Day 101 (Day 66 Revisited): Palate Ponderings

I still hate yogurt. Like really, really hate it. Really. Really really really.
I like pears. Bosc >Bartlett
I might become a vegetarian after this. Or a pescatarian.
I might keep protein shakes in my life after this.
I still hate bananas.
I like apples. Not all of them though.
I like vegetables more than fruit still.
I crave vegetables.
I crave GrapeNuts.
I still crave brownies. Just smaller brownies.
I wonder why they are called GrapeNuts.
I like steak better than chicken.
I like pork better than chicken.
I don't know when I stopped liking chicken.

Day 99 (Day 64 Revisited): Stone Soup

Fall is here in Colorado, and it's very pretty out. Ironic, isn't it, that I link to one of my fave local bloggers, whose web site is userealbutter.com. (Follow @userealbutter on Twitter! She did a presentation last month I attended on "Food Porn." It was HOT.)

Anyhoo, I love this time of year. Traditionally, I stocked up on the following:
- maple & brown sugar flavor oatmeal
- one box of Cream of Wheat
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- other baking staples, such as white sugar, white flour, baking soda, baking powder, that spray-on butter+flour for pans, wax paper, foil
- one canister of hot cocoa
- staples to make soups and chili

The cooler weather, dare I even say wintry considering this weekend Boulder is expecting snow to fall??!?!?, just puts me in the mood to bake something wonderful in the oven and have a pot of something delicious on the stove. It warms the house, it warms my soul.


Ever read the children's book, "Stone Soup"? One of my childhood favorites.

Anyhoo, with the onset of autumn, I feel kind of lost without this ritual at the moment and, considering I was hoping to be done with the PCP by now, I'm feeling a bit wistful, too. I mean, the PCP has given me great insight into my eating habits, which were indeed naughty, the true culprit of my softening middle and bubble butt, but I like soup. I wonder if I can make a PCP-friendly soup. Or a version of soup (hot food in a bowl). Tomatoes, mushrooms, a protein? No salt, of course. Perhaps a stone?

Day 94 (Day 59 Revisited): The Good Daughter

My mom thinks I'm crazy: I worked out this morning (4 minutes x 4 sets) and then I worked out tonight (strength exercises). And today on our trip into Boulder, I bought two new tank tops to exercise in for another boost of motivation. But you worked out yesterday ...

So my Mom .... I love Mom. We aren't much alike but she allowed me to shine and be who I am. Her mother didn't allow that for her, and Mom's personality quirks could have followed suit but she didn't. It's a miracle I am hers. Haven't seen her in three years because of time and money on both our parts. She drove out to CO with my Kid Sister, who is 8, from Kentucky. They are visiting for a week; they leave Monday morning. Mom has always been the Dieter. As a kid, I remember the Dexatrim bottle on the counter. Then the various fad diets. Then the pans of brownies and cake that were gone quickly. The XXL tees she scored from the Dollar Store. Sometimes she was heavy; other times she was gaunt. As for exercise, she liked to walk; her timid, cautious and low-key personality prevented her from really trying anything beyond that. She's been into Curves the last year, but stopped going earlier this summer; her reasons were vague. She does, however, wear these Velcro sandals with curved soles which "help" you tone muscle as you walk (?!?!??). I just nod uh-hmmmmm!


Oh yah. This is them. Imagine them with white athletic socks. And sweatpants.

It makes me angry at these companies who sucker these women in; I also am frustrated with these women, including my dear and well-intentioned mother. Sure, she is trimmer than I have seen her in the past but I wouldn't say healthy. On the first day of her visit, we got into a debate because she believes that organic chocolate milk is healthier than regular chocolate milk, therefore she allows Kid Sister to have "only" two glasses of organic chocolate milk PER DAY. I walk downstairs, and Kid Sister starts the day off with 1. a glass of choc milk 2. a chocolate PopTart. Lunch is fries and a shake and a burger patty. Every day she has had a bowl of chocolate covered raisins. Every day so far there have been treats in addition to these "meals." Kid Sister got winded walking around the block with us! As a mother and a PCPer, I totally cringe. I mean, my kid gets the occasional Oreo or whatever but she also gets fruit, vegs and unbreaded protein every day. And Kid Sister prefers to sit on the couch than hit the playground or backyard to play with my Kid, much to Mini Me's dismay. But if I try to engage Mom about their exercise and food habits, she is vague, changes the subject, or shuts down completely. As a former newspaper reporter, I am used to pressing people for details or seeing through the smoke and mirrors to get to the goods. But handling my mom in this manner seems cruel so I have to stop the inquisition and highlighting the giant holes in her beliefs. But I don't want to give up on her.

