top 10 life lessons that i've learned in spin class

I was pedaling away in spin class the other day when I realized that a lot of things that I've learned in spin class can be applied to my every day life.  I have to share these with you!  

10.  Every once in a while, you need to sit back down and have a drink (of water).

So often in life and in spin class I forget that I can just take a moment for myself, and it is something I struggle with daily.  I remind myself to take a moment at work for an apple or a quick walk.  I remind myself at home that I'm not alone and I can ask for help.  I remind myself that when I can't breathe at spin class, that I should sit down and have a sip of water.  

Speaking of water, I picked up a great new water bottle the other day at a cycling store.  

Camelbak Podium Big Chill  

It doesn't hurt that it's name is the same as one of my mother's favorite movies.  Honestly I like it because it keeps the water cooler for an entire spin class and it's really easy to drink from.  I don't have to remove my water bottle top every stinking time I want a drink now.  

9.  The right music can change everything.  

I'm a music lover, it's how I was raised and I truly love the way it makes me feel.  I can play a record from ten years ago or ten seconds ago and I can still remember how I felt the first time I heard it.  I love that in spin class and in life, I can hear a song and it can push me up a hill that I've been too scared to face.  (I dare you not to feel tough with this one!)

8.  Just because everyone around you is standing up and huffing and puffing, doesn't mean you have to stand up to do it.  

Some times in spin class, I take a quick peek around and realize that although the instructor has told us to stand up and peddle in position 3, I'd like to sit down and push myself harder in a seated position.  I don't do it a lot, but sometimes I enjoy the heat and the burn in the tops of my legs when I leave my resistance set really high and push myself in this way.  The same rings true for life.  You don't have to face every hill exactly like the people around you, you can face it any way that you'd like.  

7.  The right gear or tools make all the difference in the world.  

Oh man, never have more true words been spoken.  From the padded shorts and spin shoes to the new heart rate monitor (that I haven't reviewed yet), the tools really make the ride better for me.  Look around yourself, what do you think you need to make your life (or ride) easier?  

6.  Whatever you do, don't stop pedaling.

I don't know if you've ever had this happen to you in spin class, but I've done it a handful of times and it sucks: There you are at a heavy resistance and the song winds down, so you slow down to get your water and towel off your face but you don't realize that you've slowed to a complete stop.  Now you look like an idiot because you're making that horrible face as you push your legs to try to start the bike pedaling again, and finally you give in and take off the resistance and stand up so you can get moving.  

Really, it's true.  Don't stop moving.  If you stop, you've lost your power and momentum and it's a b*tch to get it back.  So follow Dory's advice.  

5.  When the ride gets extremely hard, sometimes you have to stand up and get some momentum.

The same is true in life, you could sit down and make it through most of the drama it's going to throw your way but every now and then you just have to stand up and power through it.  

4.  Some things in life are worth sweating for.

No, really.  It seems so simple, but so forgettable.  Aren't you worth a little sweat?  You sweat taking care of other people in your life, so why not yourself?  I struggle with taking a couple of hours out of my schedule every week so I can sweat, but I feel so much better after I do.  The final out come and the endorphins are well worth the pain of a sweat filled work out.  

3.  There is something about overcoming obstacles that inspires and strengthens friendship.

I look around during and after a spin class, and I see nothing but friends.  These people have cheered me on, yelled for me to work harder, and high fived me at the end of a tough workout.  The same is true for my non-spin friends, and I appreciate all of the support these people give no matter where they give it.  

2.  If you don't love what you do, you'll eventually stop doing it.

If I didn't love spin classes, I wouldn't buy 20 classes at a time.  If I didn't love science, I wouldn't be a chemist.  If I didn't love losing weight while still eating what I want, I wouldn't be a Weight Watcher.  This seems simple enough, but too many times I've tried to force myself into doing something that I didn't love.  I don't love all protein diets.  I don't love to run.  I don't love laundry.  

Well, I guess I can skip everything but the laundry part.  

