Now Norma Knits

Long-Term Relationships

Terry has been encouraging herself to use her blog more by doing a cost-per-use analysis each time she writes. I love this! In terms of my blog, I don't have any worries there. I use it! I'll never lose it! 

Well, of course, who knows what the future will bring in terms of this medium and whether I will want to keep on with it until the end of my days. But I have certainly gotten my money's worth out of this hobby. I pay $149.50 per year for this space. I write just about every single day -- and have done so for several years now. Pretty darn cheap hobby. Added benefits: relationships with all of you, trying to keep my powers of observation sharp, thinking of things to write, daily practice in writing, and who knows how many other intangible benefits, or benefits I'm just not remembering at the moment.

But I got to thinking this morning: what about cost-per-use analysis of other things? Like, for example, the rather expensive Vitamix I bought in January, during use of the Clean program, which I still feel was one of the best things I ever did for myself. 

OK, then! Another fun thing to do for the blog!

Here is this morning's breakfast drink, which I am drinking as I write this post. It is made of unsweetened almond milk, 2 scoops of Garden of Life Raw Meal powder, a cup of frozen (from my own garden) broccoli, 1/2 banana, a touch of honey, and a packet of Starbucks VIA instant coffee powder, and ice cubes -- delicious and powerful and healthy fuel for my body. I can't tell you how much better I feel on this regimen, though you will notice that I am back to indulging in coffee once a day. If I don't have it in my morning breakfast drink, I have it later in the day.

So back to the cost-per-use analysis of the Vitamix. I received the machine in my home on January 20th, 2011 (thanks to the blog, I was able to pin that down exactly), and have used it at least once per day since that time, minus the three days I traveled to New York, and then adding back in two, because I know that at least twice I have used it more than once per day. So that makes 80 uses. The cost of the (refurbished) machine was $379. (I had a coupon for free shipping, so there was no cost there.) So far, then, cost per use = $4.74. 

Pricey! But so very worth it, in my opinion. Several people have asked me if "just any good food processor or blender will work."  Well, I don't know about what's out there right now, but I highly doubt it. I certainly know that my older Osterizer just could not cut the mustard (literally). It struggled and the motor would strain and start to smell smoky, and I'd have chunks in my drinks, which makes for a very unpleasant experience. Hiding broccoli or kale in a breakfast drink is lovely -- drinking chunks of broccoli in a breakfast drink, not so much.

There is so much to be said for having the right tool for the job. I don't have the latest iPhone or an iPad or an XBox or a Mac. I have two cheap PC laptops that I need for my work, my car has 105,000 miles on it, and we don't have a flat-screen TV. Many people would choose those things over a Vitamix, and I can (or maybe I can't) completely understand people's choices. I chose to spend my money on something that I hoped would contribute to my health. Everyone's priorities are different. As they say in the chat boards that I stay away from, YMMV (your mileage may vary).

By the end of the year, though, if I keep on using it at the same level I have been -- and I see no reason why I won't, since I am having such great success with the breakfast drinks and how they make me feel -- it'll be down to close to a dollar per use. If I keep that up during the life of this machine (it has a seven-year warranty), it will have paid for itself many times over. There is no way to quantify the benefits it is providing to my health, except for me to say that I feel much better.  

What more is there to say, really?

Except that I'm going to use the Vitamix to make this Tuscan Chick Pea and Tomato Soup for dinner tonight. Cost per use of the Vitamix by the end of this day:  down to $4.60. 

 

Week 4: Running Free

Yesterday I completed Week 4, Run 3, and it was great. 

I made two more major changes this week. One, as of Wednesday (Run 2) I started running on the track at the local fitness complex, rather than on the street.

(I took Mr. Jefferies back later to inspect the track. He likes to be kept in the know, you know.)

The track running on Wednesday was pretty darn good, except that I had a little trouble getting used to the rubberized surface. I tripped three times, and that made me a little nervous. I might have hurt my back or twisted my knee, or I could have done a face plant, or worse, I could have landed on my wrists. Hurting my wrists would be occupational suicide. We can't have that. So I thought I should pay extra-close attention to why it was happening. It was always that I was stubbing my left toe. It seems that I might drag my left foot a bit. 