Hiatus: Now Where Was I?

I wanted to write last night but for some reason I could not access Gmail from my home computer. What gives? Anyhoo that minor delay allowed you all to witness my next new adventure on the PCP diet: pomegranate. It's purty, no?

Sorry about the scary knife. Kind of looks like carnage, no? Yeah ... fruit is still not my thing, I'm afraid, though I am fond of my Fuji apples and kiwis. I keep trying stuff out though, which is fun. Am taking recommendations!

Happy to be back with my strength exercises, though the ones using my own body weight, i.e. push-ups and such, are harder on me than the arm band exercises. Am hoping to sculpt Fred and Sidney into tiptop shape. Since I'm a little behind my fellow cohorts, who are in their final days and looking so good! go team go!, I'm just trying to find my mojo again. FYI: I picked up where I left off at Day 59 and do what I can until I tire, which is still easily after a long day at the office and as a mom. Must try to divide and conquer, with jumpropes in the morning and strength training at night.

Thanks for your patience!

Day Fifty-Seven: The Ties That Bind

I talk to my mom every weekend. We are not terribly alike, but I look forward to these phone calls. I have a lot of relatives, but not a lot of family, ifyougetwhatimsayin'. Mom is always there for me in the proverbial sense. I can make her laugh, and she can make me feel like I can do anything.

She arrives here in late September for a visit, right during my Day 90 completion of the PCP (a little more than a month away ~ woot!). She lives in the South these days, so distance and money keep visits far and few between. Like three years in between. As you can imagine, we are excited for her visit to Colorado for one week. I was asking her on the phone what groceries I need to buy to keep her happy at my homestead and she said something to the effect of "nothing weird ... none of that healthy stuff."

At least that's what I heard. See I was raised on Tuna Helper, Campbell's Tomato soup (milk recipe), Tang and the occasional block of orange government cheese. Mom was never an adventurous eater, either; and to top that off, she was a yo-yo dieter. And she bakes. A lot. She's very good at it. Ruh-roh ...

I'd like to end the PCP on a good note, but Mom is already asking for burger-and-shake places. Hmmm. I love Mom, but this is an inheritance I wish to avoid.

Day Fifty-Three: Shaken, Not Stirred

So I'd like to get a consensus on how everyone deals with their protein powder. I've got a tub of CytoSport Cocoa Bean, which is tasty and mixes better than the previous one I used, something picked off the shelf at my local grocer's. Also tried a small canister of protein powder from Whole Foods. I'm happiest now with CytoSport but ... is a shaker better to avoid lumps? Or blender? Would love to hear how you serve it up, and if you use a shaker, which kind/brand (and where to get it!).

Day Fifty-One: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Completed my Day 50 and half of Day 51 exercises. I'll do the other half of Day 51 and entire Day 52 tomorrow. I feel good today!


The new menu has big changes: more bananas, protein shakes, AMAYW veggies and no true dinner. The exercise plans has changes, too. I'm adjusting to the timed jump ropes. I've always been more a sprinter than a marathoner, and with PCP it has felt no different. Before I liked to hurry my sets of 100 reps and I got pretty fast. But here I am again doing something new with the timed jumps my shins burn and my ankles and wrists are fatigued before two minutes are finished. I only had one set ~ the final one ~ where I jumped the entire time without stopping or tripping.

This is where it gets hard. But this is where I need to go. Fred and Sidney are excited for more. Pity that tank top season ends in mere weeks.

