This basically means that I’ve been super lucky, as a female.
In the recent past, however, I’ve been dealing with weight, and the inability to lose same. It’s made me search back in my memory banks.
I know in 6th Grade, I got “chunky.”
I know this because I can hear my Mom’s voice in my head saying that. But I had all sorts of other “issues” that I dealt with at that time. As by-far the tallest, most non-athletic, girl in my school (and socially awkward at that), what I weighed was pretty much the least of my worries. And once I got my period, I leaned back out. Ah, hormones . . .
I remember this gal, Angela, from back then. She had legs that “went on for days” – but she was easily a head shorter than I was. I suppose I perhaps had a “body composition problem,” if you mean by that that I always wished I had been put together a bit differently. My legs are actually not that long. Not even “not that long for someone over 6′.” Really – not that long. What’s long on me is my neck (seriously long – like 2″ longer than the average, “parts-wise”), and my torso. If you have shorter legs and a longer torso, you actually look shorter – so people are always shocked to find out how tall I actually am. But back to memories.
I have this memory from high school.
Remember corduroy pants? They were all the rage when I was in high school. And I very specifically remember how important it was that you did not make that “zzzzt zzzzt zzzzt” sound when you walked.
Not that I was in any of (or a main target of) the “Mean Girls-esque” cliques . . . but boy, we had them at my school, and that zzzzt zzzzzt zzzzt sound would call them like mama lions to a kill.
I suppose now that’s “thigh gap.”
…but I personally would have to say that corduroy pants were the worst thing a girl without a “thigh gap” could ever deign to wear. As I said – you don’t even have to see someone, to know. Zzzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzzt.
And here’s the thing.
I specifically remember having one incident with the dreaded zzzzt zzzzt zzzzt in high school. I even remember what hallway I was in.
I’ll say as an aside that this is the sort of thing that nightmares are made of – sometimes I still wake up and have to say to myself “Self, you’re a lawyer, you must have gotten out of high school.”
But it was just that one time.
This is a reminder to my NowSelf that this whole “thigh thing” that I’m dealing with is new. My weight started to creep up after some issues, a hysterectomy, and such back now about 10 years ago. And I don’t feel equipped to deal with it.
I hear folks talk about how they have had “body issues their whole life.” I’m realizing that I really haven’t. I don’t have any memories of issues in college. Not even into law school – back in the days when bagels were considered health food.
And for some reason, this makes me feel better – but I think it’s part of the problem.
Because this issue is so “new” to me (even though it’s now been a stubborn issue for nearly a decade), I don’t really know how to act to make it go away – and I feel that it somehow “shouldn’t be so hard” to address it. I need to change my mindset, and get out of the thought that I am “still” that “thigh gap girl,” who never really had a weight issue. I don’t want to get down on myself, but somehow I have to get real, to get going.
If you haven’t guessed, surprise surprise, I’m on a new program.
Hey all!! WAG (Working Against Gravity) has gone through some serious structural and philosophical changes since this post was written. Because my website is “O.G.” on Google, this post comes up very high when someone puts “WAG” into the Search box. Instead of reading this as if it’s still true in 2018 (and beyond), I’d suggest going HERE. Why? Because I am trying out the WAG program again, since friends told me that a number of the issues mentioned below have been worked out. Unfortunately, it will be a while before this post stops being so high on the Google search list (Hey, that’s what I get for having a blog for 20 years . . . ) – so – read my 2018 posts if you’re actually looking for current information about this program.
I worked against gravity . . . and I lost.
The last time I posted (which now was weeks ago), I discussed that I was going to try a paid, macro-based, “coached” program called Working Against Gravity (WAG for short). A couple of friends of mine, and “Facebook friends” related to them, were trying it with success. I thought “well, I have tried everything else, why not this?” It was pricey – and you have to sign up for 3 months at the front end – but I was pretty enthusiastic about it.
It started with the intake form . . .
WAG makes you fill out an intake form. Great! (I love forms. So Virgo lawyer of me.) However, they make you choose from the following as to “what you are” – “competitive athlete…weekend warrior…non-athlete.” Now, I work out 5 days per week – and I work out hard. But according to WAG, I’m a “non-athlete.” I resented this…A LOT. I went back and forth actually with my coach (and then the founder of WAG, “to whom” she punted me) about this languaging. The founder stated that it was “just to get me the right coach,” and I “shouldn’t be offended.”
I think that is the sort of thing that a competitive athlete/Alpha says. The founder is a competitive athlete – and likely wants to attract them. My gut instinct is that she’s an Alpha,too. So, in her view, the fact that I had to check “non-athlete” was no big deal. Now, perhaps she believes that the phrase “non-athlete” applies equally to someone working their guts out five days a week and someone eating bon-bons on a couch. There was no follow-on intake question that split this hair. Working out hard 5 days a week – yup, non-athlete, check. Not happy.
…& paying, to me, equates to “high touch” excellence.
WAG, brass tacks, is about weighing yourself every day, keeping track of your macros every day, and checking in with your coach, with photos and feelings, once a week. Once you send in your intake form, you get an email back that says at the top:
**It is beyond our current capabilities to remind you to check in with your coach. This means that it is your responsibility to remember your check-in day to check-in with your coach in order to get feedback.**
Sure, that makes sense. However, I expected my “investment” in this program to net me more than just me filling out an Excel sheet, me checking in, me making Notes daily.
I made daily Notes – even edited their Excel spreadsheet that way – instead of checking in weekly. This is for the same reason that I coach clients to keep a “running tally” of their accomplishments for their annual reviews – you never remember anything but your most recent accomplishments or travails when the time comes to detail them.
What would “high touch” look like, to me?
Well, here’s a thought. When I had heard the Founder interviewed, she’d talked about the fact that they had a “21-day challenge” on their website that people could subscribe to for free, getting 21 days’ worth of insights, etc.
So (silly me) I surmised that if I was paying for the service, I would get something – even just a little “Atta Girl” or an insight – daily from “WAG HQ.”
Nope. Not a thing. Hands off.
I pay nothing for daily emails from Yuri Elkaim, Abel James, Jonathan Bailor, etc. They give me great information – oh sure, they usually try to sell me something, too, or introduce me to some Affiliate Program. I somehow thought that by paying for WAG, its program would be like that, but without the upsell (like buying an app instead of getting the one with the adverts at the bottom). Instead – Crickets.
(Sorry, I just couldn’t help embedding that.)
Yes, Yes, I need “pets.”
If I am paying like this, I expect someone to give me some information, every day, without being asked to do so. Even if it’s just generic stuff from “HQ.” Especially if I am paying. Sure, we complain about our “busting full inboxes,” but in my opinion, if you’re paying that sort of money, you should be getting something that you can then choose to delete or unsubscribe from, if you so desire.
They tout that your coach is “there for you, 24/7” (with a 24 hour turnaround). I did ask my coach three things in one day, and she told me to hold them and just ask one “big” thing a day.
You know what? When I think of something, I want to get it off to you, or I will forget. In going back through my emails, I only did this once, then I didn’t contact my coach at all except for my weekly “check in,” because I had been “chastized.”
And that was the beginning of the end – more on that in a bit.
Oh, and to be . . . “fair?”. . . you are actually warned not to do this – because . . . um . . . your coach has a lot of folks who are paying that $125/month for three months minimum so s/he can’t be inundated? Hm.
Hey, just glug down some protein!
As I mentioned, I actually changed the Excel spreadsheet that they send you, adding a “Notes” section at the end. This allowed me to write down what was going on, how my workouts went, PRs, etc. without “bothering” my coach.