Or, I wondered if it could be that I did not have the right shoes for track running. After doing much research, I was intrigued by Nike Free Run + shoes. While I seemingly lucked out with buying my Asics Gel Cumulus 12s online, I decided that I could not risk that with something as "different" as the Frees. So yesterday morning after my work was finished for the day, I went out shopping. It turns out that my instincts were more than right. There are several models of Free Runs, and of course I thought that the newer model would be better. Not for me. The newer model, Free Run +2, though I think it looks snazzier, and it comes in red (though not in the stores I visited), doesn't fit my foot right. The arch falls in the wrong place.

But the cheaper, '80s-colored black-with-hot-pink-laces (oh, how I hate that color combo) fitted me like a glove. I still felt it was a little bit of a gamble to buy these deconstructed shoes, but I did it anyway. Dicks Sporting Goods has by far the best price I've been able to find for these shoes, even though they did not have any color choices, and they pissed me off because they would not take the coupon I found online. They said they won't take coupons not from their own website. Damn those websites that pretend to offer coupons to various and sundry stores -- they are counterfeit. Bastards.  

All worries about the ugly color combo and performance of these shoes vanished yesterday during my run. They are fabulous, and they seem to be what I need. Maybe all those years of hating running were because of over-engineered shoes. (Stupid men, stupid people, we sure know how to fuck up something natural, don't we?) 

Anyhoo. Week 4 is behind me, and happily so. I ran like a champ in these. That trick about "pretend that the person on the other side of the hedge cannot tell if you are walking or running"? Totally enhanced by these. I felt a little bit like a running sprite out there. We shall just see if I can maintain this kind of performance into the future and for the rest of the C25K program. Fingers crossed!

About Week 4: Both Wednesday and today on the track, I was doing well. I was still trying to run slowly and with small steps. Somewhere at about the four-minute mark during the first five-minute run, I felt a "fever" of warmth flush through my body. Up to now in this program, as I've mentioned before, I have not really felt cardiovascularly challenged due to the general state of my fitness. This, I think, is the beginning of some sort of process of cardiovascular something-or-other happening. I'm happy about that.  

Also, for both days when it came to the final five-minute run, I was feeling somewhat fatigued. That old voice would creep in, "Oh, it's OK if you walk this last five minutes." But both times I realized that it was because my body was sick and tired (and maybe starting to hurt a teeny bit) of the same old small, low, short steps. And both times I lengthened my stride and my kick quite a bit, and I felt instantly better, pain-free, energized, and so much so that yesterday, when it came time to complete the run and do the final five-minute warm-down walk, I truly considered RUNNING an additional five minutes instead. 

We will not, here in this place, jump to any rash conclusions such as "I might like running now." No, we will remain cautious, characteristically pessimistic, and staid. 

So anyway, I drove home, got Mr. Jefferies, and brought him back to the complex for my photos, and I ended up walking him around the entire perimeter trail for an additional bit of exercise and cooling down and stretching out. 

Mr. Jefferies had a bit of stretching of his own that he needed to do, in more ways than one:

So many things to sniff, so many things to pee on, so many people to bark at!

And if that wasn't enough good news for one day, when we came home, we were greeted with our first crocus blooms.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Not Hyperbole: Life Changing

My running schedule got a little bit messed up, and I was feeling great and felt READY, so I decided to skip the third run of Week 3, and move on to Run 1, Week 4. For those of you just catching up, I am talking about the Couch to 5K running program that I started a few weeks ago.

Run 1, Week 4, consists of this -- which is a huge bump up from Week 3:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

(There is a brisk 5-minute walk on each end.)

Now, somewhere only into maybe the 2nd week, I stumbled upon discussions of the Chi Running technique. I am severely apologetic if I am slighting you by not remembering if one of you told me about it -- I thought it was someone, but I've been racking my brains and searching my old emails for it, and can't find it. I believe I simply stumbled upon it when I was looking at various YouTube videos on midfoot running technique -- I'm just not sure.

Then I remember someone at my gym a while back talking about it, but that guy is someone who is a Big Talker and mostly I just try to smile and nod, and avoid listening to anything he has to say about anything. However, now that I'm here, I thought when I noticed it online, why don't I check this out.

I have not even read the book -- I just incorporated a couple of the techniques that I watched on YouTube videos or on that site that I linked above -- and they have made a world of difference. 

Now, we all know that people on the internet will often use the phrase "life-changing," and I can certainly quite happily read it in the spirit in which it is intended, but I am usually all, "Yeah, right, whatever," because seriously: They will say that about a certain type of yarn or a certain kind of one of those sweetened drinks that are not martinis but they call them martinis anyway, or a flavor of jam or a certain kind of oatmeal.