1.  Ride your own ride.  

Man, I love this saying.  I say it all the time!  At work, I say it when people start complaining about how other people do their job.  With my friends, I say it when I see people trying to tell my ladies how to live their life.  In spin class, I say it to myself when I start to have self doubt.  I'm on my bike, I'm in my shoes, I'm in my own head.  I have to know myself and push myself accordingly.  

recipe review: grilled beef taglaita, rucola, and parmigiano-reggiano with aged balsamico condimento

I face a lot of challenges when cooking, and one of the biggest ones is finding things that my boyfriend eats happily and I can enjoy without blowing all of my points.  I'm always on the lookout for recipes that fit this criteria!  

One of my favorite parts of being a Weight Watchers is that I can eat just about anything that I'd like.  One of my second favorite things about being a Weight Watcher is the online tool called the Recipe Builder.  Both of these statements are part of the recipe that I'm about to share with you.  

I've shared a recipe from the Mozza cookbook before, but it was extremely basic.  You can read it here.  

This is a new recipe, but don't let the fancy name fool you!  It's just a really amazing and marinated skirt steak.  Simple, easy, and probably one of the most delicious things I've eating in a long time.  

Is there a word stronger than delicious?  Scrumptious?  Amazing?  Delectable?  Yah, those.  

Grilled Beef Tagliata, rucola, and Parmigiano-reggiano with aged Balsamico Condimento

about 1 cup of salad and 3 ounces of meat per serving

serves 8

8 Points Plus

For the salad dressing:

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar

1/2 extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Start the day before with your prep work, it's really simple!  For the salad dressing, combine the shallots, lemon juice, and vinegar in a bowl and allow them to sit and marry for about five minutes.  Whisk in the olive oil and season to taste.  This salad dressing lasts about three days according to the book, but I've used it for up to a week after making it and I love it!  

For the steak marinade:

2 pounds trimmed skirt steak

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves or needles

8 whole garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In your food processor, combine the vinegar, rosemary, and garlic.  Pulse until rosemary is finely chopped, then add in the olive oil and pulse until everything is combined well.  After you've made sure that the steak is trimmed and the "silver skin" has been removed, you can put the steak into a covered shallow dish or a plastic zippered bag with the marinade.  Allow this to sit overnight in the refrigerator (recipe says one hour minimum).  

For the assembly:

4 ounces freshly shaved parmigiano regiano

8 cups of fresh arugula

the salad dressing you made a few days ago

salt and pepper

aged balsamico condimento (this stuff is delicious and syrup-like)

Bring the steak out of the fridge and to room temperature.  Heat up an indoor grill pan or outdoor barbeque to high heat.  Remove the steaks from the marinade and throw the marinade away.  Salt and pepper the meat well and place it on the grill to sear it.  About 5-6 minutes per side should give you a medium-rare steak, but it all depends on the thickness as well.  Place the steaks on a cutting board to rest while you assemble the salad.  

For the salad, begin by shaving the parmigiano regiano if you haven't already.  You can use a mandoline if you have one, or just use a vegetable peeler if you're like me!  Toss the arugula with the salad dressing that you've made (about 8 tablespoons of it, which is about all of it) and assemble the salad dressing stacked with the parmigiano.  

Slice the steaks diagonally against the grain into 1/2 inch thick slices and use the knife to slide the steak slices onto the plate in a fan like arrangement next to the arugula salad.  Drizzle the steaks with the balsamico condimento and serve.  

Here's a snapshot from the cookbook:

By the way, this is an amazingly great recipe for cold leftovers!  If you'd like to have it later in the week as a salad, just make sure that you don't dress all of the arugula with the dressing.  Then, throw the arugula and steak into a travel container and when you're ready to eat it it, toss everything with the vinaigrette and enjoy!  

i'm talkin' to myself over here

A few weeks back, the meeting topic was positive self talk  I think my leader, Scott, had it right when he said "I am never going to look down at the scale, see that I've gained weight, and tell myself that it's a good thing."  

Boy, ain't that the truth.  

So the meeting started to shift it's direction at that point, and it went from a bit of a tense subject (what I really think when the scale goes up) to a great big happy celebration.  

One member had gained weight that week, but she didn't care because she had one hell of a non scale victory: Early in the week, she had gone to see her doctor and had an amazing report.  No more high blood pressure.  No more high cholesterol.  No more medications.  

Now, I'm not an emotional person like my mother, however I definitely got teary eyed at this accomplishment.  