I had some issues with meeting the macros that I was assigned (145g protein, 190g carbs, 60g fat, every day), even though I have a lot of experience with logging and with macros. When I did pose questions about this (getting enough protein, for example), my coach said “well, just drink protein shakes,” and such other comments.
I’m probably her worst client ever. She seemed very nice – and very young. To be fair, when I was in my 20s, I probably would just tell someone to eat candy to make up their carbs or glug a protein drink, too.
Maybe I’m just an over 50, thin-skinned, real-food-loving, locavore, chef, “non-athlete.” But this rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted WAG to work for me – I didn’t want to work for WAG. And the Slippery Slope began…
WAG is a DRAG.
Sure, WAG has a Facebook group that’s very active. But that’s a bunch of folks that are just like yourself – who are paying to then compare notes with other folks who are paying. WTH? I mean, seriously. WAG is all “pull” or “take.” You need to log your weight. Log your macros. Ask questions of your coach (or this Facebook group – again – where everyone is paying to be there). Take photos weekly. There’s no “push” out to you unless you request it – and no “give,” except for the encouragement you get if you ask for it.
So, six weeks in, I wanted to see what would happen. So I didn’t check in with my coach.
Now you can go back up, and click on the “Crickets” .WAV again.
Not a peep (chirp?). Nothing. I actually kept logging, but off the Excel spreadsheet, to see what would happen.
Have you clicked on that .WAV yet? Not a chirp.
It Ain’t Easy Bein’ An “Omega.”
Here’s the deal: I believe that folks who have been successful with this program don’t need a lot of pets/encouragement/daily mantras/etc. They just want to get it down – give me my macros – just the facts, Ma’am. I’ve discussed this before, but this is very much an “Alpha” mentality. I am a “non-Alpha” – which I tend, for whatever reason, to refer to as an “Omega.”
As an Omega, I’m less likely to ask for help. In fact, if I have to ask for help, I’ve probably waited so long that I’m sort of desperate – so I come off as a bitch. I want people to “just notice” that something is going off the rails . . . yeah, yeah, I know, I know, what a foolish way to be, says every Alpha everywhere.
If I am writing things in Notes, and you’re being paid to coach me, then I want you to have some thoughts, without me pointing the Notes out to you and asking. I log a PR in my Notes? I want you to take note! And I definitely want to feel special. Even if it’s just generic stuff from “HQ.” And in fact, if I pay for a service, then I really want to feel special. Even if it’s the same red carpet for everyone, I want to feel like it was rolled out for me.
There ain’t no Special here.
My experience with WAG is that you don’t really matter. I had some concerns about phraseology with the intake form – I heard back that “hey, that’s not what we meant, you’re taking this the wrong way.” I put things in Notes (without pointing them out) – I heard nothing. I stopped logging – I heard nothing. I stopped checking in with my coach – I heard nothing. Alpha, Alpha, Alpha.
My guess with regard to why they make you pay three non-refundable months in advance is that folks like me drop out like flies. Smart tactic, on their part. I imagine (I didn’t go back to read the PDF that you’re sent to check this though) that they tell you that the reason for this is that you need to “stick with it for three months” to “really see results.” But I have to believe that the drop out rate of folks like me is very high. (If they get past that “non-athlete” question to begin with 😉 )
I’m sure that this post will elicit some responses.
This is just one Omega’s view of the situation. My friend – who has had great success with WAG – told me when I hit rocky times that I should ask for a new coach.
But I just don’t believe that would have made any difference. I think it’s a fundamental flaw in how WAG is set up.
WAG is not set up for someone like me to be anything but lonely. A Facebook group of a bunch of other folks who are paying too does not a support system make. WAG is all about inputting and asking. Sometimes, a girl just wants to feel taken care of and special without having to ask. Even if she has to pay for it. But especially if she does.
This time – swear – I will get right to the recipe 😉 This is for my friend Joy from Girls Gone WOD Podcast. Joy and I text incessantly, and we’re both doing the WAG program. She has recently been starving on the program, and her coach told her that she needed to increase her fiber intake. We both are busy in the mornings, so I texted her my “easy smoothie packs” idea, as it’s even easier than my pancakes recipe (which takes cooking).
Of course, texting being texting, the text came through in jumbled pieces. I promised Joy that she would not have to whip out her Decoder Ring, and that I would do a quick blog on what I said. So here we go.
Every Sunday, I make up “smoothie packs.” These are all pretty much the same. They are each made up of two packs, a freezer pack and a cabinet pack. In other words, a “fresh ingredients” pack and a “dry ingredients” pack. Make as many as you think you will use in a week. Each pack is:
ingredients for the Freezer Pack
FREEZER PACK:*
1 cup berries
2 cups greens
0.5 cup beans (garbanzo, white beans)
ingredients for the Cabinet Pack
CABINET PACK:*
3T Bulletproof Upgraded Collagen Protein Powder
1 scoop protein powder (I use one with ZERO CARBS, see photo, below)
1T chia seed (or flax seed)
1t turmeric
*I am listing all the ingredients as cups or table/teaspoons, but you want to be sure that you weigh the grams, if you are going for exact accuracy. It’s not that bad – you’ll become an “assembly line.”
Berries: You probably already know this, but berries have lots and lots of fiber. Fiber keeps you full. Berries with more seeds – though they will have you picking your teeth after drinking your smoothie – have more fiber. I usually stick with organic blueberries or organic blackberries. I scour the grocery stores I frequent and make sure I stock up when they go on sale. Remember that grocery stores can’t sell things after their “sell by” date – but that date is statutory, it doesn’t mean that the thing has “gone bad.” (Especially stuff that’s frozen.) You can get some really sweet deals this way if you keep your eye out.
yup…50g parsley
Greens: I buy big bunches of organic greens on Saturday and chop them up into rough chunks on Sunday. MAKE SURE THEY ARE DRY before you freeze them, or else you will wind up with chunks of ice! I also get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box every week, and sometimes there is stuff in there that I’m unlikely to use quickly (parsley, anyone?) If I’m in that predicament, I make sure I chop the greens up and freeze them for my smoothies immediately. Especially during the winter here, I get a ton of kale, collard greens, etc. in my CSA. Anything like that goes immediately into my “chop for smoothies” pile. (NOTE: If you find yourself buying veggies and then winding up with limp carrots, etc. in your fridge, keep a bag in your freezer and throw them in there instead of throwing them away, if they’re not too far gone. They make the PERFECT addition to bone broth. This is also what I do with the back/neck/insides of chickens from my roast chicken. Once the bag is full, it’s time for soup.)
Beans: Garbanzo or butter/great Northern/canelli beans are best for this, because they have no taste. They make your smoothie a little “creamy” and add a LOT of fiber. If beans give you gas, add a few drops of Beano to each smoothie pack.Beano is epizote, a leaf that is a natural enzyme, and eliminates gas from stuff like beans by helping you digest the fiber. (Magic…)
the zero carb zero taste protein powder I use
Collagen Protein Powder:HERE is an article on this product. Helps with tissue repair, flexibility, reduces inflammation, etc. I add 3 tablespoons.
Protein Powder: If you look at the pictures, you will see the protein powder that I use. It has ZERO taste, and ZERO carbs. As many of you probably have discovered to your “horror,” various protein powders have various levels of carbs/fats/protein/etc. Obviously, track everything if you are doing macros – even though this is a “protein powder” if it has carbs and fats in it, they count, too.
nutrition facts from the protein powder
Chia Seed: Again, added fiber.