I mean really, people. Life-changing? I am happy to play the hyperbole game -- in fact I love to, as I think you might have noticed once or twice if you have read this blog for very long. But this.... this Chi Running thing... is, I believe .... truly... yes... I'm gonna say it without one molecule of hyperbole attached ... life-changing.

I have only used a couple of the online videos and some of the stuff on the above-linked website as my guidance. In thoughts of possibly ordering the book from Amazon, I got momentarily (until I smartened up and got the hell out of Dodge) sucked into a vortex of hate by some guy who is dissing this guy's running protocol left, right, and center, in his review.

The guy has taken Amazon book review to a new art form. At what point is it a review and at what point does it become his own chat room where he has annointed himself King of Running, as well as Eastern Philosophy? At exactly one argumentative response to people's responses to him, that's when.  And there are something like 71 comments on that thread, total -- back and forth and back and forth. That is just beyond the beyond for a so-called book review, IMHO.

Though this guy insists he has nothing to gain and has no money involved, I strongly suspect that he is a salesman for or investor in those funky running thingies with toes in them, or whatever, because that's what he keeps on harping about. Or he's extremely jealous or something. But whatever. I figured out that since it is working for me (and how!), I don't need to listen to some wingnut going on about those weird shoes and dissing this guy's program. If you want to join the fun and know what I'm talking about, just go here, scroll down and look at the comments. Find the review with one star, and read. But really, why would you? I've warned you that it smells bad! Don't come crying to me if you stick your nose in there and think it stinks too. 

So I ran the above program on Monday in happiness extremis -- in the rain, even -- with only two moments of slight twinge in my right knee.

With my heightened powers of observation due to paying excruciatingly close attention to my running form in hopes that this time -- THIS TIME -- I will not hurt myself and continue to hate running for the rest of time -- I know exactly what is happening: I am running on the side of my street, against the traffic. The road is dirty from the end of winter. The asphalt is covered with slippery grit and potholes, and not only that -- it is crowned, of course, and this makes the ground under my left foot ALWAYS -- regardless of which direction in which I am running -- a couple of inches, or maybe even just an inch, lower than my right foot.

So right away, this is harming my good running form, and my body is having to compensate. In the small bits of running I am doing, I might not get injured. But over time, maybe I would, because my body alignment is off kilter. And this I do.not.want. Of course the conditions can never be perfect -- and if they were, what fun would that be?  I might as well be running on a treadmill, something which does not appeal to me in the slightest. BUT if something is within my control to be made better, I should make it better.

So I guess from now on I am going to run on the track of our local fitness complex. Though I do not relish the idea of having to get in the car and drive to the complex, and would prefer to start my run right from my front door, it will probably be better for me in more ways than one. Running around in circles on a track -- well, I worry about the boredom factor. But maybe the podcasts will keep me in that zen place where I won't even notice any boredom.

This is the first time in my life (after many tries) that I have progressed past three runs, and the first time I do not hate it. I'm not saying I'm a capital-R Runner yet, and I can't guarantee that I will be running 5Ks in 9 weeks as per the program -- and I certainly don't have any aspirations whatsoever to be running races -- but for me to have gotten even this far is really something. 

And it's not just because I like the clothes and accessories, either.

Just Do It

Blah blah blah, it's still snowing, blah blah. And yet another badass storm is predicted for this Friday and Saturday, as well. Blah blah blah. I'm in that hard place of not feeling like things are bad enough, compared to other world events, to complain much about it. But I REALLY WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT IT. 

Sigh.

But anyway, looking at what was falling yesterday morning, I wasn't sure if I'd get my feet out there and run on my scheduled running day. 

BUT I DID. And I started the Week 3 protocol in the Couch to 5K program, and it was good. Better than good, actually. My shoes are working out, my feet-and-leg-and-pelvis pain -- what with apparently the right shoes and the right technique, as well as the proper ramping-up protocol and the proper holding back from overdoing on my part -- seems to have taken the proverbial hike!

So, because of missing a running day last week, I am behind by one day on the program. Damned if I can figure out how to make the ActiveTrainer site, which is the site I have chosen to record my progress and to rely on for daily reminders of my scheduled workouts, correctly reflect that. Friggin' thing. It's not that hard, assuming I don't miss any other scheduled runs, to just remember that I am only one behind and I just have to adjust my thinking.

