Day 30!!

Woot! I just finished looking through all the updated pictures. Everyone looks awesome. Royce, pics, I want to see some! Seriously, I wonder how many pounds of fat we've burned collectively in 30 days?

I did get 8 hours of sleep last night. It didn't make my jumps more efficient, but it did make my strength training much more enjoyable, if you can call trembling uncontrollably by the end an enjoyable experience. My abs were actually quivering after the leg-ups but I somehow managed to get in 3 sets of v-sits, the last set wasn't pretty. I thought how hilarious it would be to video my last set and watch myself thrash around on the floor trying to complete 8 of them. Ha! Hilarious!

Short post today. Things are fairly even keeled.

Hard Core Crash

First off, new pics are posted. I went for the new bathing suit for these...I thought it was time to start seeing some of the detail, especially in the butt area. Cheers! :)

My other topic of discussion is my crash yesterday afternoon...a total mental health crash. Maybe that's an overstatement, but I did have a crash in energy, got really hungry and really grouchy. Which, in turn, caused all these issues and insecurities to rise (not just with PCP but with life in general), further perturbing me and ending in my crying after hanging up with lawn mower fix-it man, who was being infinitely difficult.

What I found interesting about this crash was how I was able to sort of lift up out of myself and see it happening as it happened...I watched it, I knew what was coming and even though I wasn't really able (yet) to control it, I did to make better decisions while in that state. Also, since our diets and exercise are so controlled right now, I was really able to hone in on the ultimate cause. I'm just not getting enough sleep (at least that's my suspicion). I'm working extra hard and I feel like I'm getting less sleep. Not good. I'm determined to get at least 8 1/2 tonight.

And, sadly, since I knew that I needed to sleep last night, I, of course, had a terrible night's sleep. I just couldn't settle into a comfortable deep sleep. :( Still, I got up and did the workouts this morning, and somehow managed 1300 jumps and only 7 trips. I'm improving. I also couldn't believe how easy 100 sit-ups felt compared to last week. I was still tired by set 4 but not failing. The plank took care of that...well, I didn't fail but I was shaking by the end. Maybe I'll push through an extra 10 or 20 seconds next time. I also kinda collapsed in a ball after the jumps this morning...rolling around in my grass yelling a few obscenities. I can't wait for the creep tomorrow! (a little sarcasm, and a little looking forward to it).

GO TEAM SEXAAAY!!! That's what I'll yell tomorrow when I'm rolling in the grass after the creep, instead of the usual f-bomb, mother, f-bomb.

Day 28 - The Parsley Debaucle

This post goes out to the Mindfulest hosts. Thank you for making me laugh out loud on several occasions at work. I think it was the last podcast where there was discussion of parsley and gardening. Parsley is so much more than a garnish. I use it all the time, so much so, that I really wish I had 4 or 5 plants of it growing in my garden. I tried growing it from seed this year, and none of it sprouted. It’s very finicky (this is also the case for cilantro), especially in the Florida heat. If you can get it to sprout and grow beyond a few leaves, it does pretty well. Parsley is awesome in dressings and marinades. It’s also is a key ingredient in many of my seafood sauces. An understated but valuable herb.

So, I decided I wanted some parsley in my balsamic vinaigrette this weekend. I didn’t have any fresh, but I did have a tube of parsley blend that I use to substitute for such occasions.

I promptly squirted a nice size blob into my dressing, wiped the leftovers off the tube with my finger and deposited them in my mouth. Raw parsley’s not bad; it’s got a fresh herby, grassy sorta flavor. This is what I was expecting. What I got was….dum, dum, dum…salt, loads of salt, with zero parsley flavor (at least that’s what it seemed like to me). Ugh! I was super disappointed. WTF???

Hey, at least there’s ton of Vitamin C per serving! I’ll finish the dressing, even with the salt. I’m still disappointed, though. I’ll never buy the tubes again, and they’re so convenient for occasions where I’m out of a certain herb.

The workouts went okay this weekend. The creep kicked me butt up and down and every which way. I’m still sore from it. My swim this morning helped loosen things up in my legs without putting too much pressure on them. ‘Twas good. Looking forward to this week’s menu. I’ll try to get some new pics posted tonight or tomorrow.

I bet your cravings aren't this bad....