Then the conversation shifted even more with the question, "What do you tell yourself when you aren't happy with the scale, the way you feel, your appearance, etc?"  The truth is, I start to slip and slide at that moment and I eat anything and everything in my path.  I don't have a sweet tooth, but I start cruising for cookies and candy.  I may have just eaten lunch, but I want something more.  

Then I spiral out of control and wake up the next morning with a stomach ache and one heck of a guilt cloud over my head.  

But one of our members said something absolutely brilliant (and so logical that I'm embarrassed I've never thought of it myself!).  She said that if a friend had come to us and was at a really bad place with their weight loss journey, we would encourage that friend and tell her to stick with it while keeping up the hard work.  One bad day, one bad week, or even one bad month is trivial because this is going to be a long process, and in the grand scheme of things, a few mistakes won't kill us.  She also pointed out that none of us would ever look our upset friend in the eye and simply say, "Well, that's it.  Throw in the towel.  You're never going to be able to do this."  

Lightbulb.  

I would never tell my friend to give up on herself, so why do I let myself do the same thing?  

Why do I have one bad meal and let it slide into a horrific day of binge eating and skip tracking?  

Why do I have two bad days and quit tracking for the rest of the week?  

Why do feel absolutely horrible for having to miss a work out?  

Why do I skip tracking something bad that I ate when I'm the only one that ever sees my tracker?  

Why does it seem like I don't love myself enough to be honest with myself and admit my mistakes?  

As you see, the list could go on and on.  I'll stop there.  But I'll leave you with this photo that proves that some weeks, the number on the scale doesn't mean much.  

"do you mind sharing?"

At the end of each of our Weight Watchers meetings, we have our celebrations, as I'm sure you all do.  We celebrate our victories both on the scale and off, and my leader is pretty fantastic at making each of the "losers" feel like big winners. 

Scott asks by asking where the honoree is sitting, and follows up with them to make sure it's okay if he shares with everyone what victory we are celebrating today.  I've never heard a person turn Scott down.  I can't even imagine them saying, "No, don't tell everyone how great I'm doing."  It seems silly to me, but he asks us all nevertheless. 

After he shares their victory and we clap and congratulate them, he asks another question: "Do you mind sharing what is working for you?" 

Then the fumbling begins. 

The number one answer each week is TRACKING.  Then the room goes silent and we all nod our heads because we know it works and yet some of us still didn't do it that week. 

Other good answers are ACTIVITY or SUPPORT (a lot of people come in family or co-worker groups), but I feel like a lot of people just say whatever comes to mind at that moment, not really taking the time to think about what really has been working. 

When I had lost over 18 pounds, I realized that I had better start thinking about what I was going to say if Scott ever asked me that question.  You see, my next milestone was going to be a big one: when I saw that scale drop down a few more ounces, I will have lost over 20 pounds and 10% of my body weight.  That's right, I can say that I'm only 90% of the person that I used to be, but 100% improved! 

Then I panicked!  What was actually working for me?  Which aspect of the program was giving me the best results?  Well it wasn't just one thing, I think it was a combination a few things and I had to jot them down so that I'd remember just what they were when I was called upon to celebrate. 

The biggest weight loss aid for me is support.  This can come in many forms, and I've mentioned most of them before but I'll say it again.  My mom and I are Weight Watchers together.  I have a co-worker that is a Weight Watcher.  My boyfriend is very supportive of my choice to change my life.  And finally, Twitter Weight Watchers are incredibly important to my success.  There is an entire network of men and women out there that are Weight Watchers, Lifetime Members, and Weight Watchers Leaders and I rely heavily on their online support each and every single day.  I can talk to them about recipes, points bombs, new products, bad days, good workouts, good health guidelines, and more!  I am so grateful for these Twitter friends, and I'm sure I'll be talking about more and more of them on my blog. 

Next up in my journey was a new mentality I adopted back in December and I'm so glad that I did.  I adopted the mentality that I would try anything once to see if I liked it.  Since adopting this mentality I have had loads of success!  I have discovered things about myself that I would have never known had I shied away from them like I always did!  I tried a spin class and I loved it.  I tried using a heart rate monitor and I loved it.  I tried an alternative for peanut butter suggested to me and I loved it.  Don't get me wrong, there are things I've tried that didn't work for me (ahem, kale chips) but I'm not going to talk too much about them for fear that someone may avoid them because of what I said on my blog.  My advice, try everything one time.  Give it a shot.  At least I know now that my dog loves kale chips. 

