Maybe awesome

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Cheryl Madliger

Random awesome…

…I love love love magnolias. In March they’re an even awesome-er sight. It’s cold today but still, Spring is near!

This post is going to be random, and maybe awesome, too.

If you’re worried and want to read something certifiably—not maybe—awesome, check out this

an excerpt from Marion Nestle’s book that comes out next week (Why Calories Count)–>takeaway:

“Despite widespread concerns about the health and economic consequences of obesity on the one hand and undernutrition on the other, correcting calorie imbalances presents social and economic challenges that few countries are prepared to meet. Calories, therefore, affect societies in ways that are political as well as personal.

Calories, of course, derive from food. But calories are a convenient way to say a great deal about food, nutrition, and health. For this reason, and because calories are so poorly understood, we thought it would be useful to research and write about calories in all of their dimensions — personal, scientific, and political. And because we are both consummate “foodies” who derive enormous pleasure from eating, we liked the idea of using calories as a way to think about these aspects of food.

Let’s be clear from the beginning: This is not a diet book with a breakthrough scheme for losing weight and keeping it off. Instead, we try to provide an appreciation for what you are up against if you want to control your body weight in today’s “toxic,” obesity-promoting — or as we like to call it, “eat more” — food marketing environment [2]. We intend this book to give you the information you need to interpret food labels, diet claims, and your own reactions to this food environment. Knowledge, we argue, is not enough to counter the biological urge to eat or the subtleties of food marketing. But it is a powerful first step in developing weight-management strategies that work for your particular body, lifestyle, and food preferences.”

my latest article on Runners Feed about the benefits of going meatless…10 benefits. get on this. I expect to see plenty of clicks for this bad boy…

Anddddd, onto the recap.

Sometimes I feel like I’m swimming in yogurt. After last night’s post spin snack and this morning’s pre swim repeat (yogurt with a sprinkling of oats), I realized there was more yogurt in my (blurry) chocolate overnight oats, which I added a nanner to!

Breakfast was awesome today because I got to have it with my friends at Weldon. We are getting excited for our road trip to Kingston this weekend for a triathlon at Queens. I am doing a relay with a friend (a speedy runner who I hope I can do justice in the pool and on the bike).

Now I’m plugging away at the Gazette. I just ate my lunch (spinach/artichoke hummus sandwich and a spinach salad with sprouts and sundried tomatoes) and am thinking about all the work I want to get done before bootcamp tonight!

Monday’s munchies…

This post is wildly disorganized.

Swim yesterday was good, my day was busy (though not with my essay, I did get my bike in for a tune up, replaced my broken spring jacket, and taught spin/did a 15 minute run without pain). My hip hurt after the fact and I iced it and got up for swim this morning even though I REALLLLLLY wanted to sleep in! We were supposed to have a staff meeting today so I had a short swim, but when I heard it wasn’t on, I finished up with some more swim (mostly pull) and did 2700m when all was said and done!

I’m pooped.

I’m frustrated that my hip’s not getting better. I finally have that appointment for my bone scan, though I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have an ultrasound instead? I am also going to a new physio on Thursday. This is getting ridiculous. 12 weeks! No answer!

My brain is like this post: in 1209102901 different places. This is not good!

I’ll be back, and hopefully my head will be screwed on the right way soon!

Monday madness

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Cheryl Madliger

I wish the madness was the fact that my lunch and dinner were strikingly similar…

DINNER: hummus and veg sandwich (plus tahini)

LUNCH: veg and nut butter sandwich

Or that I had a seriously awesome massage today.

Or this Clif bar.

Or that I’m about to leave to teach a spin class INDOORS when it’s honestly June-like outside (good thing I love kicking butts into shape regardless).

But nope..

It’s that I was reported today to the campus police for a parking violation that is pretty much out of the realm of things I’d fathom doing in my rav 4. Not to mention out of question since I have a parking pass.