But if I do fall behind even further or make adjustments based on how I am feeling, I would like the program to properly keep up with me and to reflect that no, I'm not on the 2nd day of Week 3, but only the FIRST. And/but YES, I did (sort of) complete Week 2, simply by performing the 3rd run of Week 2 on Sunday of this week, and so the whole thing is only moved up by one day, but do you THINK they have an option for making this adjustment? NO. They say they do, but it just removes the one workout I missed and miscalculates the next one as a Week 3/Run 1 protocol. 

This makes a difference because the runs are different for each week. 

Anyhoo. Not that big a deal, but slightly annoying. Pffft.  

So, to recap: Week 3 is under way, it was a success yesterday, and the Week 3 running protocol is this:

Warmup walk, 5 mins.

Jog 90 seconds

Walk 90 seconds

Jog 3 minutes

Walk 3 minutes

Jog 90 seconds

Walk 90 Seconds

Jog 3 minutes

Walk 3 minutes

AND DID I MENTION? I did it!!! And I won't say it was easy, because if I do, then I am sure to be struck down and cut off at the knees for my prideful boasting. So it wasn't easy. (Yes, it really was.) 

I can't even believe how much less pain I am in than the first few runs, and every other time I have attempted to run in the past.  The shoes are apparently the right ones, and the technique tips in the Couch to 5K podcasts I've been listening to while running seem to be the right ones. Yesterday's charming tip, in all its Britishness, was, "Assume you are running next to a hedgerow and someone is on the other side going along with you. They can only see the top of your head. They should not be able to tell if you are walking or running, because you should not be bouncing -- that wastes energy."

So I think (though it's still early -- I've got six-plus more weeks to go in the training phase) I am giving Couch to 5K a couple of big thumbs up. I can't say I've never gotten this far in a running program before, but I definitely will say that I have never gotten to a point of less pain (and instead, there was always increasing pain with each run), and I think this plan has far better chance of being successful than any other one I've tried before. 

 

If You Get An Outfit, You Can Be A Runner Too

Whew. I was just searching on YouTube for the old Smothers Brothers version of The Streets of Laredo, because my recent purchase of running clothes has given me that earworm, the lyrics of which go like this:

I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.
I see by your outfit you are a cowboy too.
We see by our outfits that we are both cowboys. 
If you get an outfit, you can be a cowboy too.

 

Well, I never did find a video of that particular routine, but I had a great time falling into the Smothers Brothers rabbit hole and laughing myself silly. I'd forgotten how much I loved those guys.

Rundown (snicker) of the week:  I got through my first two runs feeling not too bad. Quite good, actually. I followed each of these with Pilates from these DVDs. I find these DVDs boring as all hell, but I can't deny that I feel much, much better after doing the exercises in them, especially following a run. In fact, they might even be growing on me -- the difference is that big. 

For the third run, I had my new shoes, which are in the photo above. They are ASICS Gel-Cumulus 12s. I was amazed at how much better my feet -- and my whole body -- felt in them, until about two-thirds of the way through my run, the soles of my feet were prickly and the next thing to "asleep."  I didn't think I had tied them too tight, but I don't have any other explanation. I walked home slowly. Oh, all right, I'll be honest: I limped home.

I had a tight time schedule that day, so I was not able to do my Pilates following that run. 

The next morning (Friday), I woke up SO SORE AND STIFF I thought I'd die. I had early-morning med school remote CART, and so I felt compelled to put a Starbucks VIA instant coffee packet into my morning green drink. (Yes, I'm still having those for breakfast every single day.) It was all kinds of awesome. I got my veggies, my fiber, my other healthful things -- plus a generous shot of caffeine.

My morning of work was excellent, and then I had an evening event last night. It was a running rest day according to the program. Because of the stiffness and pain I felt, I made a decision to repeat Week 1 of the program. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

But I felt great last night, and the pain had gone away. 

Today is also a rest day, and I feel only the slightest remnants of pain. In fact, if today were a running day, I'd feel up for it. I can't wait for my next run tomorrow, but I'm going to stick with the program and not rush it. I will do Pilates today, and for tomorrow's run I have now decided I will try to begin Week 2 as per the plan. If I encounter pain, I will slow back down to the Week 1 protocol. 

We will do this, won't we?!

Mr. Jefferies says, "Yes -- yes, Alpha, we will. I'll help."

