I Feel Thinner Today

It sounds so strange. I've really only been back at this hardcore for about two weeks, but yesterday and today, I've just felt thinner. In the shower, I feel like there's not as much to wash. Climbing into bed, the bed feels bigger. These are totally random and strange feelings, I'll admit. But I just feel smaller. And this has motivated me to try to feel even smaller. I'm on day 12 of a good streak of keeping track of what I'm eating. I've been going to practice, and the gym. This feels so good. Why do I stop? What slips that makes me go back to the other way of living.

The Spider and The Ladybug

Every morning, I watch as an ongoing battle occurs between a ladybug and a spider on my bathroom ceiling. The spider is the antagonist, always trying to eat the ladybug, but the valiant little lady bug always manages to fight back / bite back causing the spider to retreat. I've seen this every morning for weeks. There must be a moral of the story here. Just keep trying, Mr. Spider? Keep on fighting, Ms. Ladybug? Always eat a good breakfast, Mr. Spider? Rebel against oppression, Ms. Ladybug?

What lessons in life have you learned from unlikely sources?

Sweaty Proof

Jen @ Prior Fat Girl has been collecting reader's photographs of their sweaty proof. Proof of an active battle for healthier living.
I kind of like this picture of me. I know this is not a normal response. My derby wife took it (she's back in the reflection in the window) and this was just before our first competition weigh in.
Down 5.2 pounds for a great start! (She was also down, hooray!)
There are things I'd like to see differently in this picture. There are places for me to improve and things to work on. But, for now, all I'm looking is the pool of sweat on my shirt, and the smile of accomplishment.

Some Great Advice from a Good Friend

A wise friend of mine told me yesterday ...
"That little voice of doubt in the back of your head will do you no good. Just go out there and do the best you can and to hell with everything else."

There are so many places in my life where I should really take this advice to heart. Yesterday it was at practice. Today it's going to be at the gym. And tomorrow ... well, to hell with tomorrow, we'll worry about that when we get there.

Another Day for Home Cooking

What a great day yesterday. We spent some time at the local natural foods store and restocked our spice rack. Wow, this was so much less expensive than at the grocery store and I was able to re-use the jars from my existing rack and only buy things I know we'll use and/or want to try. I'm really looking forward to using some of our finds.
DRM did get a chance since we had a couple of friends over for dinner. Homemade pasta sauce with chicken breast served over spaghetti squash. Garlic bread, some local red wine and a blueberry crisp rounded out the meal. It was a fun mix of formal (wine glasses and beeswax candles) and casual (paper towel napkins and mythbusters on the television).

Today's off to a good start with breakfast under my belt and a fun afternoon with Girls Inc. coming onto campus for math and science experiments. Encouraging young girls to be interested in math and science is so much fun for me. If only I understood their lingo. :)

Preparation for Hibernation

While the thermometer may not reflect it today, winter is approaching here in Upstate New York and my body and brain have noticed.
I've been a cooking/baking fiend the last few weekends, but the last few days in particular.
Getting a delivery of produce every weekend certainly promotes it, since I feel bad letting it go to waste and it's a little bit of an adventure to find exciting ways to use it.
Last night's dinner was homemade pizza. DRM's rarely home to cook with me so it was nice to work together in the kitchen. We made whole wheat dough, and used fresh local mozzarella (R&G Cheesemakers in Cohoes needs a website) and local chicken sausage to top it. It was so good. And knowing all the ingredients, and being able to pronounce them just makes me proud and happy.
Next for today's lunch and freezing was Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Soup and then Peanut Butter Oatmeal Rounds with Mini-Chocolate Chips. Guess whose idea that last one was. I'm going to review the soup recipe in the next couple days, so watch for that!

In other news - I'm still going strong with the motivation of competition. Before our cooking marathon, we went to the gym last night, and I have practice tonight. I'm still tracking everything, and even building the recipes in eTools so I have a good idea of how those work out as well.

Recipe Review: Lean & Spicy Taco Meat

Lean & Spicy Taco Meat
from Eating Well magazine (http://www.eatingwell.com)

I made this recipe last night with some slight modifications. I was really impressed. It was spicy and sweat and meaty and really very flavorful. I'll never use pre-packaged taco seasoning again. I used purchased taco shells, but this would be great over some lettuce as a salad too.

My version:
1 pound 93% lean ground beef
1 can Ro-tel Original Tomatoes & Green Chilies
1 tsp Chili powder
A couple generous shakes of Adobe seasoning

I browned the beef, added the tomatoes and seasonings and let it cook down for a few minutes. So quick, easy and delicious.
The nutrition info:
(8 servings)
107 calories
4 g fat
0 g fiber

A side note: Eating Well is one of my favorite magazines. It's kind of like Gourmet, without all the butter, and they realize focus on fresh seasonal ingredients.