Another mental adjustment that has worked for me is my mental reset button.  No, it's not a real thing.  It's just something I have to give myself permission to do so that I can keep on moving and not allow myself to be paralyzed by failure and fear.  Sometimes I have a bad weekend, and I get really upset with myself.  This leads to anger, anger leads to anxiety, and anxiety leads to things like stress eating or extra glasses of wine with dinner.  So here's what I do, I forgive myself for that bad breakfast, or the bad day, or the bad weekend that I may have had and I forget about it.  I don't let it turn into a bad week or a bad month.  I nip it in the butt, I wallow for a split second or maybe I just wallow for the thirty or so minutes I'm in my Weight Watchers meeting.  Then I get up and walk away from it.  Done and done. 

So there you have it.  Three things that work for me on this journey so far.  I know there are more, but these are the faithful friends that have kept me sane so far. 

Well that, and the numbers marching slowly down on the scale. 

tip of the day: tell someone!

I don't often walk into a friend or family member's home, plop myself down on the couch and say "I'm on Weight Watchers!"  In fact, I don't tell very many people at all.  It isn't a fad diet.  It isn't something that I'm just doing for a while.  It isn't a fundraising opportunity.  It's my life.  

I'm going to be a Weight Watcher forever.  It's been decided.  I joined for the last time in December 2011 when I weighed 199 pounds, my personal heaviest weight.  I don't often talk about that, and I rarely say a number.  (By the way, thank you to Valerie for asking me questions I used to be afraid to answer!)

So there you have it folks: the truth.  I'm doing my thing at my pace and on my terms.  I don't run marathons.  I don't go to bootcamp at some ungodly hour every morning.  I don't cut out all carbohydrates and beer.  

I exercise when I can and when I want to.  I eat what I should when I want to.  I drink beer.  I eat hamburgers.  I could never give up french fries.  

So why is this post called tell someone! then?  Because I lived in hiding with my new lifestyle for a long time.  I avoided exercising for nearly a year.  I didn't take time for myself to shop the way I wanted to and go to the gym as I saw fit.  I didn't want people to notice the changes, and they didn't.  I lost about 10 pounds in the first 12 months on plan, and it wasn't enough.  I've now lost about 10 pounds in just three months on plan when I did something extraordinary: I started talking about my journey.  

I started small with my family, and do you know what happened?  My mother and aunt both rejoined Weight Watchers with me in a matter of a few months!  It's great!  

Then I talked about it more and more with my boyfriend, to make sure that he knew this didn't mean we could never eat a buffalo wing again.  I took advantage of his overtime at work and joined the beloved spin studio I've mentioned before.  I am very vocal about loving my workouts and my instructors.  He has realized that I'm not really different than I was before, but I usually order off the kid's menu or box up half of my food to take home with me for lunch.  Now for birthdays or anniversaries, he buys me class packages to my favorite gym.  He is incredibly supportive, but in a quiet and behind the scenes sort of way, and I love him all the more for it.  

Lately, as my clothes get more and more loose, I have begun telling a lot more people about my lifestyle.  Now when they ask if I'm losing weight, I smile and I try to say things like "I'm working on it" or "I hope so, thanks for noticing my effort."  It sounds corny, but thanking them for the compliment is a battle in my head.  Then they usually ask how, and I'm honest.  I tell them that I am trying out all sorts of activities and so far I really love spin classes, and of course I tell them that I'm a Weight Watcher.  

This means that I have friends joining Weight Watchers with me and I'm building an incredible support group.  I have co-workers and long lost buddies that are signing up for spin classes with me all the time and I rarely go into a class where I don't know someone.  People call me asking if I would like to walk with them. I text friends that live far away to see if they've tried their new workout dvd's yet.  I trade workout dvd's or plans with my friends all the time.  I am turning into a healthy living machine.  It is a daily part of my life, and I love it.  