Couch to 5K and Me

First off, it's Margene's birthday!  Happy birthday, my dear friend!

And it's Daylight Savings Time. BOOOOOOOO. Hate it. 

But I ran! And then I did Pilates! And it was good. And Sue sent me the most inspiring and informative YouTube videos about running technique which might just make all the difference for me. 

They are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrOgDCZ4GUo&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qsSuUGGrM&feature=related 

 

And in that very Norma trademark way -- *sigh* -- I have gone all in.  I immediately placed an order for some running clothes (discounted from here) And by the way, they have a refer-a-friend program that I signed up for, so if you are inclined to order, please click here so I can get credit for referring you: (I hope this link works -- it is so hard to tell in the Typepad preview....)

-- and I downloaded the very awesome Couch to 5K podcast (free from iTunes) on my iPod (which was followed and preceded by considerable swearing at Apple because they would not let me use the new laptop to do it and I had to use the dinosaur desktop computer, which is long past its sell-by date and I could wake up any day now to the Blue Screen of Doom -- and THEN what'm I gonna do?!) (I know, I know, I can call them and they will fix it because they are gods and angels over there at Apple. Shut up.) To me, it's all just the same show, different channel. 

Have you seen this? TRUE, EVERY WORD AND EVERY PICTURE. Freakin' Apple. I know, I know. Everybody loves Apple. Whatever. Meh.

But because of all this, I actually can't wait for my next run. 

 

The Next New Thing

My exercise routine needs a shakeup, and I'm feeling

C-O-O-P-E-D  U-P

and need to get outdoors, so naturally I have chosen to do something that I absolutely abhor. Makes sense, right?

Today I'm starting the Couch to 5K running program, and have recruited a couple of buddies on Facebook to join in, as well.

My thing about running is I'm fairly fit, fairly able when it comes to most exercise, and I call myself "French Canadian." This is a phrase that means something around here where I grew up, so close to the Canadian border. It's, I suppose, a sort of backhanded compliment, at the same time it's a recognition of a certain personality type.  

I'm not really French Canadian -- or actually, I am quite sure I do have some French Canadian heritage, but the heritage is a bit muddy and so I'm not sure. But I grew up around here, which is very close to Quebec (and my mom grew up in Quebec but is not of French heritage, but English -- or rather, Irish). My name is of French derivation, and my paternal grandparents were hard-working farmers, as I guess were their parents before them (but as I say, the genealogy is fuzzy, so there is a lot of speculation involved on my part here).

This is all very complicated, isn't it?

It's quite possible that I was found under a cabbage leaf, but that is neither here nor there on this topic of running or not running. I think it's possible that I am trying to avoid the subject and throw in a few red herrings. Reminds me of the song in Chicago, "Razzle-Dazzle 'em."  

Heh.

Anyway.  If you grew up around here you would know that that is a phrase that means "hard-working/knows-no-pain/does-not-know-how-to-take-it-easy," and other sentiments along those lines. I am not what I would call Type A, but when it comes to exercise it is against my principles to take it easy*. With most things exercise-related, that works out fairly OK for me. But not running. And every time I start a running program I do not know how to go slowly. Also, my obscenely high arches work against any sort of running prowess on my part. I end up hurting myself and perpetually hating to run. 

This time I am determined to start slowly, take it easy, swallow my overblown pride, and follow this beginning runner's program. Yes, I will be seen on High Street WALKING a good part of the time, as the program directs, interspersed with running. I will. I will. And I will build up my runner's strength a little at a time, WITHOUT HURTING MYSELF. I will. And I will make sure to balance it with Pilates and yoga so I won't end up injured. I will. I will. I will. 

And I will try to stop listening to the voices inside my head that insist with every step that I hate running. I will. I will. 

I've got my iPod loaded up with This American Life and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Stephen Fry and Car Talk podcasts. Let's roll!

Who else is in?

-----------

*Actually, I very much know how to take it easy, but that is another part of my personality -- it's all or nothing.  I'm perfectly good at sitting and doing NO EXERCISE for long periods of time. But when I do exercise, watch out. There is no in between. 

Monday Musings

1.  I finished the back of G'Day yesterday. I told you it was a fast knit! I am quite charmed by this pattern by Nora Gaughan.