Turmeric: It’s supposed to be super good for you. Google it 😉
INSTRUCTIONS: Every morning, take one Freezer Pack and smoosh it down into your Nutribullet or “smoothie maker of choice.” Add the Cabinet Pack on top of this. It will fill it to the top of the biggest cup of the Nutribullet. Now, you can pretend that I didn’t say this for warranties’ sakes (smile), but you can really fill the Nutribullet right up (above the Fill line). Now, add water. Make a little “hole” in the Cabinet Pack (e.g., dry) stuff so that the water goes down into the cup. Make sure that you add the Freezer Pack FIRST and the dry stuff SECOND, because if the dry stuff is on the bottom of the Nutribullet when you invert it, it doesn’t work as well.
I’m sure that you already know this, but on most macro trackers, you can make a “Recipe” or a “Meal” out of various things that you eat all the time, and then you can just click on it to log it. I love that! NOTE: I have personally saved mine as a “Meal,” because this logs each ingredient separately in your tracker (at least, on My Fitness Pal). This way, if I swap out the blueberries for blackberries, or if I swap out collard greens for kale, I can just delete that one ingredient and enter the other one. With the “Recipe” feature, you can’t swap ingredients out like that.
So there you go, Joy, no Decoder Ring necessary – make up seven packs of each, and use them throughout the week. Then make more 🙂
One thing that I’ve found to be important – I heard this on a nutrition podcast once – is to “chew” your smoothie. The adage was “drink your food and chew your liquids.” The idea being that you need to chew things that are solid for long enough so that they liquify – it gives your body time to break it down and start digestion going in your mouth. Similarly, you shouldn’t chug liquids that have calories – because the only liquid your “caveman body” knows is water; therefore, it will not muster up all the things it needs to break down this “liquid” as a food unless you chew it and signal to your body that it’s a “solid.”
greens cut in “chunks.”
Now it’s your turn:
*What easy tips or tricks do you have for me?
*If you’re on WAG, what’s your favorite part? Least favorite?
*How are you doing with tracking?
(I personally suck at it – my coach actually cut me slack and said I just had to stay within my protein grams this week LOL)
Hey there! As usual, there’s a lot of me chatting to you before you actually get to the recipe for these pancakes (one serving = 9g carbs, 1g fat, 10g protein, 2g fiber (72 cals)). If you want to skip to it, scan down for the heading “Surprise! Here’s The Recipe!“
So, for the past week, I’ve been back on My Fitness Pal. I know, I know, if you’ve read this blog, you’re all “Oh for goodness’ sakes, AGAIN?!” Yah, I’ve fallen off the wagon so many times, I have axle grease permanently embedded in my palms. Then again, I’ve gotta believe that this is basically how 99.9% of those of us trying to get back in shape work. So there you go.
Pomroy Plan
I actually have had success on a number of eating plans. I’ve detailed a lot of them in this blog. The problem has always been that I don’t have anyone to hold my feet to the fire. So I’ve “caught and released” the same 10-15 pounds for about 6 years or so now, never getting near my optimal weight before (“Shiny Penny!”) I wander away.
Nine years ago, I was at my optimal weight. I felt great. From 9 years ago to about 6 year ago, I slowly gained about 30 pounds. Yeah, I know – you’d think that after, say, 5, I would have a clue. But during that time, I was doing a lot of endurance-type athletics (Ironman, marathons, 100 mile bike rides, swimming from Alcatraz, etc.). And I am not an athlete.
No – really. I’m not. Look – with enough training, anyone can do what I did. (Someone has to bring up the back of the pack . . . and I say that without self-deprecation.)
The issue has always been my self-identification as a “non-athlete” or, perhaps, “non-lover-of-things-physical.” I believe that you are one, or you aren’t. You do, or you don’t. I was the kid that wanted to be reading a book under her covers with a flashlight until like 2 a.m., sleep until 10 a.m. and then get back to reading in bed. (Heck, that’s still my guilty pleasure.) While schoolmates were wiggling in their chairs to get out for recess, I would often stay in – and read.
The interesting thing is that I’m not a bad athlete. I was in the NCAA Finals for Fencing with Cal, making Varsity my Freshman year, and traveled in England with the fencing and the Shotokan karate team during my Junior year abroad. But both fencing and karate are sort of “mental” sports – they aren’t “get out and run around” sports. They’re also not “team” sports.
I kinda got “team sports” beaten out of me during grade school. I was “made” to do team sports. I wasn’t bad – middle of the road – but always very tall, so people “thought” that I’d be great at things like volleyball, etc. Since I wasn’t interested in “practicing” this stuff at home (too busy reading), I was always “just okay.” But I hated the fact that my height made folks think that I’d be great. (By college, my general answer to a shorter person asking why I wasn’t better at things like volleyball was “Why aren’t you riding horses at the track?” Yeah, not nice – but it gets old.)
Oops, this was supposed to be a pancake recipe.
Anyway – so somewhere in my 20s, I joined the Hash House Harriers, a “drinking group with a running problem,” and that led to doing runs worldwide, which led to doing triathlons, which ultimately lead to Ironman, etc. What does this have to do with pancakes?? This. I would self-soothe after every exercise-related endeavor by doing what I really liked – namely, eating a lot of food.
So paradoxically, during the time I was the most “active,” I gained 30 pounds.
Enter lots of eating plans. And lots of wagons to fall off of.
This time around, because, as I mentioned in my last blog post, my friend Joy of Girls Gone WOD “made me” (Hi Joy!), I’m doing Working Against Gravity (“WAG”). I recently went from 38.28% body fat during a contest at my gym to 28%, which garnered me a nice check – and it was just about what it would take to do WAG for the mandatory three months. So there you go.
In WAG, again, as I detailed last blog post, they give you the protein/fat/carbohydrate macros (e.g., grams) that you personally should meet (and not exceed) daily. (Everyone has to ingest 35g fiber a day.) You have a coach (mine is Kelsie. HI KELSIE). You have to log, and report. If the macros you are assigned aren’t working, they change them. And you’ve paid for three months.
For the past week, I’ve been logging, and seeing whether it’s going to be tough, or not so tough, to make the macros that they have assigned to me. In general, I’ve found that if I eat the protein that I usually eat to meet my protein macros, I way overexceed my fat macros.
Also I realized that I had to get back in the swing of doing things that I used to do – namely, a good amount of prep work on Sunday to “make it through” the work week without axle grease on my hands and cookie crumbs on my face (Wait – where’d the wagon go?).
Makes 10 pancakes – each pancake is a serving. *2 cups egg whites. I use the 100% organic egg whites in a carton, but if you want to crack your own, go for it. Your/your neighbor’s/Claire’s dog will love the yolks 😉 *1.25 cups oat bran (I get organic in the bulk bins, otherwise Bob’s Red Mill is a good brand) *1.25 cups fat-free plain Greek yogurt *40 drops stevia sweetener – or you can make them “savory” with herbs, salt, etc. – I particularly like Andy’s Rub.
egg beater and whites, before beating
One biggish bowl (gallon to 3/4 gallon – see photos) One 2-cup glass measuring cup One NON-STICK pan ladle, rubber spatula, and non-scratching pancake flipper spatula Egg beater (I use one like your grandma had – they’re still out there – it’s more fun to me than an electric beater, but you decide)
foamy egg whites
Put the egg whites into the bowl. Beat them until they are super foamy – if you beat hard, this will take a couple minutes. Volume-wise, if you look at the photo on the right (not beaten) and the one on the left (foamy) you can see what you’re looking for. No, you don’t have to whip it ’til it has peaks or anything. Just super foamy/no more “runny egg white” in the bottom of the bowl if you scoop up from the bottom.
Heat up your pan on the stove – medium/high. If it is a real, good, non-stick pan that has never been in the dishwasher, you will not need any fat in it. If it is not, then remember to count anything you put in there (e.g., organic spray coconut oil) as a fat. If you’re going to make these a lot, it’s worth getting a new non-stick for $12 and SWEARING you will NEVER put it in the dishwasher . . .
