New 30-Day Challenge: 5 Stretches A Day

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Thanks to my knee injury, I've finally learned my lesson of stretching everyday. So I'm joining Spartan Race's newest 30-Day Challenge - 5 Stretches a Day.

Thanks to my knee injury, I’ve finally learned my lesson of stretching everyday. So I’m joining Spartan Race’s newest 30-Day Challenge – 5 Stretches a Day.

Want to avoid pulled muscles, torn ligaments or other exercise related boo-boos? Then join me in Spartan Race’s new 30-Day Challenge — 5 Stretches A Day. This challenge focuses on increasing flexibility, mobility and injury prevention. I believe my torn meniscus was avoidable if I was more diligent with my morning stretches.

The challenge includes these 5 stretch routines:

  • Hip Stretch
  • Squat Stretch
  • Toe Touch Stretch
  • Delt/Pec Stretch
  • Standing Quad Stretch

I’m still not allowed to do squats so I’m replacing the Squat Stretch with a Calf Stretch.

Physically, I’m no shape to take on a Spartan Race. But these 30-Day Challenges are the baby steps I need to take to transform me.

Sign up for the Spartan Challenge here.

The Biggest Loser: NBC

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There’s a lot of focus on The Biggest Loser since the winner was crowned Tuesday. I think my hubby sums it up nicely.

Primal Shepherd’s Pie

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I added a sprinkling of smoked paprika before placing my awesomely tasty Primal Shepherd's Pie in the oven.

I added a sprinkling of smoked paprika before placing my awesomely tasty Primal Shepherd’s Pie in the oven.

I love comfort food and I never pass up a chance to transform my favorite recipes into healthy, low carb dishes. Since I’m doing the paleo diet this month it’s a good time to put some of the comfort food recipes to the test.

This Shepherd’s Pie recipe, from The Paleo Primer, is wonderfully delicious with buttery cauliflower used in place of traditional mashed potatoes. Packed with veggies and very filling, I didn’t even need the small side-salad I made earlier.

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Meeting Friends For Dinner? Try Prep, Plan & Pace

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The video is about going to a party, but it’s good advice for happy hours or going out to dinner with friends. I needed to follow this Saturday night! Sigh…maybe next time.

Weight Watchers Members Can Spot Our Own A Mile Away

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From the snack stash in purses to measuring portions with our hands, there are some dead giveaways to know if someone is a Weight Watchers member.

From the snack stash in purses to measuring portions with our hands, there are some dead giveaways to know if someone is a Weight Watchers member.

Kudos to Buzzfeed for nailing it on the head about those of us on Weight Watchers! Yes, we can spot each other a mile away.

I could relate to all, but especially 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

My Top 5 Emotional Eating Trigger Points

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One of the best ways to combat emotional eating is having a hobby. Knitting has saved me countless times from mindlessly eating.

One of the best ways to combat emotional eating is having a hobby. Knitting has saved me countless times from mindlessly eating.

Up until a year ago, I never thought of myself as an emotional eater. I thought I just overate. Until I did a little experiment when I tracked my food and hunger levels for a week. It was an eye opener.

It didn’t matter if I was hungry, I just ate. Clearly food wasn’t just a source of fuel to power my body. Food (and the types I ate) provided fuel for my emotions.

It took a while, but I identified my top five eating triggers. Knowing your triggers is half the battle.  Having great distractions or hobbies — exercising, cleaning, sewing — are a great way to help you keep mindless eating in check.

Dot’s Top 5 Emotional Eating Triggers

5. Social Eating – I loved hanging out with friends for happy hour and blowing off steam. But I always spent the next day with indigestion and feeling bloated. Once I put two and two together I started limiting alcohol and making better food choices (salad instead of fried mozzarella). Now when meeting friends, I’m more of a teetotaler and keep my healthy portions under control. After all, it’s their company I love, not the food.

4. Stress — I never thought of myself as a stress eater. I always equated stress with activity. Lots of deadlines and not enough time to get it all done. When I’m busy, I skip meals.  What I didn’t factor in was my food choices during those meals I didn’t skip. I always went for comfort foods. It was my way to self-medicate when the pressure was on.  Now that I know stress is a trigger, I try to do other things than eat – go for a walk, knitting, or crank the music and start a dance party with the dogs.

3. Rewards — I think about rewarding myself with frozen custard (hey, it’s low carb) after a great weigh-in. I’m working real heard to undo this one. Lately I’m rewarding my success with fun things that encourage my continued weight loss — a new cookbook, exercise clothes, or a manicure.