A little culture from the Deep South coming your way.

Day 26 - Empowerment

As I've followed my weight and watched the beer and fast food melt off of my body over the last few weeks, I feel a little like the witch of the west. "I'm melting, I'm melting!" A whole new exterior AND interior are revealing themselves. I feel a bit like I'm being transformed into Tigger, just bouncing around all lightweight with bundles of energy. Or maybe a more appropriate analogy is from the wicked witch of the west to:

The point is, I feel lighter, more energetic and overall happier. It's a bit like floating around on air. I've been thinking about the reasons for the happiness part. Obviously, I'm lighter because I'm lighter. I suspect the energy is a mix of being lighter, stronger and eating foods that my body digests easier and transforms into energy more efficiently. As far as the happiness, my theory is as follows....

I think the most important part of this project is the sense of control and empowerment that it gives those of us doing it. Here, I'm going to use weight as an example but I want to be very clear in saying that this is the least important aspect of this project, it's just the easiest to quantify. When I was 21, I weighed about 98 lbs, but it was an unhealthy 98 lbs. I drank a lot, ate badly and worked out regularly but with no consistent program. For lunch on most days, I only ate a yogurt and a Nature Valley granola bar. That's it. I was hungry a lot, and I stayed small. Then, I joined Peace Corps, gained about 17 lbs, came home, worked out, lost 9. I stabilized at 108, drinking semi-heavily and eating poorly. I'm lucky to have a fast metabolism. I've been 108 for about 8 years. I'd accepted that this was it. I could not change my body...I was meant to have the small layers of fat on my butt and tummy.

Ah, but with this project, I have discovered that this is not so. I do have the power to alter my body into a stronger, leaner, fitter machine. Certainly, I have a body type, it's mine, I will never look like this:

Unless, I get a boob job, and that just isn't happening. However, I don't have to feel lethargic and frankly shitty all the time. I don't have to be tired, and I don't have to carry around 10 extra pounds of fat if I don't want to. I, and only I, have the power to actually transform my body into the body I want it to be...think of what I can do with the body I'm creating right now! I've always dreamed of being proficient at some form of martial arts or dancing. I love modern, interpretive dance. This slender, bird frame is perfect for training in real dance techniques. A new hobby perhaps? This is empowerment. This is where that feeling of happiness is coming from...I feel in control of my destiny. What this project is showing me can be translated into all aspects of my life, one step at a time. Certainly, there are limits and a certain amount of luck and circumstance mixed in. Still, I am in control of myself, how I react to situations and the decisions I make that effect my future. So, out of all the gifts the Peak Condition Project will give me, I believe that this sense of empowerment is the most important and crucial aspect.

Oddly, I woke up in a real shitty mood this morning. My work out and a great phone conversation with a friend improved my mood exponentially. I haven't had my indulgence yet. I'm saving it for after the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th, but I have it planned. My friend and I have a ritual after the Peachtree, Waffle House and beer. My indulgence will be one sausage, egg and cheese sandwich at Waffle House and a beer. I know, we were warned that the beer will make us sick. But, dude, the warning just makes me want to drink a beer and see if it's true. Livin' on the edge, baby! Livin' on the edge!

Day 25 - Dude! & Sweet potatoes

Is it just me or is blogger being a real pain in the ass? Maybe it's just my internets.....

Let's see if I can actually get a post out. My comments haven't been taking. Perhaps I'll have to go out and start jumping as opposed to sitting here and cursing at my computer. "What? What do you mean you can't connect to ~insert random blog~??? Do it, Safari, or I will put you in a world of hurt!" Safari just continues to mock me. Let's try Elena's newest post again....Success! Woot! I like it when my threats work. Be back to finish soon....

Ah, I likes when internets does mah bidding. My real topic of today's post is SWEET POTATOES. My ex-roomie, the infamous Michael Van Patrick Lemons, ate sweet pototoes (and watermelon) like it was his last day on Earth and if he didn't eat all of it then, he'd never eat it again. And, you know what, Mike is cut, lean and honestly, doesn't consciously workout often. I mean, he's active but it's not like he was ever lifting weights or purposefully strength training. Now, I understand, it was diet. Mike, may not have been the best at doing the dishes, but by God, he had the food right!