Separately, measure out the yogurt, bran and flavorings.
1-1/4 cups yogurt
TIP: I really hate having a lot of dishes & I also like doing things fast – so this is how I measure the yogurt and the bran.
Measure the 1-1/4c. yogurt into a 2c. measuring cup. Next, pour the oat bran on top of the yogurt (see picture on left). If you fill the measuring cup to the top, since
oat bran “on top of” yogurt in the measuring cup.
the 2 cup “measurement line” is lower than the rim, you will be at 1-1/4 c. oat bran. If you are pickier than I am go ahead and measure it out your first time – I just hate washing dishes and you’ll find that, with the glass Pyrex measuring cup that I have pictured, it works out just right.
everything in the bowl
Next, pour the yogurt and oat bran into the egg whites, add 40 drops of stevia or whatever flavors you’re using, then fold in with the rubber spatula. It is going to be super fluffy still – you’re not going to believe that the consistency is right. Trust me on this one.
ladling out the mix into the pan
Ladle the mix – scooping around and down to the bottom every time (the bran sometimes sinks) – into your NON STICK pan. If you accidentally THINK that you’re using a non-stick pan and instead you’re using a pan that is masquerading as a non-stick pan, you’ll go to flip your first pancake and it will look like the photo on the right. It’s still delish – just not particularly beautiful or portable! #PancakeScramble …
It sure ~looked~ non-stick…
BTW, if this isn’t clear yet, DO NOT PUT NON-STICK PANS IN THE DISHWASHER, it ruins their non-stick capabilities. As does, of course, putting food into it before it’s hot, or using a metal/scratchy spatula that breaks the bond of the non-stick to the pan body.
The first time you make this recipe you’ll figure out how many of your ladles it takes to get exactly 10 pancakes. I have two ladles in my house – one is just the right size.
1st side
If you wind up with a bit too much or a bit too little of the batter, TAKE NOTE, so next time you fill your ladle accordingly.
flip side
(How to remember? Myself, I have this recipe printed out, and I WRITE DOWN what ladle/bowl/etc. to use. Except I hadn’t written down the pan, obvs from the photo above. NOW it says which PAN, too…Unfortunately the house sitter we had when we were recently gone put the pan through the dishwasher. I thought everyone knew not to do this….guess not.)
Cook the pancake about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on your stove.
approx 3/4 gal. copper bowl, 1 scoop left
When you take each pancake off the stove, you need to let it cool off 100%. I have tile in my kitchen, so I put the pancakes directly on the tile. If you do not do this, they will get soggy. So be sure before you pack them up, they really are well and truly cold.
pancakes chillin’ on the tile
Slip them into a ziplock, and you have 10 pancakes for when you need to “up” your carb/protein macros accordingly!
Now It’s Your Turn:
I’m allergic to fish (not shellfish) & peanut butter, so no comments re. those please 😉
shut up. it goes in the dishwasher next.
*What do you do when you’re low on low/no-fat protein at the end of the day & sick of lunch meat?
*What easy things do you make on one day, then use all week?
*What tricks could you share with me to make my life easier?
First and foremost, if you’ve been wondering where I’ve “been,” my website was taken DOWN by a super virulent virus. THANK YOU THANK YOU to WordPress SOS for fixing it! That’s why you haven’t seen anything in months. They saved it ALL – clearing thousands of pages, all infected, now protected – I can’t say enough about them.
As those of you know who listened to the Interim BeingJamesBond.com episodes I hosted, one of my favorite Bond flicks is Never Say Never Again (1983) – the Bond movie “stepchild” due to litigation (resolved this past year, as detailed in the podcast linked above . . . where I discuss both Austria and that litigation, including why Spectre got to use the term “SPECTRE”).
In Never Say Never Again, Bond is required to go to “Shrublands Health Clinic” to change his eating/drinking habits, in true 1980s style.
Miss Moneypenny: Have you got a mission, James?
James Bond: Yes. I am to eliminate all free radicals.
Miss Moneypenny: Ooooh. DO be careful.
Bond being Bond, he smuggles a large case filled with delicacies into his room, to counteract the “high colonics,” dry Melba toast and margarine. The case contains, among other things, red and blue jars of Beluga caviar, a dozen quail eggs, Angniez crème de foie gras, and Patum Peperium (also known as Gentleman’s Relish, a type of anchovy paste), as well as Absolut Vodka Red Label 100 Proof (in production from 1979-2006) and Château Cheval Blanc red wine.
In my version of this briefcase, that’s just the top layer. There is a layer under this one with yummy things to enjoy with the eggs and foie gras . . . in other words . . .
Snacks.
Interestingly now 30+ years later, Bond’s case (including my mythical second-hidden-level additions of olives, spicy crunchy stuff, and dark chocolate turbinado sea salt almonds), might actually be considered a more healthful choice, versus the “no fat, high carb” routine that was then all the rage. (I make no comment about the vodka – though of course, following the current buzz, Absolut has its take on whether their wheat-based vodka is “gluten free.”) In fact, if you’re really au courant, you don’t even talk about the C word (that’s “Calories,” silly) any more.
This year, “Macros” are the new “Calories.”
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that last year, I did a LOT of posts revolving around macros. (Linked HERE – or just put “macro” in the search box.) I dropped off the wagon, because it’s just too darned hard without a coach. As such, after discussing with my BFF Joy of Girls Gone WOD Podcast, I’ve signed up for “The WAD.”
I’m supposed to hear from them in a few days, but in the meantime, I’ve been wandering around the Internet, looking for good, easy ways to get the sort of organic, healthful snacks that I know will be part of the program.
That’s how I discovered Nuts.com.
OK, so first of all, how can you not love a New Jersey-based third-gen family biz, started by “Poppy Sol” in 1929? I ask you.
One of the things that really caught my attention is their “Snacks Swap” document. So, half-popped popcorn is a thing, not just what I dig for surreptitiously from the bottom of the bowl? Who knew?
They have over 250 organic products on their website. If you don’t like something, they have a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, because they want customers for life. So they want you to be happy.
The website is also “deep” – this is a company that really seems proud about caring about their “community” (and that means you). So, it’s not all about the sale. For example, if you click on “gluten-free,” you get gluten-free offerings, but you also get recipes (chestnut crepes anyone? Nom nom nom…) And no requirement to “give us your email, then we’ll give you the recipe,” either. (SO HATE THAT!!)
Yeah, I know – you’re going to go get your snack nuts from Trader Joe’s – so why Nuts.com? Well, their tag line is “We’re more than just nuts.” As I dove deeper, I found a LOT of things that have piqued my interest. As those of you who have read this blog for a while know, I’m sort of a nutrition junkie. I’ve read about kaniwa, garcina cambogia, moringa. If you search online, you can find these ingredients – but how do you know that they’re from a safe purveyor? And what if you hate them? (Did I mention 100% Satisfaction Guarantee…?)
Plus – since 2016 is the Year Of “IIFYM” – what if you want to find some fun stuff that sounds delish, just in case you have “carbs left”? How about organic watermelon rings or pomegranate/pistachio Turkish Delight?
Anyway – now that my blog is back up and running, I hope that those of you who have flitted away because of my “404 for 6 months” will come back and join me! Oh – and – full disclosure, I did not receive anything from Nuts.com for this blog post. I really do think it’s a great one-stop shop for a lot of comestibles, and thought that I should share it with you. Because, ya know, I’m like that 😉
Now it’s your turn:
*What’s up for you in 2016? Any “Resolutions”? New Plans?
*What’s your favorite snack? (I’m making a list…)
*Are you jumping on the “Macros” bandwagon?
