Injury redux

Again. Threw out my back, took a couple of weeks off, but tried not to go too overboard with the comfort food. I did weigh in yesterday, at 187, so I'm pleased that I really didn't do much damage. Tomorrow I am going to get back to exercising and I'm actually looking forward to it. Please oh please give me a break from injuries and weird illnesses!

Happy Sunday!

Breakfast: oatmeal with pepitas and cranberries.
Snack: Green Monster shake.
Snack: Banana
Dinner: spinach, tomato, cheddar omelette. I was in a pickle at the restaurant my parents took us to. There were no vegan options besides salad, so I did the best I could. Also, we went to a hockey game, so I had two snacks an no lunch knowing I'd be having a big dinner. I sometimes think I'm getting the hang of this eating like an adult thing.

Exercise: stationary bike 1 hr. 13.7 miles.

Busy

Busy busy day. The kind of day where you stop and wonder what you've eaten today. Still, I made time for exercise, and cooked three more big meals for the week. It feels really good to be putting me first in carving out time to do this for myself.

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Salad

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Lemon asparagus pasta. http://minimalistbaker.com/creamy-vegan-lemon-asparagus-pasta/#_a5y_p=2020183

This was insanely good. Like, top ten things I've made for dinner EVER, good. Had to have two bowls good. And bonus, my kids loved it too! I added a good bit of lemon to the sauce, and used whole wheat pasta, otherwise, recipe followed. I had to include a picture, because it was just that good.

Exercise: 30 minutes stationary bike

Weekly Weigh In

185! That is 3.5 lbs this week, and 15 lbs total in just over two weeks. I was aiming for 1 lb, but I am obviously thrilled with more :-D I really am gearing myself up for a 1 lb or even no weight loss next week, as I know this will plateau a bit, and I will eventually need to adjust either my exercise or food for a nice gradual loss. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pepitas, cranberries.
Snack: Green Monster Shake.
Lunch: Salad, black bean torta.
Dinner: Scallion pancakes, veggie rolls from Thai restaurant.

Exercise: 45 minutes swimming, 1600 yards. I was aiming for an hour, but my knee cramped up. Darn knee!

Hubris Hurts!

So, yesterday I discussed the fact that I feel satisfaction in my recent commitment to exercise. And today, I woke up sick, as did both girls. I was gearing up to power through it, and just maybe do an easier bike ride, when I slipped on the wet bathroom floor and came down hard on both knees. I was in pain, but more scared than anything. In the interest of not exacerbating my now achy knee, I gave myself the day off. However, here are some food pics for today, because I still did well by my body in what I ate.

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Lunch: Black bean torta with sriracha mayo, as pictured below. 

Sack: Green Monster shake. Note, I had just shaken the cup to mix it all back up, so it looks way more full than it actually is :-)

Dinner: Salad (you didn't want to see that, did you?) Lentil Chard Ragout from the Crazy Sexy Kitchen Cookbook, over quinoa. I'm kind of wishing that today wasn't the day I posted pictures. This tastes delicious, but it looks like cat vomit. This is how I always imagined vegan food looked, and why I always thought vegans were nuttier than the Skippy factory.

Two Full Weeks In!

I'm finding myself making exercise a priority. I still don't enjoy it, necessarily, though it does bring a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I see that I am making time for it almost every day. I know I've touched upon my knee before, and the story of how I hurt my knee, and what's been done to it so far is probably a story for another day, but because of that troublesome body part, the workouts that are "safe" for me to do are limited right now. I can walk, but everything outside is a sheet of ice, and I won't risk falling. I can swim, I can do yoga, and I can ride the stationary bike. I'm investigating other exercises that are interesting, challenging, and "safe" and hoping to add some other possibilities to my repertoire. 

Another factor is that my husband's work schedule is a bit weird, so taking an exercise class on a regular basis isn't really possible. I just signed up for Yogaglo.com to see if being able to take an online yoga class on my own schedule will work for me, and I really hope so because I miss yoga! Bikram, the kind with the hot studio, was the best, but since that can't be recreated at home, I will try a bunch of different classes until I find some that I enjoy. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pepitas and cranberries.

Snack: Green Monster shake.

Lunch: Black bean torta, lettuce, tomato, red onion, with sriracha "mayo" from the Thug Kitchen cookbook. Talk about a filling sandwich! The flavors really come together, but I was skeptical about the individual ingredients.

Dinner: Potato and leek soup from the Thug Kitchen cookbook, with homemade croutons. Roasted carrots and parsnips.

Dessert: Banana chia pudding bowl from OhSheGlows.com http://ohsheglows.com/2013/02/18/chia-seed-breakfast-bowl/

Exercise: swimming, 30 minutes

Back to mentally ok.

I woke up this morning feeling excited to get back to cooking, and trying new flavors. This is the first time ever, EVER, that I have managed to not be completely derailed by a "diet" setback like this. Because this is just a change in the way we eat, and not a diet, it is much easier to cheerfully put this weekend behind me, enjoy that the food was so yummy, and move on to a healthier day. And it was a really good day. I found myself craving my salad at lunch, which is a new one for me, and for our afternoon snack, the girls and I sliced up all kinds of veggies and I discovered that if I add a splash of buffalo sauce to hummus, it doesn't taste like dirty feet. Winning!

Breakfast: Granola cereal, almond milk, blueberries.
Snack: Green Monster shake.
Lunch: Salad, miso soup with rice noodles and vegetables.
Snack: Carrot, celery, peppers with buffalo hummus.
Dinner: Quinoa, lentil, spinach stuffed peppers.
Snack: Corn quesadilla with buffalo sauce. Apparently today is buffalo day.

No exercise, no time. But since I didn't sit more than a few minutes today, I'll call that an even trade.