Food is not a moral choice

We need food. It's one of those base-of-the-pyramid things on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. So why are we so messed up about it?

Women, especially, use interesting language when talking about food. We couch it in terms of sinning, being good, being tempted. We are back in the garden. Those guys who wrote the Bible should have had the snake offering up some chocolate or a really decent pastry.

I particularly loathe the Special K commercial where a woman is in a coffee shop exchanging lustful gazes with a pastry. If I gave my husband a look like that...Never mind. And then, after seducing the pastry for a bit, she gets her coffee. When asked if that's all, she now looks smugly at the pastry she was just undressing with her eyes and says, "No, thanks. I'm good." And tightens her belt as she drives her sugar/fat chastity home.

Good for you, commercial lady. Way to control your impulses while implying that everyone else who eats a pasty is going to burn in hell for their sins. The fat will help them really light up.

Food tastes good. That's how it gets us to eat it. Which we need to do to live. Yes, a lack of pastry never killed anyone. Nor is it advisable to gorge solely on pastry all the time. But a good pastry, once in awhile, is a wonderful sensory experience.

The sugar-free aspect of the Roller Derby Workout Challenge eating plan is interesting. I want to see if I can re-set my relationship with sugar. I don't think I'm a bad person when I eat too much sweet stuff. But I suspect that too much of it may be holding me back from achieving my athletic goals. But I'm not casting a puritanical eye on others' choices.

Don't even get me started on guys and food. Popular culture shows men engaging in heroic acts of bacon-related gluttony. (Don't get me wrong, I love Epic Mealtime as much as the next person.) So they don't get the same sin/redemption narrative, but they get fed stuff like yogurt is for chicks.

Let's not buy into the marketing. Let's eat what we love and eat what fuels us and try not to get to messed up about it.

Get thee behind me, unsupportive people

Day 4 of the RDWC eating plan. Still haven't managed to do the DVD. After having been out every night this week since Friday, I am officially exhausted.

People are funny, though, when they find out you're trying out a new lifestyle. My lunch is usually up for comment, but more so now. People keep trying to get me to eat candy. I really don't understand how people can spend so much time worrying about what others are up to.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Fatigue makes for a rambling writer.

Roller Derby Workout Challenge Day 3

So I haven't managed to do the DVD once. But, on Sunday I played dodgeball for an hour, had a 2-hour practice Monday and tonight, I went rollerskating at public skate. I figure I got a solid 45 minutes of skating in. So, the activity part is going well.

The eating plan is solid, but very protein heavy. Chicken, chicken and chicken. This could get boring. Very tasty though, but I'm still hungry all the time. That's normal for me, though.

If one good thing comes of this, it could be freedom from Coke Zero. Although, quitting caffeine is hard. Really hard. And headachy. Yesterday, I couldn't decide if I had a migraine or withdrawal pains. How messed up is that?

So, one cuppa joe a day for this girl. And down from there. But I'm enjoying the homemade lunches and suppers. My husband and I were eating out way too much and I was wasting too much money at the sub-par cafeteria at work.

Before - Roller Derby Workout Challenge

So I can track any changes, I decided to throw in a "before" picture and my stats. Is my lack of metric measurements a sign that I'm not a patriotic Canadian?

Weight: 169 lbs.
Waist: 33.5 inches
Hips: 42.5 inches
Upper arm: 12 inches
Upper thigh: 24 inches

OK. The before picture is pending. Sometime this week, I promise.

I went back and forth about posting my measurements. Here's the thing: I'm not doing this challenge to lose weight. Strangely, for the first time since I was 11 years old, I actually don't care if I lose weight. It's amazing how wearing shorts and tights regularly and all this skating changed my mind about my body.

That being said, I couldn't think of any other way to track progress. 

That all being said,

Planning for success

Planning does not come naturally to me. Some people seem to thrive on planning. I try, but it's definitely something I have to work at.

I tend to set big goals. Goals like "I'm going to get in better shape." That's a good goal, but it's not specific. At work, my team makes communications plans when we start a project. So we figure out what the goal is and write it down. Then we decide how that's going to happen, make a list of the attached projects, who needs to be involved and then work out timelines. We also include how to measure our success.