Because this yarn has a halo, photos of it look a bit washed out. The colors are actually a touch more vibrant in real life. My knitting time is set to take quite a nose dive soon, so who knows when, even though it's a fast knit, I will finish this thing. Work has picked up exponentially, so I also have to keep in mind taking care of my forearms, wrists and elbows. 

2.  While I was blithely knitting along and/or when I was at the gym yesterday, someone had somehow stolen my credit card number and was buying things. Chase VISA did not fool around, though, and within a very short time, they called me to ask if those charges were mine. It was really only one charge, because the subsequent charges, for tiny amounts, were denied and the card was put on hold. The online charge was for $420, though. It must have been the teeny charges ($2.95 at a child care center and $1.00 at a drugstore) that were the red flags. Then again, without the actual physical card in hand, I don't know how those charges could be made. ... Hm... the mysteries and annoyances of modern living. But thank goodness for alert fraud detection divisions.

3.  I defrosted a gigantic turkey over the weekend and roasted it yesterday, because it had been in my freezer for a while and I didn't want to see it go to waste due to freezer burn. But then once I roasted it, David and I looked at the monster in our roasting pan with some degree of mirth. That is one hell of a lot of meat for two people to eat. I offloaded some to my mother, and cut up and froze more of the cooked meat, and made turkey stock with the carcass. Perhaps I will not buy any more gigantic organic turkeys at local farms, and will keep it to smaller birds instead. Except at Thanksgiving, that is. It was very delicious, though.

4.  I'm making a concerted effort to eat up all the vegetables and berries that I froze from last year's garden, before this year's gardening season begins. I've still got TONS of them (or so it seems). While not quite as desirable as fresh and raw, I'm going to start using many more of the frozen veggies in my green drinks. I'm so glad I discovered unblanched freezing last year. The unblanched frozen veggies are much better to handle, taste much closer to fresh, and look one hell of a lot better. All except zucchini and summer squash. They are rubbery and unpleasant either way. In the future, I will only freeze SHREDDED (unblanched) zucchini, which I have done successfully in the past. That is really good for baked goods such as zucchini bread, muffins, and cake, but I almost never bake anymore. However, I can envision it being good in many other things like meatloaf, quiche, chili, omelets and spaghetti sauce, too. 

5.  On the reintroduction phase following the elimination diet/cleanse, I have learned that dairy foods are a big no-no for me. I MISS MY HOMEMADE GREEK YOGURTTTTTTTTTT *whine*!!!!  

Peanuts and soy, too. The peanuts I had a suspicion about, but this confirms the suspicion. I had absolutely no idea about the soy previously, but it is bad. WAHHHHH to both.

Red meat, pork, white potatoes, green peppers are no problem in terms of allergies or intolerances (yay!). Eggs and tomatoes also have a green light.

Wheat is problematic, as I already knew, but I can tolerate some. I'll try to restrict it to once or twice a week, and whole grain as often as possible.

And here is the next thing I had absolutely no idea about before: Alcohol. I have a pretty serious intolerance to alcohol that I was heretofore unaware of. Crap. Not that I'm a big drinker, but this explains a lot.  

We often eat or drink so many things at once that we don't know what is actually causing us problems, or even that/if foods are causing us problems. Many of us just think we feel crappy, or we're bloated for no explainable reason, or we get headaches for no explainable reason. The beauty of the elimination diet, and methodically adding in one thing at a time, is that you can almost immediately identify what the exact things are that are problems for you. 

I am so glad I've done (and continue to do) this. It helps to be aware, and I feel so much better. 

6.  Happy Valentine's Day to all my loves.  

21 Days: The End is Just The Beginning

Today's breakfast smoothie:  red cabbage, pineapple, beetroot, blueberries, hulled sunflower seeds, flax seed, fresh ginger, coconut milk, ice cubes.

This is Day 21 of Clean. I have not been 100% perfect, but the benefits have still been many. 

Most thrilling gains:  

1. No caffeine except for two cups of green tea early on, and one cup of Earl Grey tea on this past Saturday evening before my CART gig, and one taste of Diet Pepsi that was -- thank the Lord -- absolutely revolting. This is huge, people. Huge. No coffee, though I was tempted once, but my most excellent friend talked me out of it. But most importantly, NO DIET SODA. And not only do I not crave it any longer, I am turned off by it. 

HUGE. POSITIVE. IMPACT!

