 5pm, time for wine and chips? Right? OMG. Pain, cramps and dizziness. Wine and chips? What was I thinking?

How long do they say it takes for habits to form?  21 days? Well, I'm game for 21 days and maybe even for more! What habits would you like to put in gear? Check out what Leo has to say about sticking to a habit on his blog and let me know how you're coming along!

Tequila Shots and Plate Smashing

It's funny how depression creeps up on me slowly and it gives me little signs, it doesn't hide behind something and then kaplow! jumps up and says: feel lame now! It creeps in when I don't make time for myself, when I don't exercise, when I feel lonely, but don't make an effort to reach out, and when I eat a lot of granola or Greek vanilla yogurt.

I feel like the soaked leaves on the sidewalk, all mushed up with no where to go. Like the tasteless soup I dumped out after a day in the slow cooker. Like deflated birthday balloon found under the couch.  Listing these similes is cheering me up a little bit, ooh... In the past I used to worry when I felt depressed, stress out about it and created a bit of drama for myself, but now, I simply notice it and let myself fall into it. I don't feel guilty about it, I don't try to mask it by doing chores or baking, I just let it be. It goes away eventually. It always does. Like an English as a second language student who is here to study for a while and then goes back home.

So like I said, I'm quite content sitting with my sorry self for now, but at some point I'll get the urge to do something about it. Before the kid, furniture rearranging, heading for the border, retail therapy, sharing a bottle of red with a funny friend or taking an entire day to make a giant paella with my husband would have done the trick, but things have changed. How have they changed? At first, I thought it was spontaneity that was missing, but it's not entirely that. It's my belief (belief, right? not necessarily reality) that the hassle of scheduling, arranging, planning, and finding babysitting outweighs the benefits of doing something fun. And if by surprise, I find myself with a few hours of free time, my mind goes blank and I end up alone somewhere drinking coffee or biking around aimlessly. There's a little drama :)

So there are two approaches; deal with the belief first and the blahness will go away or deal with the blahness and then the belief will dissipate. Or do both at once?

I've been mulling over some ideas in my head to kick this blahness to the curb. A couple of tequila shots might work. There's a collection of dusty tequila bottles in the cupboard, it's two thirty in the afternoon Um... tempting, but it might impede my tiny motivation to make it to Zumba tonight, which has been proven to help in the past.

Another new way came to me this morning as I was looking out my kitchen window. Across the street from us, there's a restaurant equipment business that just put out big stacks of plates with a free sign on them. Plate smashing? Very tempting!

How about putting on a ridiculous prom dress? My high school prom dress is hanging in my closet, but it's about the size of my ankle, so, maybe not, but maybe wearing something flashy, fun and sexy and dancing to loud '80's music might do it.

Sex might be an effective third way. Tequila, plate smashing, and high heels might be interesting foreplay....

or just calling a damn babysitter.

I'm not kidding.

Zumba at the Masoniac Hall on Victoria

If you are looking for something super fun to do on a rainy winter night, come check out Zumba at the Masonic Hall on Victoria Street near Kingsway. Magdalena Lima is a Capoeira player, samba dancer and Zuma instructor extraordinaire! She leads us through a variety of latin and world music choreography with easy to follow moves and lots of sweating! Just when you think your legs are going to give out, her contagious smile gives you that extra kick (no pun intended)to keep you going. Call the Trout Lake Community Center to find out about the next free demonstration class, to sign up for a series of 5 classes or for drop-ins. You can look at Zumba on youtube, but don't be dissuaded by the cheesy clips, it's just plain fun! The ladies in our class are of all ages and I think the best thing about the Masonic Hall is that there are no mirrors, so you can dance away and always feel like you look fantastic! Yay for Zumba!