Being called during class and told you’re being towed and that you drove over a soccer field and up a hill (see below) that I think is impossible to get up without a hummer will shake you up a bit. As will finding two parking tickets for things you didn’t do (I should pay A ticket for not exiting after swim and re-entering, but I will not just pay one of the ones I got since they say I drove AROUND a gate (which was open) and that I drove through landscaping and up a hill to get to the parking spot I have parked in all semester). We enter the building at 6am and luckily I swiped my card today when I got to swim. I am not arrested and my car isn’t towed, but I was off all day for it. Oh well. It gave the Gazette office some laughs when the other editors had to comfort me over the phone. “Cheryl’s on a hill…” It’s not a story I can really describe…just a bit ABSURD. RIDICULOUS also comes to mind. I’m not that lazy or that CRAZY to drive up a hill covered with trees.

And sigh*

I’m done ranting. I think I bawled to about 6 people over this today. Thanks for the hugs folks!

I’m off to the gym now–hoping for a mic that works and some eager spinners to make for a fun class.

The good and the bad turned good

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Cheryl Madliger

Good:

This weekend is beautiful and sunny, and the forecast looks toasty for the next few days (albeit rainy).

I rode my bike for an hour today outside and it was AWESOME…I had to eat the wind for half of it, but I was FLYING the other half! I had Garmin issues…but whatever. Being out there was BLISS! And my hip felt GOOD. Thank god I’m a cyclist.

The Nutrition Rx performance eating seminar was AWESOME yesterday and I’ve got lots of ideas and motivation to make nutrition a healthy part of my training. Choosing my eats today was fun — looking for balance, watching portion size, and making sure I’m choosing foods that will fuel me and make me feel good that also taste delicious.

Kin formal was fun! Nina was a perfect date and her friends were oh so nice too. So many pretty dresses…

The bad…or I have to reframe this to make it good

I have a lot of work to do –> I have a lot of things I GET to do. Writing articles about “fit vs. fat”, writing a term paper about whatever the heck I want to (I’ve chosen “The Biggest Loser” and if you care to read one of my first blog posts ever from like 3 blogs ago where I talked about the show and my thoughts on it back then, go for it), working on our Culture Issue for the Gazette, which is going to be so cool because there are such freaking creative people at this paper that it literally BLOWS MY MIND!, etc.
I wish I could be running in this sunshine –> But did I mention how ecstatic my bike ride made me? How awesome it is that my hip isn’t killing me any more? That I feel like I’m going to get to run in the near-ish future, albeit for a little bit? Cuz that’s kind of awesome, and I am not willing to beat myself up for only being allowed to go for a little bit, I GET TO GO! That’s what’s going to be cool!
I had meat yesterday. I hummed and ha-ed and even had a big plate of pasta, with a bun, and salad at formal to fill up on. I still wanted meat — I’m sure Nina and Mel, who I even texted about this, were ready to smack me — so I just went for it. And you know what? It tasted good, but not THAT good. I am still confused. But I didn’t feel awesome this morning when I woke up or even when I got home last night. I’m not blaming it on the piece of chicken. But it did come with a lot of thinking…and I guess that means I still have lots to do about this whole vegetarian thing.SO –> I’m giving myself credit for having the balls to think about the implications of the food I choose or don’t choose to eat. This is the first time I’ve considered things outside of “Will this make me fat?” for so long, so I feel like this is a huge healthy step for me if I can remember to choose food based on what sits well with my conscience, what fuels my training, and what still tastes good. I refuse to feel like I “gave in” because I chose to eat it and because I’m not all or nothing about this. One chicken breast over the course of weeks versus a club pack every week is certainly killing less chickens, doing less environmental damage, etc. and for that I’m giving myself serious props! This is all a process…

….I also ate like a normal person. Maybe overate a bit, but when I realized this morning that I had dessert and basically an extra portion of dinner last night, came home, and didn’t even go into the kitchen (in the past an old habit was to continue to eat when I got home from social events, usually picking, sometimes bingeing)…that’s huge! The dessert selection was vast. I enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie the most, so I ate it and just sampled the others. Not as good as homemade, but pretty darn good…

This year is almost over and that makes me sad. So many of my friends are leaving for the summer or for good. Whahhhh. –> But I have made lots of strong friendships and I know now I’ve got people to visit all over the place. There are plenty of awesome people staying in London and I know I’ll only make more friends training and in summer school! Life is full of possibilities.