2. Watching TV – This one really is part of my number 1 trigger, but it deserves its own write up. I never eat and read. I guess I want my hands clean to flip to the next page. But eating and watching TV seem to go together. Just a few years ago I’d veg out on the couch mindlessly flipping channels and eating slice after slice of pizza. When I started losing weight my viewing time also diminished. I became more active and the TV screamed “couch potato” at me.  When I do sit down in front of the TV, I try to watch something that keeps me on my toes (Sherlock, Walking Dead, Chopped). Like a good book, these shows keep me engaged and not thinking about food.  But if I’m just vegging, that’s a danger zone and I always make sure I have laundry to do.

1. Boredom — If I’m bored out of my mind, I can open and close the refrigerator 20 times an hour. Am I hungry? Nope. It’s just something to do.  Anytime I start feeling bored, I have some go to items to beat it back — books, puzzles, brushing the dogs, car keys (day trips!). There are lots of things to do, and none of them include eating!

Balancing The Tortoise With The Hare

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Be the tortoise when recovering from an injury. Exercising too much, too fast will just lead to a longer recovery period. Image courtesy of tongdang and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Be the tortoise when recovering from an injury. Exercising too much, too fast will just lead to a longer recovery period. Image courtesy of tongdang and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

I always caution people to act like a tortoise when starting an exercise program. You can’t go from the couch to a marathon overnight. It’s the only way to avoid injuries and derail your quest for a healthier you.

Yet I’m struggling to follow my advice.

Other than the two upper body sessions with my trainer, I’ve limited my mobility all last week to give my knee time to heal. No yoga. No running. No spin class. The move is paying off. My knee feels great. I’ve had three straight days without pain.

Yet I have this urge to go for a run, followed by a spin class, then some yoga.

That is a hare’s mentality – going from zero to 60. I know from experience that all it will do is further damage my knee.

It’s great that I want to exercise – a true lifestyle change for me. But I need to remind myself: “Overwork my knee and the longer my recovery.”

To satisfy my itch, I tried a short walk on Sunday. It was the first real test as I haven’t gone on a walk or run for nearly a month – just too painful. I didn’t try to set any land speed records. I wanted to try a leisurely stroll. The knee felt really good. I wish the same could be said for my legs. So out of shape from no exercise.

While I’m excited that I can start walking again, I need to temper that excitement with caution. So I’m limiting myself to 3 short walks this week.

Today I’m walking to the grocery store for some cauliflower for tonight’s primal shepherd’s pie.

It’s time to slowly build up my leg muscles and gently ease my knee back into my routine.

The tortoise was right. Slow but steady wins the race!

Lamb & Cumin Burgers = Super Easy, Delicious!

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I made my first paleo recipe last night -- the delicious lamb & cumin burger with a size of sauteed zuchinni and bok choy.

I made my first paleo recipe last night — the delicious lamb & cumin burger with a size of sautéed zucchini and bok choy.

Last night I tried my first authentic paleo dish – meaning the I got the recipe from The Paleo Primer. I made  wonderful lamb burgers infused with cumin.  This is the first time I actually made a burger with ground lamb. Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t think of using ground lamb before this!  The burgers were so tender, tasty and filling.

Lamb & Cumin Burgers
Net Carbs: 2
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 8
Servings: Makes 5 burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F
  • In a large bowl, combine the ground lamb, egg, garlic, cumin, tomato paste, salt and pepper.
  • Using clean hands, mix all the ingredients together and shape into 3-ounce patties (should make 5 burgers).
  • Place on a grill pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the patties reaches 160 degrees.

I served this dish with sides of sautéed zucchini and bok choy. The whole meal took me less than 30 minutes to prepare. Before the lamb came out of the oven, I had enough time to clean, chop and cook the veggies.

So far, my paleo challenge is off to a great start!

100 Random Thoughts On Dropping 100 Pounds

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I've lost a total of 102 pounds since March 2012. I've learned a lot of hard lessons as I change my lifestyle.

I’ve lost a total of 102 pounds since March 2012. I’ve learned a lot of hard lessons as I change my lifestyle.

I’m down 4 pounds this past week, bringing my total weight loss to 102 pounds!

Normally I post my weight info on the same day as weigh-ins, and I expected to do the same Saturday morning. But after stepping off that scale I immediately knew it wasn’t going to be like any other day.

You’d think I’d be jumping for joy once I reached that milestone. Losing 100 pounds is a big moment for sure, but celebrating was the farthest thing from my mind.

Yes, I crossed the century mark, but my journey is far from over. I started jotting down random thoughts and lessons I learned (some hard and some outright silly) and what I need to do to keep me on my path.

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“They Use To Pull The Hog Out, Then Eat It”

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Happy Groundhog Day! I hope your day was better than Bill Murray’s.