If YOU have not gotten some sweet potato in your life, DO IT NOW. Seriously, I made some of that sweet potato whipped with lime and cayenne thing. It's da bomb! I shoveled it in by the spoonful until my weighed bowl was empty and I longingly looked at the tupperware container for more. But, no! b/c I also had kale steamed, then sauteed in garlic, a couple sundried tomatoes, a little olive oil and crushed red pepper, then added some red wine vinegar for an extra kick. Also, divine.

Elena, please keep the food pictures and posts coming...you are my food inspiration. I go to your blog constantly for ideas. And, Royce, I picked up some red quinoa b/c you are always eating quinoa and I've NEVER had it. I plan to make a quinoa tabouleh this weekend.

Alrighty, I really do need to go work out now! And, btw, seriously, thanks for the shout-outs on your blogs. Knowing that my ability to enjoy pain inspires y'all to embrace the pain inspires me to work even harder and really push through those lasts reps in a set. It's like a vicious inspiration cycle....or beautiful inspiration circle...or something like that.

Update: V-sits may be the perfect form of torture. Honestly, I had to laugh at myself as I tried to do a perfect 2nd set, an exercise in futility really. At least it was comical. Floor jumps, fun, but ouch, and they were really scary to my cat. Chicken wing...I'm going to share this b/c I've noticed this weakness in myself a lot in the shoulder exercises. Be careful not to bend your wrists. If I don't pay close attention, I bend them and it totally changes the exercise. Straight wrists = intense burn. Bent wrists = no burn. Hopefully, I didn't pre-empt any pro-tips. :) Speaking of pro-tips, do you seriously get a headache if your heels touch when jumping rope or are you just making that up to be sure that we're reading the pro-tips?

And, I did ONE of Mrs. Obama's criss-cross moves! But, ha, it was hard. Must keep practicing for fun.

Day 23 - My dirty little secret

You ready?

Ok...here it is.

I actually think I like the diet and the workouts. OMG! I said, it ok! Even though the diet was a bit hectic at first and definitely still requires a good portion of my time. I LOVE all the food I'm eating, a lot. I still miss salt. I'm not going to lie. But, finding creative ways to cook and flavor my food without salt is FUN. I had a friend over for dinner last night. She wanted to eat what I was eating...PCP style. So, I marinated some chunked chicken breast in a balsamic based marinade, and seasoned a super fresh piece of grouper (my boss fishes and gives us fish as a perk) with dill, lemon juice & garlic. I also lightly brushed some baby bellas with an olive oil dressing and grilled it all. We had fresh sliced tomato and roasted some YUMMY potatoes with all kinds of fresh herbs I have growing in my yard. My only problem with the meal is that I couldn't EAT MORE OF IT. :) Especially the grouper.

Onto the workouts. Yes, I enjoy them. I feel good after them. Well, actually, sometimes the jump rope pisses me off. After my swim Monday morning, I wish I had a pool in my backyard to do laps in as cardio every morning, but I don't. And, for that matter, I can't carry a pool everywhere I go. The jump rope is handy in that sense. I will learn to love it, just like I learned to love and appreciate a good run.

The strength training is a completely different matter. I look forward to it. I can't wait to try some of the new stuff on our list. It's exciting. And, even when I'm cursing at the ceiling in pain, I'm secretly loving it. It's like my body is screaming, "Yes! Please! Give me more!" Perhaps I like torturing myself....well, not perhaps, I think I do like torturing myself. Being in intense, uncomfortable, even painful situations reminds me that I'm alive, maybe? I don't really know. Why do I always have to psycho-analyze myself? (See the internal dialogue happening there.)

ANYWAY, I do like being comfortable, happy, even spoiled, but at the same time, I'm not sure that I would know that I was comfortable, happy or being spoiled without really experiencing the antithesis to those feelings. And, bringing it back to this situation, all this work, effort and pain gives me more energy and makes me feel happier and more alive on a regular basis. I had a great day today. I wasn't tired at all. I wasn't really overly hungry at any point. I got some work done. I even completed a task I've been putting off for months because it just seemed so unpleasant. But, now, it's done. Weight lifted. That's right! Bring it, PCP!

And, Go TEAM SEXAAAY!!! All the pictures looked amazing this week. We are working it out!