Andddd, smile! I’m off to get some GROCERIES. Yum. And enjoy the sun. Yay.

What did you do this weekend?
How do you turn things positive? Turn that frown upside down!
What would you choose–cookies, cake, brownies, or all three?

Sticking to it…in more ways than one

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Cheryl Madliger

…the title works in more ways than one.

I am on a training plan for triathlon now. It might not include running, but it is still important and I am going to take it seriously. In the past, even last summer when I was working with a coach, I’d take liberties with workouts, add stuff in, skip core work, etc. and I know that’s silly. What’s the point of having a training plan if you aren’t going to trust it? So today was a rest day and even though I had the urge to go to the gym, sweat a bit on the elliptical and read a magazine, I decided to tackle my messy apartment and to go to yoga with my energy instead, referencing this quote Alex sent my way a few weeks ago…

“You’ve got to have the mental toughness and confidence in yourself where you believe that you can take those days off and you can recover and you can run great,” Salazar said. “A lot of what we see in athletes that just train all the time and never give themselves adequate recovery is often portrayed as toughness. What I’ve realized over the years is it really is a weakness. It’s an insecurity that you’re not good enough to recover like other athletes: I’m not good enough to do that; I need to keep training; I can’t take time off; I can’t take easy days.” - Alberto Salazar

…Sticking to the plan. That means I’ve got some core work to do this evening–and we all know how important it is for me to actually do that core stuff, since I seem to lack one….

I want to make things from scratch and if I’m going to talk the talk–which I did yesterday–then I better walk the walk. So tonight I went for it and made my own croutons. Something about eating two pieces of bread instead of crappy processed bits of junk was hard for me at one point–admitting I needed that starch at night? telling ED to eff off?–note: I am RECOVERED. but this is one of those habits I’ve held onto for no good reason–but I did it no problem via toasting two ends of my Ezekiel loaf, tossing them with some olive oil and garlic salt, and putting em in the oven. With my leftover tempeh, some dressing, parmesan cheese, and romaine, I had a healthier twist on my go to caesar salad dinner! On a rest day no less. Yum.

I’ve been complaining to my friends about a due date of midnight tonight for a personal essay paper I have to write. My teacher just gave us all an extension to Sunday — but since I’m already settled and comfy with my computer at Starbucks, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist. There’s lots on my to do list (both blah–papers, and fun–training, kin formal, sunday funday) so I think I’m better off NOT pushing this back. I’ll just pretend that extension didn’t happen…
My commitment to eating more whole foods and trying more veggie options. I read an awesome post on No Meat Athlete about his one rule for nutrition success: eat whole foods. So I had a snack of carrots and almond butter this afternoon, an apple this morning, rice cakes again this afternoon, and tried to broaden my diet by eating a hummus and alfalfa sprout and carrot sandwich for lunch. Um, I remember telling my friends a while back that I wasn’t feeling the hummus. I must have been delusional–this was AMAZING and so freaking easy! I can’t wait to make my own (this was just an original type of hummus I bought on sale last week at Loblaw’s, figuring if I wasn’t feeling it I’d pawn it off on a hummus loving buddy).

Staying balanced. I’m not nixing processed foods or jumping into a totally animal product free existence. Rest assured that any changes I’m making are gradual. This morning I had a yummy breakfast with yogurt (half vanilla, half plain), all bran buds, grapes, and pecans. Yum. I love pecans!

That’s all folks. I’ve got an essay to write (or to fix–the rough draft I attempted this morning before class is painful so I might just start fresh) and a decaf coffee with my name on it…literally. Coolest. Friday. Night. Ever.

What are you doing this weekend?
Do you like hummus?
Do you ever struggle with rest days?

Happy is the new healthy

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Maybe awesome

Monday madness

Sticking to it…in more ways than one

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