So for the RDWC (Roller Derby Workout Challenge), I've tried my hand at planning. My goal at this point is to finish and see an improvement in overall fitness. But finishing is important. This week, I've mapped out the eating plan in a spreadsheet and I've planned my meals and exercise for the next week.

It's a start.

Bitter bean juice a.k.a. coffee and I are taking a break

As part of the Roller Derby Workout Challenge, I'm going to try to follow their eating plan. It seems sensible and I'm curious to find out if proper nutrition helps me achieve my athletic goals. It includes fish, chicken, rice, lots of vegetables, cheese, whole wheat bread and peanut butter. And my favourite food, eggs.

No coffee, though. This could be difficult since I'm a hardened addict. According to Wikipedia, source of all information, caffeine is a stimulant. And "with heavy use, strong tolerance develops rapidly and caffeine can produce clinically significant physical and mental dependence."

Caffeine has many benefits though, including enhanced athletic performance and mental alertness. Coffee may protect you against a range of diseases including cancer and Alzheimer's. But, I find it disturbing how necessary it has become in my life.

Giving it up is not going to be easy. Our friend Wikipedia states: "Withdrawal symptoms—including headache, irritability, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia, and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days."

Amusingly, Wikimedia Commons offers an image from NASA that shows the effect of caffeine on spiders as illustrated by a spider web. That must have been one jumped up spider! Imagine that's your job, supervising jittery spiders.

Day 1 begins with me looking longingly at the coffee pot.

Challenge is a noun and sometimes is a verb

Tomorrow, I embark on the Roller Derby Workout Challenge. The Heart Attacks, a roller derby team out of L.A., created this marvellous DVD and have an accompanying challenge, including an eating plan. Structure! Just what I need. Many of my fellow fresh meat are taking up the challenge, too. Support! Just what I need.

Roller derby has been such a gift. My first roller skating session was March 3, 2011. Since then, I've challenged myself in many ways to improve at this sport. I'm much stronger than at this time last year. My legs are starting to get definition I haven't seen in years. And while I adore a taut calf muscle, the true benefits have been beyond physical fitness. For all that it has reputation for girl drama, my derby experience so far has been mostly very positive.

The group is made up of women ranging in age from early 20s to mid 40s. We are public servants, engineers, students, stay-at-home moms, nurses and so many other things. Some are natural athletes, moving with ease and grace. Others are fighting hard for every bit of improvement. All inspire me to be better.

Today, I am prepping my house for the challenge. I am also prepping my mind and heart.

And what have you done?

I really hate that John Lennon Christmas song. "And so this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun." Makes me feel like I've accomplished nothing! As usual. But as Ben Davis reminds us, it's striving for perfection that makes us great.

I've been beating myself up a bit for still being a disorganized mess and for letting my running slip, but you know what? A year ago, I didn't even run. At all. A year ago, I didn't roller skate. A year ago, I was getting over a long illness. A year ago, I only had one niece. In the past year, I've found a love for roller derby, reconnected with some great friends and made new ones.

2011 has been a pretty good year.

For 2012, I recommit to this blog. I will try to get a handle on this organization business. I'll add more workouts to my week, starting with the roller derby workout challenge. I'll try not to neglect my husband and dogs (too much). And I'll try to clean up my eating. Oh yeah, and maybe find some time for writing.

Ready to lace up your skates?

Shoemaker's kids and writer's blogs

I'll get back into this. Promise to myself.

Progress report: XBX

Day 3 of XBX. I'm on Chart One, Level 2. There's 4 charts and 48 levels. For my age group, the goal is Chart 3, Level 26.  Will I push past my goal? I don't know. But it would take me until mid-September to do it if I kept up with daily exercise.