Day Fifty: No Go

It seems when I lack structure, all hell breaks loose. Today was a new schedule for me and the kiddo, and then some appointments I had made on my day off were canceled last minute which threw off my plans, and then my to-do list grew to 10+ things, and I got them all done by golly and while doing this I managed to eat PCP-ly which was fantastic especially since I really wanted pumpkin bread or a cookie, but see I was no where near a printer today (I don't own one) so I did not have my handy dandy printouts of my workouts and sure I could lug my computer out to the garage or scribble them down on scrap paper, but there's nothing as satisfying as the scratch of my pen making hash marks next to each workout and tiny printed-out Patrick deftly doing his PCP exercises. See I have a thing, I like this way of doing things and it didn't happen today. It'll happen tomorrow but not today unfortunately and now I have a headache and now I'm going to bed. Do I feel bad? A little bit. But I got 2/3 of PCP done today (blog + food), which is not an excuse and it's not enough but it's what I did get done. Tomorrow is back to 100 percent. Actually, 133 1/3 percent ... i was never good at math.

Day Forty-Nine: Lose My Lunch

Today was hectic, running from appointment to appointment. Took kid to the dentist at 8a.m., then scurried to work for a strategy meeting which ran from 9 a.m. to 1:30p.m. and then off to get the kid from her last day at preschool and then off to her ENT specialist appointment, where the mystery of her ear bleeding was resolved. Needless to say, I under-ate during the whole day after my PCP breakfast.

But I avoided the danish at the coffee spread provided for us and at lunch I gave away the chips and GIANT cookie that came with our boxed lunches; I stuck with my order of a modest tuna sandwich, which had very light mayo throughout, thank goodness, and lotsa veggies on top. Mmm. That was tough as most of the prepackaged meals had something forbidden: bacon, chipotle dressing, etc. Tuna even with the mayo seemed the least offensive. I also laughed that the diameter of the cookie was bigger than my sandwich. I got back on track with eating when I got home and made the switched to the now timed portions of jump ropes (seven sets of two-minutes on the jumpropes). I think this will take some getting used to. I was also still very tired today and not in the mood.

Speaking of lunch: The kid starts kindergarten tomorrow! At the kindergarten open house yesterday I received a copy of the hot lunch menu, and oh my. Here are the school district's goals with school lunch and here is this month's menu . Looks like bar food to me. Nachos? Mozzarella sticks? And a variety of fried/krispie chicken forms? And from covering this school district as a newspaper reporter back in the day, I know that the alternative to the daily main meal for the hot lunch kids is your old standby of PBJ. But they use Uncrustables, a prepackaged processed sandwich; click the link to see the nutritional value and ingredients. Yikes, right?

I had long decided since the kid was a pick eater that I would pack her lunch daily; I hate to waste money and I hate to waste food. She likes what she likes and would rather go without that eat something else but thankfully, in addition to our affinity for Oreos, she likes a lot of good stuff, too: bananas, yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, chicken, pasta (whole wheat; she doesn't even notice as long as it looks white), mandarin oranges, juice, milk, etc. But after seeing the school menu, I'll happily pack two lunches, hers and mine, every morning.

Day Forty-Six: Veghead

Spent a lovely morning at the gym where I finished up some PCP arm exercises from yesterday. People were curious and wanted to know more. Then I went by the farmer's market.

This is all that I scored:

And this is what I picked from my own garden:
And then I went to the grocery store to score my fruit, milk and protein. Still struggling with a loss of appetite. Hard to get through meals. Hope my new purchases help! I think so. I was eating tomatoes off the vine in the rain today before thunder scared me inside. And I already prepped the farmer's market carrots (orange and red!), green beans (so pretty), beets and broccoli so I don't even have to think about them this week. Just grab and go. However I don't plan on eating the sunflowers. Those are just for show.

Day Forty-Five: Half Full or Half Empty?

My Day 45 post. Half way, baby!

So how do I feel?

I'm excited to be at the midway point.
But will I lose steam? Or am I just getting starting?
Is this just a phase? Or a rest-of-life change?
Will I ever eat an Oreo again? Will I even want to?

Stay tuned!