*If you are ON the Macros bandwagon, how’s it worked for you?
*Don’t you just love the word “snack”? Say it in Parseltongue, it’s even better…”Sssssnack…..” 😉
The last post (and my “interviews” on Girls Gone WOD Podcast) dealt with Alpha/Omega, introvert/extrovert issues. And the “3D chess” of relationships.
I don’t just mean relationships with your partner. I mean Relationships with a capital R – all relationships.
I have a Situation right now. It goes like this.
We have some great neighbors (when I say “neighbors” I mean couples, if it matters). We also have “the she” of a neighbor that “dislikes” us, due to her feud with another she-neighbor we liked, but who has since moved away.
Ah, Relationship Dynamics – since we were quite good friends with the couple that moved away, and she feuded with the “she” of that couple, we were tarred with the same brush.
Anyway – one of the great neighbors wants to have us over to dinner, and to play Cards Against Humanity. The “she” of that neighbor wants to invite the great neighbors, as well as the “she dislikes us” neighbor-couple.
So, me being me, I went into a bit of a tailspin. The idea of playing a game that was described as “super fun, rude, crazy, politically incorrect, adult” to me with anyone didn’t sound like such a great idea. (The subtitle on the game is “A Game for Horrible People.”) Even less of a good idea, playing with the neighbor that I wanted to “leave a good impression on.”
Hell – I don’t want to feel “on the spot” in front of anyone – and that includes my husband. (He has a habit, when we are in public, of contradicting me, usually when I’m trying to make a story funny – or contradicting what I say. I hate this, but I feared that this could get way out of hand in a game marketed as above.)
I had imagined that this game was sort of a “Truth or Dare” game – my honest to goodness least favorite type of game ever, after being immensely embarrassed whilst playing one at a sleep-over in 7th Grade.
Shut up, I know how long ago that was.
Combining introvert with “Omega” is such a recipe for disaster. (It ain’t easy…bein’ Green…)
My friend Joy is an introverted Alpha – so she likes to have her peace, but she also has that Alpha quality that I admire. Basically things run off her back – or, more particularly, she doesn’t realize that anything is on her back to begin with 😉
We had to postpone the dinner/cards once, because hubby had a health issue come up the night before we were going to do it. In the interim, I have gone more and more into a tailspin about the whole “game” part.
My trepidation has really exasperated the hostess. She’s tried to accommodate me – to have me over to show me how the game works. But the 3 or 4 times she’s tried, it’s usually once hubby had gotten home from what’s been really tough days at work. Me leaving my Alpha to go visit someone just wouldn’t fly . . . especially as I’m having to be on my Best Omega Behavior because of adding the dog to the mix.
So why am I frustrated?
Because my being so ridiculous and scaredy-cat about this stupid thing has exasperated the hostess. I received an email from her this morning about it, that I’ve basically turned something that “was supposed to be fun” and “pay us back for” a dinner we had them to, into a “big, heavy thing” and so now she wants to like “discuss” it.
As an aside, she also was completely blown away at our last book club, when it came out that I’m an introverted Omega. She basically “wouldn’t believe it,” for reasons I have detailed before. (She’s an Alpha.) So now it’s a “deal.” And I hate that.
Well, that’s part of why I’m frustrated at myself.
The second reason I’m frustrated at myself is that, in writing this blog post about the first frustration, I went to find a link for Cards Against Humanity. Which made me read the Wikipedia article about it. Which made me realize it wasn’t some sort of “Truth or Dare” thing – rather, it sounds like it could be fun.
So I got myself all worked up about nothing. A little research – instead of somehow combining my least favorite, embarrassing games in my head – could have made this a non-issue.
Are you ever in this situation?
Do you ever just go into full blown imagination mode, making something that you’re going to “have to do” into a huge deal? And then being embarrassed with yourself afterwards?
Sometimes I do this, and I don’t affect anyone with my mental off-the-rails thinking. I keep it to myself. So when I am actually in the situation and it’s not as bad as I imagined, I thank my stars that I didn’t voice any of my fears to anyone else.
(That does NOT go for the time that I went skydiving, however, because a friend wanted to go – that was JUST as terrifying and terrible as I had imagined – in fact, even more so LOL.)
I hate it when I actually voice some of my fears, and how it affects the dynamics of a situation. How people “want to be sure I’m having a good time,” which then makes me feel self-conscious, and spirals from there.
I’ve been featured a couple of times in the Girls Gone WOD podcast (thanks gals!). The latest one is HERE.
A lot of the questions revolve around the “3D chess” of relationships. Man/woman. Introvert/Extrovert. And Alpha/”non-Alpha” (which we’ve taken to calling Omega). There are so many things that can be different in a relationship . . . and it’s important to know not only where you stand, but also where the other party comes from, to help make the relationship the best it can be.
In my book Fempowerment: A Guide to Unleashing Your Inner Bond Girl and the accompanying workbook, I talk a lot about how to be empowered by your feminine side (hence, “Fempowerment” – Feminine or Female + Empowerment). How to be #1 at being #2…How to be supportive without being submissive. I talk a bit about the whole “Alpha/non-Alpha” thing, but mainly about male/female relationships and expectations.
As you have heard if you have heard the 2 podcasts on GGW that I was on, I am an introvert, a girl (duh), and also an “Omega.” Though people often go crazy when they hear me describe myself as an introverted non-Alpha, it’s usually because they have only seen me in my “comfort zone.” When you put an introvert – or a non-Alpha – in their comfort zone, they’re just as outgoing and fun as the next guy. In fact, they might be more so, because that’s the only place where they get to be comfortably outgoing.
And, they will still care very much what you think, want to talk about, and if you are having a good time.
Anyway – I was talking about dogs.
Jake and me
When my husband and I were first married, I came “with” a dog, Jake. Okay, and a handful of cats. (I had lived on a farm, after all.) My husband is a city boy from Vienna, Austria, who doesn’t believe in the whole “pet” concept.
He got along fairly well with Jake, but after Jake passed away about 4 years or so ago, he basically said “That’s it, no more dogs.”
Dogs are hard. We travel a lot, and, while cats can just have someone come and visit to feed/water/scoop their kitty litter, dogs are not in this category.
A gal from my Crossfit box happens to be a director at our local Humane Society. Though I don’t know her all that well, she’s the sister of my main Crossfit coach Bo. But she doesn’t usually work out when I do.
We happened to be at the gym at the same time a couple weeks ago, and she was discussing a dog that they had at the Humane Society that she was “desperate” to find a home for. In fact, she said she would have taken him home herself, but she already has four dogs and that wasn’t in the cards.
Named “Jeffrey” (after the patrol officer that found him), this dog is a blue Staffordshire, 65 pounds but THIN (you can see his ribs), about eight years old. He had an eye issue that had to be resolved by having the eye removed. He had been at the Humane Society for two months, because he also had bad teeth, kennel cough, bad skin, worms, blah blah. Can you say $3,000 worth of vet work? Anyway, so, he’s a one-eyed, older, “pitbull-esque,” male, cropped-ear dog. No takers.
Since we are in a “no kill” county, this basically means that after a dog has been put up for adoption but not adopted, it goes to “Doggie Jail.” What’s that? It’s a fostering situation with a lot of dogs, none of which particularly get any attention – and of course none of which are going to be adopted into “forever homes.”
“I heard you had border collies before…look! I’m a border collie!!!” (before he had his bad eye removed)
I went to visit “Jeffrey” the day after she mentioned him. Okay – what a great dog. He is voice and hand command trained, crate trained, obedient, gentle, sweet and fun. (He didn’t answer to “Jeffrey” mind you – but who would?) We were leaving two days later for a week vacation, so I went back the next day to see him again, and took some photos and a video.