Even most of the gifts I received for my birthday last week were healthy living related: class packages for spin classes, a heart rate monitor, cooking classes, new workout pants, and REI gift cards.  People know that this is something that I love and something that I am not going to stop doing anytime soon.  

Recently I had an epiphany, anyone who has known me for longer than six years knows that I've done Weight Watchers once before and I had success.  I feel like I look bad having to come back to Weight Watchers and lose the weight again, like I'm a failure.  But last night it occurred to me  that I didn't have to come back because Weight Watchers didn't work, I had to come back because I didn't work.  I didn't stay on plan back in 2007, but if I did I would probably be a lifetime member right now.  

Weight Watchers only works if you actually stick with it.  I can't just have them automatically deduct the money from my account each month and expect the scale numbers to start dropping.  I can't pay the gym every year and wonder why I don't have a 6-pack.  I can't stock my fridge with healthy food, then go out to eat every night, and tell everyone that my healthy lifestyle isn't working.  

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."

Colin Powell

recipe ideas: breakfast bonanza

I should start with some sort of a disclaimer or warning: I dislike breakfast foods.  

I don't like scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, hard boiled eggs, or poached eggs.  

I hate eating bacon, sausage, or big ham steaks.  

Cereal just doesn't fill me up.  

I have never had good luck with the first meal of the day.  Even at my skinniest, I ate a horrible breakfast every single day.  I think I may have told you this before, but I used to have a daily Pop Tart and a Hi-C juice box every day.  Then I graduated to a daily Pop Tart and a diet Pepsi.  Yah, I thought since I got rid of the high sugar juice box and substituted a sugar free drink, I was being "healthy."  

I am an idiot.  

But now that I'm getting into the swing of being on plan, I'm opening up my views on breakfast and forcing myself to find healthy options.  Here comes the hard part: I have to try a lot of different foods that I had long ago decided that I didn't like.  You may not have to do this, but I forced myself to revisit a few things that I had crossed off my list.  Some stayed on my "I don't like that" list, others got a second chance.  

Here are some things I've found that work for me:

1.  On weekdays, I eat a first breakfast and a second breakfast.  Yes, like a Hobbit.  

I got the idea from a Twitter friend of mine, Whitney.  Since I am up around 6 in the morning, but I avoid traffic and don't go into the lab until 9 o'clock, I ended up becoming extremely hungry around 10 o'clock and I was filling that void with some really bad choices (translation: doughnuts, candy bars, and Pop Tarts).  

Now I eat a small breakfast (about 4 or 5 Points Plus) and then on my commute to work I drink a Weight Watchers smoothie blended with ice, milk, and fruit.  They're delicious and that protein is exactly what I need to carry me into lunch time!  

2.  I brought back some high point food that I thought I couldn't have!  

Granola.  I like granola, but it can wreak havoc on my tracker if I just try to eat it alone or with milk.  So I started using it as a topping for yogurt and ice cream!  Viola!  2 Points Plus for 1/4 cup of Trader Joes' Lowfat Granola with almond.  It's worth it for me, but I make sure that I don't go overboard with it.  

3.  I started incorporating foods I already knew I liked with foods I didn't think I liked.  

And this is how my favorite weekend breakfast was formed!  The spinach and mushroom omelette.  I didn't think I was going to like it because of the eggs, but the trick was to use the eggs simply to bind everything together.  One egg plus one egg white is plenty of egg for me, then I add in loads of spinach and sliced mushrooms (at least a cup of each) and sprinkle what ever low fat cheese I have on hand.  It ends up being 5 Points Plus, and I pair it with toast or home fries for a weekend Points Plus splurge.  

4.  I stopped forcing myself to eat breakfast foods.  

It's true, I sometimes make myself a sandwich or a quesadilla for breakfast.  Gasp!  

Okay, it's not that big of a deal, but I can fit in a handful of veggies and some good protein this way.  Who said you have to eat eggs and yogurt for breakfast every day?  No one!  

So there you have it, my breakfast shennanigans.  Do you have any?  If so, I'd love to hear about them!  

wake me up when i'm a size 5

My mom had this on our refrigerator growing up, and I really wish I could just take a pill and sleep my way skinny some days. 

I adore the Cathy collection.  If you haven't seen a lot of it, or just want to brush up then head here.  Happy Monday!