Today, I had help from both dogs. It adds extra work. Chloe, the crazy lab mix, was sleeping peacefully. So I took my chance to work out undisturbed. Buster, the old guy, came wiggling over, gave me a couple of pokes while I was lying on the floor. That didn't get the expected response, so he poked the sleeping dog. She can go from dead sleep to full riot in a micro-second. So a dog rumble interrupted the sit-ups portion of the workout. Instead, I got to wave my arms and yell. Does that count?

I also got up at a decent time and made hot cereal for breakfast. Early rising and cooking don't mix. I put pepper in the cereal. Spicy. It took a bit for me to figure out why my hot cereal smelled like pepper, but I was able to put it together enough to scoop the pepper out and put lots of pumpkin pie spice in to mask it. I tried Sunny Boy cereal. It's like a kinder, gentler Red River cereal. And full of fibre.

My other challenge is to get to work earlier so I can leave earlier. Today, I managed to make breakfast, workout, walk the dogs, select a reasonably good-looking outfit and get to work early! Victory in our time.

However, I didn't pack lunch and ended up with repulsive egg salad sandwich from the caf at work. The bagel was stale and the toppings kept sliding off. I broke the pop ban too. Ah well. Can't win them all.

Blog I love: Already Pretty

I love this blog: Already Pretty.

Sally McGraw, the author, is a "blogger, freelance journalist, communications professional, style and body-image expert." Her posts are not only full of beautiful clothes, but her wonderfully sane advice about body-image. It's a fashion site that inspires rather than depresses. She celebrates wearing what flatters you, what expresses your personality and what makes you happy. She encourages readers to take pleasure in their bodies.

A recent post, Change Your Style, Change Your Life, talks about how small changes, like a new style of shoe, can be a beginning to more profound changes in your life. As Sally writes:

After years of attempting to change my body through crash diets, I finally realized that my body was what it was and I might as well work with it. My exploration of personal style made me more aware of my body and my health, showed me that there isn’t a single type of gorgeous body, provided me with a previously untapped outlet for artistic and creative expression, led me to blog which rekindled my love of writing, introduced me to a huge new world of stylistic thinkers and influencers, provided me with several new streams of income, unlocked untold amounts of personal confidence, and connected me to YOU.

In the past, I didn't change for me, I changed for others. When I was in my teens, I saw diet and exercise as a way to make my body more acceptable. Happiness was thinness. But even when I was thin and fit, I couldn't enjoy it. I felt incomplete. Now, I wish I could shake that kid who could bike for hours and who had tight abs and tell her, "Enjoy it! In a few years, your body will start betraying you. You will feel pain that you can't imagine. Fatigue that you never thought possible. You are healthy and beautiful." Hindsight is 20-20. I was into fashion then, but again, it was about making myself palatable to other people, not to celebrate how dressing well made me feel.

Now, I'm coming to eating right, exercising and dressing well from a different place. I want my body to be  strong because I need the strength to fight. I want to eat right because I feel good when I do. If my pants get looser, well, that's a side benefit.  I only want to lose weight to take a burden off my joints, heart and lungs. And I'm having fun with clothes. It's a way to express myself creatively.

Already Pretty came along at a great time for me. I can't even remember how I found it, but it's the main blog I read. Sal has created a snark-free oasis in a world that gets a little snarkier every day.  I'll still read my celebrity gossip, but I'm more reflective about the destructive messages I see online every day.

Back to XBX and my co-pilot

Last time I tried XBX, I really screwed it up. Instead of doing the required number of repetitions in 2 minutes, I did as many reps as I possibly could in 2 minutes! No wonder I couldn't walk. The number of reps in the lower levels are really, really low. But that makes sense because the program's designed to ease you in.

I also had help. Here's my gym partner.

Chloe actually tried to contain herself, but by the time I got to the end where you run in place and hop, she couldn't take it anymore. Her little brain exploded. Movement! On the floor! Jumping! So I followed up by wrestling with her for a little bit.

She also helped me re-organize my kitchen cupboards.

A couple summers ago, I tried a gluten-free diet to see if that helped with symptoms from my chronic illness. Not so much and the diet itself is a real pain in the ass. People who must follow this diet have my respect and sympathy. As part of the diet, I had bought different types of flours for making bread. These bins were just taking up space in my hutch. So I dumped them out. Chloe thought that was great. All the flour made a tasty dust in the air.