When I got home, I broached the dog subject with my Alpha hubby, who said ABSOLUTELY NOT. Then I asked him if he would just look at the video. You’ll know all this if you listened to the GGW podcast, because I detailed all this there.
After we returned from our vacation (she got special dispensation to hold him from going to Doggie Jail for a week), we brought him home for a week trial. After sending photos to Joy at GGW, she re-named him “Hank” (the Tank) – and of course, Joy being another of “my Alphas,” I just started calling him that. However, since my husband is my “head #1 Alpha,” I realized that the real key was to get him to name the dog. If he did that, I was sure I could keep him.
(To cut to the chase – my hubby named him “Winston,” I YouTube’d how to get a dog to answer to a new name and worked feverishly on it so it would “seem” that he “just happened to answer to” the name my husband picked, and the paperwork all went through this morning. He’s ours.)
But back to the Alpha/Omega thing.
During the “trial week,” the difference between my Alpha husband’s interactions/reactions to the dog and my interactions/reactions to the dog were so marked, it got me to thinking.
As a non-Alpha, my reaction to the dog was all about whether things were good for him. As in, was this food tasty enough? Was this bed comfy enough? Was this chew toy exactly what he would like? Was he bored? Did he want to go out? Was he happy? Did he want to go in the crate when we were at work/when we went to bed?
As an Alpha, my husband’s reaction to the dog was: This dog is so lucky to be here, this is the best life ever for any dog, especially a dog that was heading to doggie jail from a hard knock life. As such, he couldn’t give a damn whether the food is tasty, the bed is comfy, the chew toy is what he wants, or whether he wants to go out (if I took him out 45 minutes ago) or if he wants to go into the crate – he’s so lucky to be here that anything we do is going to be the best life he could ever, EVER have. He’s happy. Period.
It never occurred to me to think this way. Never. Ever.
And you know what? It’s so freeing!!!
I’m not hardwired to ‘be’ an Alpha – and I will never be. But this is one of those situations where I realize that some of my patterned responses do me more harm than good. In my husband’s view, even if we didn’t “lavish” the dog with “love/affection/whatever” 24/7, he was light years better off than he would have been under the circumstances he came from and where he would have been going. He now has a clean house, a loving couple, an acre of back yard wildlife area, good food, toys, a comfy crate, etc.
I do not need to serve the dog.
All you Alphas are just laughing your heads off at this. But I’ve never really been in this situation with an animal. In general, I’ve had my animals from puppy- or kittenhood. As such, I take “responsibility” for their happiness.
My last dog, Jake, was immensely shy, and quite the Omega himself. I had him from puppyhood, and folks would constantly say “Oh, he must have been abused before you got him.” Nope…he just came that way. And I spent all his years with me (15+) trying to be sure that things were “good for him.” I was constantly being “sensitive” to his “sensitivities.”
My husband was never that way with Jake. He treated him like…a dog. And a dog that had to fit into his life – not vice versa. They had an interesting dynamic.
Because Winston is older, and actually a great, easy-going dog without any hangups, I frankly think that he and my husband are going to get along better than Jake and my husband ever did. Jake always seemed worried that he was going to do something wrong – sort of the hyper-Omega. Winston might be an Alpha, but he knows that he is not the Alpha. I tend to think he’s a pleaser, and might be a non-Alpha. But in general, he’s very easy going, and wants to please, but if he doesn’t please, he kinda doesn’t give a sh*t.
You can learn from anything – even a dog. Maybe especially a dog.
I think that often, I have been more a Jake-like Omega. I think I’m going to enjoy discovering how to be more a Winston-like Omega.
So those of you who have joined me on the Pomroy eating plan – how’s it goin’? Those of you who said that you didn’t want to start when I started (because it was part of a holiday week) – did you start? How’s it goin’?
I haven’t been writing much, because I’ve been travelling. If you missed it, I was interviewed on the Girls Gone WOD Podcast when I was in Denver, then I went to visit my hanai family in the Salt Lake City area. I returned to finally get the appointment with the specialist on my hip/back issue – turns out to be “mainly tied to” arthritis in my S.I. joint pulling on the surrounding muscles, plus a poor core, plus “too much weight” in the abdominal area. Harrumph.
I mentioned the weight thing to my Mom, who’s response was “Well, you’re not THAT overweight…” (sigh) THAAAAANKS…
I wasn’t totally able to stay on the eating plan while I was staying with other people. I’m not going to lie here. It’s not that hard if you’re in your own home – or even in control of your food while traveling. But when in Denver, I didn’t want to make a fuss while staying with my friend, so did what I could. (Mainly, as that was a Friday-Saturday-Sunday or in other words the easiest days, I did okay – it was more in the timing of eating that I fell down. Oh, and the wine 😉 ) Then, when visiting my family, it was somewhat similar – the “tougher” Wednesday/Thursday days in particular. I did what I could, and figured that a little cheese here and there wasn’t going to completely throw me off the wagon, especially as I plan to keep this up longer than the “prescribed” 30 days. I do the cooking when I’m there, so I was able to take charge over my grandboys’ breakfasts, lunches and snacks, plus the family dinner.
I returned home, and, even though I wasn’t 100% “good,” I was pleasantly surprised today to weigh myself and find myself 6 pounds down. Yippee! I know, I know, scales don’t accurately portray what’s happening, blah blah, but this puts me down into the next “decade” of weight, towards my goal of losing 30 pounds (“3 decades”).
As I type this, I’m having my morning smoothie of watermelon (SO glad a friend told me that watermelon freezes like a champ!), pineapple, and mango with a few mint leaves (also frozen in a bunch), plus the added uncooked oats. I showed my oldest grandboy how to make this “smoothie” for himself when I was in Salt Lake. The oats remind you that you need to “chew anything that is food to your body.” My eldest grandboy is overweight, and eats his food fast. (Me too! I have been practicing the “putting the fork down between bites” mindfulness.) I had read at one point that if you “drink” your calories, your body doesn’t really know how to deal with it as food….because “in the wild,” the only thing you’d really drink would be non-caloric (water). This article mentioned that if you are going to be doing any sort of eating regime wherein you drink calories, you need to pay attention to “chewing” each mouthful “as if” it’s “food” to “let your body know” that calories are coming down your gullet.
I’m not sure whether this is true or false, but it definitely slows you down! The uncooked steel cut gluten-free oats are a great addition to help with this, even if it’s just a reminder. My grandboy paired this smoothie with an egg and ham burrito I showed him how to make. He was out of school on break, so we spent a lot of time together, and he said that this combination “kept him going” until well into when it was time for lunch.
Last night, I watched the movie Fed Up on Netflix. It made me so sad watching the three kids that they follow in this documentary. As always, their families think they are eating “right.” One of the kids goes in for a DEXA scan, which can not only tell you your bone density, but also what your body is “made up of,” both in total and in its various regions. Fat in the abdomen is the worst – a DEXA will tell you your total fat percentage as well as where that fat lies. My eldest grandboy actually has a DEXA coming up because he has had bone issues (his father has low bone density, and he might have inherited it). I hope that they get the fat percentage as well.
One thing the movie goes into is “skinny fat people.” In the documentary, the kid who undergoes the DEXA scan looks quite a bit heavier than his parents or his 3 brothers. However, all of them weigh out with obese fat numbers – even the super skinny youngest is right up against the obese range.