Day Forty-Two: I'll Cry if I Want To

The jump ropes were smooooooth today, if I may say so myself. Cranked 1,500 out lickety split with nary a trip amongst my sets and I managed to impress a carload of booming-music, disaffected teens who were cruising up and down my street in their sweet, sweet ride. Thanks, morons.

Also received the next week's exercises + diet plan. FINALLY: a week more of 1,500 j-ropes and then we go to the timed portions of j-ropes. Something new! I wonder if I can hang. I'll probably hate it. But who cares! I want to see if I can do it. Uncool: Patrick docked coffee from my diet. Well, he said we could have one cup a day. Um, hello? You cannot be serious. Now, folks, let's remember this blog post as where I throw a hissy fit.


IDONTWANNA!NO!YOUCAN'TMAKEME!IHATEYOU!WHYOHWHYOHWHYOHWHY!WHYDOYOUHATEME!WHYAREYOUDOINGTHISTOME!ARRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH NONONONONONONONOIDONTWANNA!YOURETHEDEVIL!

OK. I think I'm OK now. No, nope, that's just not true.

I've quit coffee before. Like four times or something. And it was sucky every time. Like really sucky. And pre-PCP I was having >one cup in the a.m. and MAYBE >one cup in the afternoon. I was content with this. But now I'm back to a 3-cup a day habit (you SAID coffee was permittable! you SAID!) and now I have to cut back and yes I want to cry. Weep, even. Couldn't I just do, like, extra sets of tricep dips? or side crunches? Please? Pretty please?

Day Forty-One: I See PCP People

I have a similar problem as Heather : loss of appetite. I wake up very hungry, so that's good. But as the day goes on, eating becomes less desirable. I rarely want to eat a full dinner. Also, I've been a carnivore as long as I remember, but lately I have little want to consume protein. But I do (only fish and beef; for some reason chicken really grosses me out lately) and I enjoy the protein shakes. Am considering a shaker. Big surprise: I'm really enjoying my fruits and my drinkable yogurts which was unimaginable a month ago. Tomorrow, Day 42, is the end of yet another week on the PCP. Relief with "just" 1,500 jumpropes. But what's next?!?!?

(just kidding. sort of.)

Day Thirty-Nine: Out of The Mouths of Babes

The kid just asked me very seriously: "Mom, when can you have Oreos again?"

I've been declining food left and right from her for almost 40 days. Cupcakes and zucchini bread from school. French fries and lemonade at home. She realized today that we haven't baked anything nor have we been to our favorite Chinese food place in a "long, long time." I realized today that she's just like me ...

We are food sharers.

I told her I could have Oreos again in about 50 days. You should have seen her face. *GASP* The horror ...

But despite her/our affection for Oreos and other baked goods, she inspires me on the PCP. She likes bananas and yogurt and eggs and sugarless applesauce. She thinks it's amusing to watch me eat yogurt or a banana with a grimace. I'd like to be more like her sometimes. She eats when she is hungry; she stops when she is not. She loves to be active, and today we went for a bike ride. "I just love to be outside!" she cooed. And fall soccer is coming up, and she loves to pretend she is Cheetara not because she is yellow (her favorite), beautiful or the lone female adult character of the Thundercats, but "because she is a fast runner."

Recently she picked up the word "fat" from one of her buddies; I don't use that word and we had a very serious talk about how often that is a hurtful word, which like "stupid" and "shut up," we shall not use. She's not uttered it since. And likewise she is noticing my new eating and exercise habits (she loooooooves to help me pick out new fruit and veg each week, she loooooooves when we go to the park so I can exercise on the weekends). I hope this PCP mentality is seeping into her brain as much as mine.

Day Thirty-Five: Thank You, Sir, May I Have Another?

As I write this, I'm munching on a plate of beautiful beets and tasty zucchini. Happily. When did this happen? And when did "only" 1,400 jump ropes become a welcomed relief? This last week I've been hardcore cravings for Mexican food and for ice cream. Like very specific cravings, the kind I've only had back in the preggers days. And today, after a sudden, urgent visit to the pediatrician for yet again the kid's chronic ear bleeding and subsequent referral to a specialist, some familiar thoughts visited me ... like how this stress and anxiety would be momentarily relieved only by, say, a cake donut or some cheesy nachos at home. I came home, tried to eat lunch but had no appetite. I had my afternoon snack instead. I took a nap. I woke up and did my jump ropes. Again, my shins are on fire. And my appetite returned. And I have my beautiful beets and tasty zukes. And tomorrow will be more of the same. Yes, please.