Later, she helped me with all my bags from the Bulk Barn. I've been lax about labelling things as I buy them there. So I had mysterious bags and jars of powders and seeds. Most I ended up throwing out. Some I poured into jars. Chloe cleaned up any spills. She likes dry red lentils and various spices.

Today's plan: keep going on the kitchen reorganization and keep up the XBX.

Holy roller

 Went roller skating for the first time in many years. The boots were these horrible, dirt-brown things with tattered work boot laces. Tasty. I really tried not to think about the legions of feet that had slipped into those before. The rink was littered with kids, which added obstacles, I guess. A good workout though.

One of the girls from my stitch n bitch is in derby and she invited me out. Yeah, I want to do this. I think fitness is easier when there's a purpose. And I mean a purpose beyond getting a bikini body.

Cold turkey coke zero

Apparently, diet pop causes strokes. So that's out. Probably for the best since I was up to a full bottle of Coke Zero a day. And regular pop has, I don't know, 12 teaspoons of sugar. Imagine mixing that with water! Yeah, so no pop.

Changing scope

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I don't want to just exercise and eat right, I also want to shape up other parts of my life. I procrastinate, a lot. It really interferes with getting things done. And it influences all parts of my life. So, I'd like to work on that. And I want to be neater. I'm so messy, it's embarrassing. How can a grown person live like this? And then there's finishing at least some of the projects I start. Like a book or a novel or a scarf.

 So in this blog, I'm going to write about these challenges. And I'll include pictures. Maybe the Hawthorne Effect will take over and I'll behave well because I'm being watched. Do you need readers for this to work?

As for XBX, I'll get back on that horse tomorrow!  It was 2 weeks before I could walk normally. And why did that happen? Because I didn't read the damn instructions!

XBX kicked my ass

I'm a slug. I did day one of XBX yesterday. Felt pretty easy. Woke up this morning with hamstrings so tight, I can hardly move my legs.


So even though I should do it daily, I'm not doing it today.

My program of choice

So, how am I getting fit?

To this point, I've been a bit of an exercise equipment hoarder. I'm one of those people. The hope-springs-eternal-if-only-I-had-the-right-equipment-I'd-be-fit-people. Or I fall back to my tried and true program of hand weights and a whole lot of dog walking. Which has worked in the past, but I clearly need something I can stick to.

Then I saw this on Slate. Sarah Wildman describes watching her dad follow JP Muller's program. This is a century old fitness program that will look very familiar to anyone who had a gym teacher that loved a good old-fashioned round of calisthenics. Wildman's video of her father is pretty compelling evidence.

I'm not using this program. It reminded me, though, of the calisthenics my grandfather did every day. And he was quite fit into his 70s.

From my grandfather, my mind jumped to my aunt. When I was little, my aunt worked out according to the Royal Canadian Air Force program. For men, this is the 5BX or five basic exercises program. Wikipedia has an article about it, of course. I remembered that my aunt was very fit then.

I found the women's program called XBX. You might get lucky and find a copy at a used bookstore. But there's various versions online.

There's 10 exercises. You progress through 4 levels following charts. The charts lay out how many days you spend at each level. Apparently, it should take only 12 minutes a day.

I'll begin tomorrow at the easiest level and give a full report on my daily progress.

How opening a jar opened my eyes

First post and I'm not exercising yet. That will come. And like the true procrastinator I am, I say that will come tomorrow.

First, I wanted to talk about how I got here. I opened a jar. Of peanut butter. Last week, I took a jar of peanut butter out of my suitcase (I'd been in another city and taken the pb on the plane with me). I tried to open the jar. It resisted. I insisted. Finally, I had to get a knife out and pry the lid. And there was a distinct sucking noise. The jar had vacuum sealed on the plane.

I sprained my wrist opening a jar.

I need to get fit. I'm only 32 and I sprained my g.d. wrist opening a jar.