I have a feeling I might have been one of these. I have always (well, until recently/hormone changes) been quite slim, even skinny. All through my 20s I was around 140 (remember, I started Pomroy at 185). I was up in my 150s at my “heaviest” in my 30s, but back down to 140 in 2006 (I have it in my diary). I didn’t work out that much – certainly not much cardio – though I did lift weights regularly in 2006 because I wanted to look buff in my (backless/sleeveless) wedding dress 😉
I could eat just about anything and still stay within a fairly narrow weight range. Now, not a chance. I am metabolically “broken” – and that’s what I’m trying to deal with and fix.
But I think a lot of this comes down to how you’re “programmed” to eat when you’re growing up. The movie goes into this – and how the “food industry” has FUCKED US UP (sorry for the swearing, but it’s worth it!) Books I have read recently, like Salt Sugar Fat, Death by Food Pyramid, and The Big Fat Surprise explain how this all happened . . . and how we need to eat more like what is now our great-grandparents than (usually) our parents or even grandparents. I’ve railed on and on about this before, and can’t get enough of reading/watching documentaries about it. I guess it’s my version of being a lookie-loo at a traffic pileup.
My hanai daughter and I were going through her pantry together, and we discussed “finding sugar” on a jar or can. In “Fed Up,” Katie Couric discusses how our purchasing would be radically altered if the “Sugar” had a Recommended Daily Allotment (RDA) percentage like all the vitamins do! Unfortunately, in the case of the pasta sauce we were discussing, though the Sugar was “under 6 grams” on the Carbs list, it was on the Ingredients list. This issue was discussed in the Salt Sugar Fat book – how we need to be careful, because words like “sugar and sugar” – and “fat and fat” – don’t mean the same thing. A pasta sauce can have 6 grams of sugar that occurs naturally from the tomatoes in the jar (e.g., in the Carbohydrates list, but not in the Ingredients list). Or, a pasta sauce can have 6 grams of sugar that are on the ingredients list, meaning sugar was actually added to the concoction (usually, because they’ve tried to take something else out, and it didn’t taste as good!)
Again, as pointed out in these books and in that movie, this is made “difficult” because the Food Industry wants it to be difficult. So people will throw up their hands, and buy Lunchables.
Another book I was recently reading talked about how baby formula is marketed in places like Laos – showing big, chubby babies on the label and stating that it’s far “better than” breast-feeding your child (more “First World”). And how these “big, chubby babies” all wind up with a host of diseases like anemia and malnutrition, though they are big and fat. Moreover, as the formula is not cheap and the same company makes things like coffee creamer with the same logo, some mothers purchase the coffee creamer to feed their babies. Yikes!
But I digress (how unusual)…
My plan is to get back to 155. I seem to think that’s do-able, though I haven’t approached it since I have had the hormone issues. That is also where my doctor says my BMI will be in the normal range.
Well, I meant for this to be a quick update, but as usual, I get typing, and I can’t stop. If you’re doing Pomroy, how are you doing??? If you didn’t start because you said you would but then you “forgot”…how about starting Monday???
“Qalo” (pronounced KAY-low) stands for Quality, Athletics, Love, and Outdoors. Their brand is “Commitment is Contagious” – which I love.
These rings were born out of the frustration of all us married athletes who love being married, love being athletes, and are just a wee bit tired of coming home from a workout and saying “Oooooops, I left my ring on the shelf/in the car cupholder/in my golf bag.”
I had this happen the other day. I had worked out at Crossfit that morning, and we had pullups. So I took my ring off, because no can keep on with pullups. I carefully put it in my gym bag, thinking I was a big smarty-pants. (I’ve left it oh-so-many times hanging on the key hooks under the shelf at my box.)
yup, that’s me and my wedding ring.
My husband and I went to the theatre that evening, and when he took my hand as the lights dimmed (hey, come on, it’s cute after 20 years), he was startled, then stage-whispered in my ear “WHERE is your RING?”
Sigh.
In the gym bag.
In the parking structure.
Blocks away.
Harrumph.
Here’s the deal with Qalo rings. They are made of 100% medical grade silicone. I have tried some of the rubber rings that are out there, but they made my finger itch. Not so these rings.
that’s me in the water – to the right of the kayak – getting into “buddy swim” position for the newbies heading into the water for their first Bay swim.
To tell you the truth, I’m actually lucky that I still have my wedding ring. As an S.F. Bay swimmer, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen folks get out of the water, look at their hand, then look at their (newly bare) hand. That cold water can seriously shrink up a … finger. (Ha! Dirty mind, you.) When I have done guard swimming for LLS Teams in Training, the VERY final thing I do before everyone goes into the water is to gather up all the wedding rings.
How did I wind up getting these nifty Qalo rings? Why, I’ll tell you. I negotiated a contract for one of my clients with Qalo. And Qalo sent me some. Yes, you read that right. There are some nice lawyers out there, that try to make a deal work for all parties. And so the “other side” (Qalo) sent me some rings. BEST EVER!
They have rings that are specific to breast cancer, Firepersons, Police, etc. For the fire/police, the rings have a “thin red line” or a “thin blue line” running around the ring. (Clever.)
The ones you see in the photo above are 2 in their “camo” flavor and 2 in their “black” flavor, a man’s width and a woman’s width on each. The single-color Qalo rings have one of the 4 symbols you see in the back of the photo, inset into the ring. (The answer to your question is: The kettlebell, of course.)
They come in little zipper pouches with very strong clips on the back. That’s what you can see it in the photo – the clip is what is coming up into the compass symbol. This way, you can put your “real” wedding ring into the pouch hooked securely on your gym or golf or tennis or chalk bag, put your Qalo one on, and off you go. When you’re done, switch back.
HERE is a ring sizing chart if you don’t know your size. My measurement came smack between two sizes – that’s why I got the women’s rings in the “lower” size and then men’s (thicker) rings in the “higher” size. The women’s rings (being tighter) are perfect for swimming. I think even with “cold Bay finger-shrink” they’ll stay on. (We’ll see, right?) The men’s, being a little looser, are perfect for Crossfit, biking, running, etc.
Feeling a little greedy right now 😉
Anyway – if this is something that might be of interest – definitely check them out! You can get them on Amazon HERE, or go to the Qalo website. What a great idea! Below is a video of the two guys who came up with the idea, which I think is pretty cute.
I did have Bulletproof-esque coffee today, with a couple of pastured, local eggs in it, plus MCT Oil. (No dairy in the eating plan.) I matched it up with a smoothie of coconut flakes (not sweetened), the oats, cherries, and then some of the greens from the freezer, as well as a couple more eggs.
Right now, I’m having BPC with egg and MCT oil, plus raw carrots as my snack.
I mentioned earlier this week that I went to the doctor to address my back/hip issue that’s been going on for months. As I have blogged about before, I had seen my chiropractor (who told me about Pomroy in fact), did traction, saw my fascia guy, tried to address it with one of my Crossfit coaches, etc., but still no dice. I also sat on my @ss doing nothing for a few weeks to see if that would help (nope).
Oh – I was weighed there. (Did you know that a doctor has to weigh you or they can’t get compensated by the insurance? Yup. Weigh you, and take your blood pressure and pulse. Always wanted to know why they did that even if you were there for a sinus infection? You’re Welcome.) Their scale says I’m 2 pounds heavier than my scale does. I could put it down to the fact that I’d just had a full gigantic smoothie and bottle of water, or maybe my scale is just wrong. I’m going to report in from my scale though, because it’s not like I can hop on over and re-weigh myself weekly at the doctor’s office.
Oh – and the doctor counselled me that my BMI was “borderline obese” and I “needed to do something about it.” (Thanks, Doc.)
Take that, all my friends who constantly, CONSTANTLY say, when I’m frustrated by the growing joey in my lap, “But you look GREAT!!!”