Day Thirty-Four: Lay Your Hands On Me

Nothing new to report, except this kink in my upper right body continues to torture me. Might go get a massage to see if I can get some relief that way. Other than that, I'm just sticking to the food and exercise plans and trying not to let self-doubt creep in. Tonight I cooked some garden zucchini with basil, olive oil, garlic and oregano, and made another batch of Shelby's jam recipe (I'm forever eternally grateful!), and my exercises, while not easy, went quickly. Keeping the faith ...

Day Thirty-One: You Like Pissed Off? Watch This.

Today was a #FAIL on the PCP. Probably my worst day ever. Pretty much ate the last of my PCP rations on hand, which included a drinkable yogurt, some bran flakes for breakfast, baby carrots for the a.m. and p.m. snack, some beef and mushrooms via the Crockpot for lunch, and a whole lotta coffee. Imagine my surprise when I was jonesing for fruit and some veggies. A friend suggested we met up for dinner at Noodles ; sounded like we both could use face time, and our kids love each other so why the heck not? I did my homework and looked up the nutritional info compared to my PCP diet requirements. But the meal I got, a small noodle dish and a small salad both with protein, ended up giving me heartburn tonight. UGH. I haven't had that since I was uber preggers six years ago. Fucking sucked. And when I got home, it was incredibly stormy and rainy, so no double header softball nor PCP exercise. And then I saw that I had left the Crockpot full of beef and mushroom out alllllll day long. Ruined. * I knew I would do this shitshitshit* So lack of good food + heartburn + no exercise = grumpapotamus.

I had some time to cool off though. The kid is traveling with her dad this weekend, so I went to Target luxuriously walking the aisles. I scored some more workout clothes and some smellgood soaps to reward myself with after particularly pungent PCP workouts. Tomorrow I will go to my usual Saturday cardio kickboxing and score my much-wanted vegs and fruits (wanted? when did I want vegs and fruit? progress!) at the grocer's and farmer's market. For now, I'm at home regrouping mentally with a DIY mani-pedi and, what luck!, G.I. Jane on TV. Nothing like a little inspiration ...

Day Twenty-Nine: And the Cupboard was Bare

Not happy today. Not happy with myself at all.

See I went food shopping last Friday and loaded up on PCP foods to last me the week. But then the weekend came, and so did three guests who ate the food (as they should) and gobbled up any time I typically would have spent prepping any cooked and chopped food for this week. Monday came, and I realized that I had less food than anticipated to get me through to this Friday, which is payday. And while I have some flow in the bank, it's already squirreled away for the kid's doctor's appointment tomorrow. She's been having a minor, yet chronic health issue with her ear this summer. Each doc appt is costing anywhere from $45 to $90, depending on the number of meds she needs. And that's approximately what's left in my bank account for the next two days. So no PCP food shopping until then, which means until then, my diet plan is completely off mark. And I feel it!

I've exhausted all protein options, sans a giant thing of stew beef which after two days is still defrosting in my fridge; can't defrost it in the microwave coz it's from Costco, which means, yes, it really is a huge meat ice cube. Nor will it fit in the Crockpot. Must wait. I feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends. I also rationed out my drinkable yogurts to two a day, two fruits a day, and I'm eating mostly vegs from my garden. Tonight, a friend dropped off a spaghetti squash from his garden for me to try (never ate one before!) and so will give that a go. My dinner tonight: Cream of Wheat with cinnamon and milk. Tasty but not at all PCP. But with this week's rainy, cool weather (think Colorado in March, not late July), I needed something warm and satisfying and this was about as good as it was going to get. I'm bummed, but it's a minor setback.

In better news, I got through my exercises despite being a little pissy about my food situation and the inclement weather. It stopped raining enough for me to feel OK about exercising in the dark and dank >50 degree F temps. This is the kind of weather that typically gets my asthma riled up so I am pretty cautious about being active during these times. But I rocked the jropes and subsequent exercises and can now get on with my life.