2. Abundant energy and clearheadedness. It maybe even could be described as "bouncing" but not frenetic -- just nice calm, sweet energy. No brain fog. No hating to get up in the morning. No slogging around -- EXCEPT in the beginning of the 2nd week, which I think is the hardest week for this plan. No difficulty concentrating or feeling strong at work, and no "OMG, I'm going to die if I don't have a cup of coffee" feelings.

EXCEPT for last Thursday morning. I had worked late the previous night, and driven home on some stressful roads. While driving home, I craved macaroni and cheese. I had some Amy's Naturals Rice Mac & Cheese in my freezer, and I thought "listen to your body" and all that, so I ate it for dinner. The next morning I woke up with my old aches and sluggishness. This does help a bit to narrow down at least one of the culprits -- dairy. This mac & cheese did not have wheat or gluten, so in this particular case that is clearly not the culprit. It must be dairy.

3. Absolutely not one bit of my heretofore chronic sinus mucus. In Week 2, a friend on the phone asked if I had a cold, because I sounded congested, but it was only inflammation and no mucus. Now, even that is gone. I don't even need to use the neti pot anymore, except that I still use it on occasion if I've been out, as a protection against viruses. EXCEPT the morning after (see No. 2)

AND this morning. THIS MORNING! Why? Because last evening we attended a benefit dinner and fundraiser. Dinner was veggie (or sausage) lasagna and salad. I ate veggie. So I ate wheat and lots of cheese. And in the middle of the night I woke up all stuffed up, had to get up and use the neti pot so I could breathe, and again this morning. And I feel a bit sluggish and irritable.  So now we don't know whether it is the wheat or the dairy or both. EXCEPT for this piece of evidence:  At the end of Week 2, we went out to eat, and I had fried -- yes, fried! (I told you I wasn't perfect) lake perch and french fries. It is a seasonal local delicacy here, and it was prepared by a wonderful chef at a wonderful restaurant, so I did not want to pass that up. And except that it felt like way too much food for me, I had no ill effects from that meal. No dairy in that meal, and I was fine. So I think now we're back to dairy as the enemy.

4. My skin. Big changes here. Winter dryness: gone, except for a part of my hands that is the most weather-worn and gets the most washing and winter exposure. No lotion required, and still really good skin -- no itching, no flaking, no dryness. I did a fair bit of exfoliating in the beginning of this plan, but don't have to anymore. 

5. One reason I did this program is because.... how shall I put this... I will borrow the phraseology from an RN I conferred with:  I have suffered for a while from a slow colon and some vague, rather frightening pain in my lower left quadrant that I think was related to that. The colon has been retrained in this process to be peristaltic again. That is another huge gain. And the pain is gone. 

6. I've lost a few pounds, but not as many as I'd hoped. I lost a total of 7 pounds, and it was all in the first week. However, I had put on much of that during the campaign, so I am pretty much back to my long-held status quo, which is that old "I just want to lose that last 10 pounds" place.

7. Senses of taste and smell are very different. I love the fresh taste of vegetables -- well, you know, I always have. But now even more, I smell and taste "off" things. Anything that is starting to go bad in the house, it bothers me and I get rid of it. Any processed food smells ICK. Anything that is on a vegetable (such as pesticide residues, I suppose -- or whatever it is) it smells and tastes like chemicals. Salt is what it should be -- only a little bit or none is what is required. Super-sweet things are less pleasant. My mouth tastes and my nose smells and feels so CLEAN!

8. This was unexpected: My teeth are noticeably whiter. I guess that comes from not drinking coffee and cola. But I'd have thought the stains were more deep than the surface, so it comes as a welcome surprise.

9. Workouts:  I have held back a little bit on the heavy weights, as recommended by Dr. Junger. But my workouts are some of the best I've had in a long time. I feel light as air, fluid, and strong. I'm having fun! The fluidity is the most happy change for me. It's as if the fascia and connective tissues are liquid and lubricated again, instead of tight and sticky and gluey and gummed-up and sore. And I like the image I see in the mirrors. And I like the compliments I have received from people at the gym, at my doctor's office, and at that benefit dinner last night. 

BUT I am still craving sweets -- cakes, brownies, puddings, cookies. Maybe not as much as before, but I definitely still want them. I have to continue to work on that.

One step at a time. 