And here’s a tangent. (How unusual for me.) In the Girls Gone WOD Podcast episode about eating disorders, one of the things that they go into for quite some time is folks who say, when seeing someone, “Wow! You look amazing!” (or some version of that). It would have never ever occurred to me to say that. The experts’ point was that you don’t ever really want to comment on how someone “looks,” because that can feed right into disordered eating.
The funnier thing is that I’ve seen a couple of friends recently who I have not seen in a while, and in each case they started with “Wow! You look so great!” or “Wow! You’re so skinny!” It was eery. I said “Thank you” to one, and pulled up my shirt to display my “joey” to the other (eee-yew!). Don’t put me in this position…!
If you see someone you haven’t seen for a long time, say: “Wow! I didn’t realize how much I missed you until I saw you!” – or something like that – Ok? Ok. Of course, easy for me to say since I’ve never said that when greeting someone. But it has always set me up to feel that I need to reciprocate with something about how they look – and if they look tired, or have gained a few pounds, or whatever, then I’m stuck.
AND SO…We’d left our heroine in her sexy washed-almost-white blue, backless hospital gown sitting on the waxy white paper on the doctor’s table….
The doctor sent me to get Xrays, and the good thing is that, this morning, he sent me an email and apparently my bones look fine. YAY! My hubby couldn’t figure out why I was so stressed out about that, but I reminded him we have two friends who, in their 40s, needed hip replacements. They were just like me – active, eating right, etc. – and then their bodies just crumbled at the hip. No bueno.
I have an appointment with the “non-surgery” department next week to come up with a plan. I’ll be curious to see what this guy says. I will probably not utter the “C-word” [Crossfit] because if he’s a hater, he’ll just presume “Oh THAT’S what did it.” As those of you who know me know, this issue came out of nowhere, after I’d been babying my body for nearly 1/2 a year, since receiving the news from my doctor that my metabolism and hormones were severely out of whack after all the long-distance training (which had ended a year before, mind you). So I’ve done no pounding (e.g., running, jumping); worked on form, form, form; no heavy weights related to lower body work (e.g., anything attached to a squat), etc. But the minute I utter the “C-word” I’m sure it will be over.
So I guess I will stress what I’ve been doing at the “C-word” – namely, rowing, upper body strength work, stretching, and the like – without mentioning “that word.” I am not particularly sure if I should even talk about the fact I’ve been working on slow air squats (which do not hurt – though situps do, go figure), because I’m afraid somehow that might be considered the culprit. Maybe I will call them “grand pliés.”
We all realize, of course, that now that I’ve obsessed about this, the guy I meet will have Greg Glassman’s visage tattooed to his arm and be wearing a Games T-shirt. (I should be so lucky.)
yup, that’s me in the middle, with a couple of my Ironteam buddies.
Today is “go slow, be nice to yourself” day on the plan. (As are Saturday and Sunday.) I’m thinking about going to that pool I joined and doing some slow laps. I think that sounds nice.
So, if you’re with me this week, how’s it going? PM me or send me a Comment. Frustrated? Going strong? There are a few of you who just couldn’t start on the holiday weekend, so are going to be starting this coming Monday. How about ya’ll… Ready? Believe me, getting to Friday, after Wednesday & Thursday of just protein and veg, is Nirvana. 😉
OH AND – if you suddenly realize you ate something that wasn’t “in Phase,” I’d be curious how it happened. I had it happen yesterday. I was at the Farmer’s Market gathering up lots of nummy fresh produce with a friend of mine I hadn’t seen in forever. We were nattering away, and she wanted a chai latte with almond milk from the guy who sells them there – they’re not sweet, they’re spicy and super delish. She was ordering hers, and I thought “Wow, that looks really good” and so got one. We kept talking and it wasn’t until I was throwing the cup away that I realized….”OOPS…I’m in Phase 2, which is only protein and veggies.” I actually stood frozen over the garbage can with my hand still out after the lightbulb went off. Oops.
So my learning was that I was (a) out of my house and (b) talking with a friend and not paying attention to what I was putting in my mouth.
The idea here is obviously not to then put the back of your hand to your forehead saying “Woe is Me! All is Lost!,” give up and dive into a pile of Oreo cookies (double stuff, natch). Instead, take specific note of how it happened – and just vow for the next 30 days not to put yourself in that situation again. There’s no question if we’d somehow been in my house yesterday and I was making her that spicy almond milk chai latte, I would be looking at the ingredients and (perhaps wistfully) thinking “Nope, can’t do that until tomorrow.” OR, if I’d been at the farmer’s market alone, I would have seen the guy selling the spicy almond milk chai lattes and thought: “Wish the market was tomorrow!” But combining the two put me on “remote control.”
This is a super good learning for me though! I mean – come on – we all got our 10-20-30-80 pounds overweight in stages. We could have turned around earlier…before Φ was such a big angle…and stepped down from A back to Ax. But in a lot of instances, we just don’t realize what’s caused us to vector away from the path. At least this is the case with me.
When I was younger, although I lived through the period of the worst food advice in the history of mankind (thank you, Ancel Keys), I would apply it, and lose the pounds that had crept on (hello, rice cakes). Then I’d return to what my Mom had raised us on – whole grains, fruit, veg, meat. No desserts (unless it was your birthday), no potato chips, no trips to McDonald’s, etc. Which is how I kept the vector angle down, until a fistful of years ago.
The thing is, my husband and I have pretty much gone downhill holding hands smiling. (When all else fails, blame the husband. 🙂 ) Before we lived together, I wasn’t all that interested in food. But then we went on our first trip together – a first class cruise of French Polynesia. Avec all you can eat, whenever you want, lobster/steak/desserts/crepes, baguettes, baguettes, baguettes made every day, did I mention baguettes? Oh and cheeeeese? We came back from that two week trip a horrifying 10 pounds heavier a piece, and then goaded each other along from there. Worse, once we were living together and I’d been “downsized out of” my job, my hubby suggested that, instead of trying to get another general counsel position, I take care of shopping/cooking/the food.
My husband is a city boy, and doesn’t like to exercise. And loves good food. However, when we met he was a McDougall vegan who didn’t drink. I ruined him – took a non-exercise lover and introduced him to the excesses of food and drink 😉 (No wonder he married me.) I got to love cooking, and as most recipes are for 4, and it was all so good…
yup, finishing during the night, but still finishing (Ironman Louisville)
Another part of the problem, though, was that when I had gained weight in the past, I was a metabolically active, active woman (who wasn’t particularly interested in cooking). So I was able to exercise, eat “pretty” right (margaritas and chips with gal pals notwithstanding), and get back to my ideal shape and weight. But after doing the Ironman, then having a hysterectomy (though they did leave the ovaries), then doing 5 marathons in a year, then the triathlon,then I think likely going through menopause, my body was so whacked out that it didn’t know how to cope any more.
I’ve ballooned 20 pounds in the past three years – which is not tied directly to food, since I’ve been the chef de la maison since about 2004. The doc says it’s the whacked out metabolism from hormones and long distance exercise. Now, granted, I had gained 10 or so pounds slowly after taking over cooking, but photos from 2006 still show me at my ideal weight/muscular look – I wasn’t just a scarecrow as I’d been my whole life (a few deviations notwithstanding). I was muscular and slim. Through 2012 (I have a diary – I checked) I was up about 15 pounds.
But then, between the end of 2013 and now – BLAM, 20 pounds like a ton of immovable cement.
I’m aiming for 30 pounds to be “released” from my body. (Don’t use the word “lost” – it implies “found” again! 🙂 ) That will still put me about 10 pounds up from my old ideal/muscular/slim weight, but that’s fine, I’m older.
Anyway. It’s time to get to work. That’s my story – and my learning from my “miss” yesterday with the latte. How’s by you?
I’ve never really had a body image “issue.”