Day Twenty-Eight: I Learned It By Watching You!

It was both a blessing and curse to only have 1300 jumpropes today. I was cruising through them, but the last few days my calves and feet are really starting to feel the aches and pain. Am wondering what shin splints are and what they feel like. Definitely since the cankle incident I've been hurting on my left lower shin/ankle area. It creaks. And since bootcamp my right foot across my toes on the top creaks, too, from too mush pushing off for sprints.

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself as I started my jropes on the driveway when one of the little neighborhood girls was walking home with her dad and doggie. I heard her before I saw her: "OH jumproping! Dad I wanna jumprope when I get home!!!" And so she did. They only live a few houses up the street, so I could see her bolt into the garage, grab her pink jumprope and have a go at it on the sidewalk in front of her house. She was cute, about my daughter's age. She was good! She would also watch me do my jropes and mimic me: rope *behind* you to start, let it *smack* the pavement with each rotation, jump at even pace, not too fast nor too slow. At one point I gave her a thumbs up, and she waved. Last week my kiddo was equally intrigued, asking me to show her how to jumprope. She didn't try, but one day she might. See as a kid I LOVED jumproping. It was one of the few things we could do at my elementary Catholic schools because the schools were housed in buildings adjacent to the church; our playgrounds were the church parking lot. Some of my earliest memories of school include jumping rope in my uniform and B&W saddle shoes to "Mary Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" and "Miss Mary Black." Maybe one day I will attempt double dutch again? ;)

Speaking of gardens, I am enjoying some broccoli, zucchinis, and cucumbers on a regular basis. This might be the last of my broccoli, though, as some fat green catepillers feasted on that plant, and my most tomatoes are suffering from bottom-rot. Sad. Am hoping to pick up some veggies from local farmer's market this Saturday; thinking beets, berries, carrots, other? Mad props to any farmer, past and present, who can actually reap what they sow. Tougher than it looks!

Day Twenty-Six: Let Them Eat Cake

Surprise: another weekend throws a wrench into the PCP plan. We have out of state guests for the weekend, which sucks up a lot of time typically spent on planning exercise and food.

Instead I woefully under-ate yesterday. I had taken someone to the Antiques Roadshow in Denver yesterday; tickets said expect two hours. YEAH, not two hours total, but two hours standing in line to just get in to see an appraiser(s). We were there for five hours. I carried this wooden box with an unknown brass instrument (later to be determined some Asian detonation tool for torpedoes, they thought) for these five hours; it weighs nearly 20 pounds. Think about it. Lugging 20 pounds around for five hours. Today my back and upper body muscles are en fuego. (And today my guests want to go for a hike? Mercy!) But yesterday trying to plan ahead, I had packed two drinkable yogurts in a small bag of ice, an apple and a bag of baby carrots. All of which I left in my purse which I left in my car. By the time we got out of the Colorado Convention Center, it was past dinner time so lunch was a moot point. I snarfed down my snacks in the car (YUM) and then had a decent dinner filled with greek tabouleh, zucchini, beets from the garden (not just any garden: my garden!) and a simple burger. The grandparents had brought my little one a Dairy Queen ice cream cake because she starts kindergarten next month. Being the only grandchild has its perks, eh? And while I knew I had an indulgence this week (200-400 calories? think of the possibilities!), this was not my kind of indulgence. Which I know for some people is blasphemous. But I am fully aware that I get three indulgences during these 90 days, so I want to make them count. And if I'm going to get the shakes or nausea from an indulgence, it better taste like heaven in my mouth. So, unbelievable even to me, I declined the ice cream cake and have plans for either tonight or tomorrow for my indulgence.

Also, since I was stuck in the land of old people and even older things yesterday, I missed my PCP exercises and so did Day 25 this a.m. and plan to do Day 26 tonight. I did the a.m. exercises at the park, and now have blood blisters from doing tricep dips on a grated playground surface. Oops. The V-sits and inclined pull-ups continue to torture me. Sweet.