Last week I started ramping up towards regular eating again. In other words, rather than the two juices or smoothies per day, and the one solid meal at lunchtime, I added a second (small) solid meal for dinner, as well. Or here's the other thing that I have seen happening: Sometimes I just have a late lunch, like around 3 p.m. (After my high-fiber green smoothies I don't get hungry unless there is too much fruit in them.). It's a rather large lunch, consisting of fish or chicken and piles of delicious vegetables and allowed whole grains (quinoa or brown rice or millet or barley) or beans, and that is my last meal of the day. The much less food seems to be really sitting well with me. Really well, as in life-changingly well.

So here's my plan: I'm going to stay on the elimination diet in the book ad infinitum (or as close to "ad infinitum" as I can). I'm going to continue to drink green smoothies (though today's is purple, you know what I mean -- raw veggies and fruits of all colors) for breakfast every day, or as close to every day as I can manage. I look at it as nutritional and behavioral modification insurance. If I have my raw, packed-with-nutrients-and-fiber-and-liquid smoothie for breakfast instead of a cup of coffee or a Diet Pepsi, that already puts me light years ahead of where I was before, and sets the tone for the rest of the healthy day.

I don't expect to be perfect, and I expect to have slip-ups, and I expect to learn from them.  

Do I endorse the Clean plan?  That'd be a big Y to the ESS. I wish my best friends would all try it, especially the ones who aren't feeling their best. But that is the end of my proselytizing. Full stop.

 

 

 

The Right Tool For The Job

What was I thinking, that my antique Osterizer could suffice?!

Because I really wanted to be drinking whole foods instead of juices more often -- I never like the idea of juicing and throwing away all that good fiber and who-knows-what-else-that-is-good-that-I'm-throwing-away-with-juices -- and because my blender really wasn't blending very well (a slight understatement), I finally decided to take the plunge and order a Vitamix. I've been wanting one for years. It just seemed like a lot of money to spend on something I wasn't sure I'd use enough to justify the expense. Now that I feel even-more-than-usual committed to this way of eating (and drinking), I decided this was the time.

So in order to be a bit more frugal, I ordered a factory-reconditioned model. And I found a coupon online for free shipping. And though I was prepared for a wait because of the verbiage online about "we make these up as they are ordered" or something to that effect.... good gracious and Heavens to Betsy, I received it in two days.

Vitamix is in da HOUSE!

And as I write this, I am drinking my third ultra-smooth smoothie made in the Vitamix. To make you laugh (I hear I am the laughing stock in several circles because of this crazy thing I am doing and talking about), my current smoothie is made of lacinato kale, apple, mango, and chia seeds. And it is delicious. Go ahead -- laugh. Call me crazy. Tell me I'm a lunatic who doesn't know what's good for her. Tell me it's placebo. Call me gullible. Call me other names (Some have. heh.) -- I don't care. I'm working my way to (even) better health. You can go take a flying leap. Tra-la-la-la.

Here is the smoothie I made yesterday with the machine just out of the box:

Beet, apple, broccoli, pea sprouts and fennel. 

I already know that this purchase is going to be worth the money. Though I am not a gadget person, it makes me laugh at the primitive thing I was trying to use before. I might as well have been using a mortar and pestle or a hand eggbeater, which would have been almost as effective, about as labor-intensive, and a whole lot quieter. Plus, with the added benefit of the muscle work to smush my veggies and fruits -- and without the danger of cutting myself on the blade when cleaning the blender.  

So now I have the real thing, the right tool for the job.

This is Day 13 of my cleanse, and I feel so good I see no reason that I won't make it to 21 and beyond. I think I will continue to have whole-food green smoothies for breakfast most of the time for the rest of my life. They are agreeing with me that much. And now that I have learned which ones are more or less palatable to me, I know which ones to make and which ones to not make.

And....

I have not had coffee (except once) or Diet Coke or Pepsi for 14 days, and there is an unopened 12-pack of Diet Pepsi sitting in my kitchen. Ordinarily I would not be able to stay away from that, and it would be gone in three or four days.  Apart from the headache at the beginning, which was a chicken-or-egg situation, I have not felt any adverse effects. On the contrary, I have had only positive effects -- very positive -- on the program. I have lost 7 pounds, I feel lighter and more flexible, I feel strong, I feel clear-headed. I wake up in the morning without my usual brain fog and sluggishness (Remember the "I am not a morning person" Norma? No more.), and without any aches and pains. 

I want to feel like this for the rest of time. 

Vive la Vitamix!

If you are just catching up, "the program" is the one in the book "Clean" by Alejandro Junger.