product review: new TRI gear!

Back when I started taking spin classes, I started collecting bits and pieces of gear that made my rides more enjoyable and helped me do my best.  I tried not to ever worry about how gear made me "look" and only about how the gear made me "feel."  Vanity aside, I've noticed that some of my spin gear did not translate well to bicycling.  

Well you know what that means, it's time to shop!  

I started off at the Danskin website to look at some pieces that could be worn for swimming, biking and running.  I ended up with a couple of really great items.  First off, I got some TRI Shorts.  I really debated about buying these because I never wear shorts.  I don't wear them in every day life, and I don't wear them to spin class.  However I have to contend with the heat, the sun, and tan lines when I'm riding my bike outside and I decided that shorts were a necessary evil.  These shorts have a 7 inch inseam, so they aren't obscenely short and the waistband and leg bands are reinforced to prevent movement during a ride or a run. I haven't swam in them yet, but I'm confident that they'll be perfect for the day of the triathalon and I love riding and running in them so far.  

Next up I bought a TRI Tank and I'm a bit less enthusiastic about this purchase, but it's for vanity reasons I've decided.  First off, the back of the tank is wide and produces a very large tan line during long rides.  Next, the tank is very fitted and I like things to flare a little bit around my midsection, or at least not cling to me for dear life.  Then, it occurred to me that if I'm going to swim in this shirt that I don't want it to move around a lot in the water.  And lastly, it is cut in the front in such away that it gives me a sort of arm bulge.  I've moved it around and I just can't seem to get rid of it, so I'll deal with it.  There are some good things about it though!  I like the shelf bra interior and the zipper on the bust.  The bra shelf means that once it's in place around the girls, it won't budge.  The zipper on the bust means that I can wear it zipped up and tight in the water (it's a bit constricting) and then I can drop the zipper for the bike and the run to allow for a bit more room and air circulation.  The pocket in the back (with a zipper) rocks also.  The length is good, and it doesn't ride up while I'm moving.  

I also (and for no good reason) bought a jacket that was on sale called a Cross Tech Jacket and a Camo Flower Active Tank from Danskin.  The tank I could take or leave, and I'm glad I got it on sale.  But the jacket?  I love the jacket!  It's the perfect mid-weight jacket for spring workouts or heading to my car after an evening workout.  It is lightweight, soft material, and easy to clean.  Winner!  

Just recently I added a new tank to my collection from Novarra called the Rhumba Bike Tank and it has quickly become my favorite biking tank!  It fits perfectly, with a flare at the waist and it has an extra long back side with not one, but two pockets!  The back also cuts in like a racer back, so the tan lines are a bit more tolerable.  I highly recommend this as a cycling or running tank!  

Underneath every tank I wear is this: Moving Comfort Juno sports bra.  I'm not small up top, and my best friend recommended this brand to me after she'd run a few half marathons and a marathon in it.  If it was good enough for her, I thought I'd try it.  My first time out, I fell in love with it!  The adjustable straps are heavenly and the wide band with a bra strap in the back that actually snaps is simply genius.  They took all the great parts of an everyday bra and turned it into my all time favorite sports bra.  I cannot say enough good things about this bra.  

And last, but not least, I bought a Camelbak.  I was trying to drink water during rides and I nearly fell down a couple of hills in the process, so I figured that it was time.  I ended up with the Rogue model, and I was sold finally on the lifetime warranty and replaceable parts.  I looked at it as an investment.  

There are no letters F, U, or N in the phrase "Weight Loss"

I have to admit, I am having a bitter critter moment. Bear with me for just a second and I will try to elaborate without using the eff bomb too much.

Twenty five pounds is quite a success for me, in fact I am quite proud of it. However, as soon as I got that 25 pound charm during my meeting, my brain turned off and my stomach growled. I spent the better part of 3 weeks fighting urges and cravings until this week when I succumbed.

And boy, did I succumb!!!

In just a matter of days I went from moderate self control to brownies, chicken strips, french fries, Pop Tarts, and bacon wrapped hot dogs. Yah, I put an s at the end of the last one because I did not stop after just one.

Bite me.

So what happened? I am not entirely sure. Part of it is because I am a girl, and every 4 weeks I go stark raving mad and eat like a 500 pound man for a few days. But that is only a small part of what I really think happened.

I think I got rebellious. I think I forgot how good it felt to be getting healthy again. I think I wanted instant gratification. I think I gave myself permission to not only fall off the wagon, but to tip the whole damn wagon over, pour lighter fluid on it, and light that bitch up like a bonfire.

I started looking at some of my favorite healthy meals and snacks with such disdain that it was sort of freaking me out. I may have told a banana that I hated it, I cannot be sure. It is all sort of a carbohydrate haze really. I am not sure I was in my right mind.

The good news is that it was a small uptick on the scale thanks largely in part to the fact that my amazing boyfriend has started joining me for bike rides and gym trips. The bad news is that I physically feel ill because of it. Every single bad thing I like, I managed to cram into a 96 hour eating frenzy. It was disgusting. I ate like a teenage boy for a few days, and now my 28 year old female body is pissed. Karma is a beezy.

So there you have it. People talk about trigger foods a lot of times, and I do not know if I have one. I will tell you that I have about a dozen foods that flew quickly into my mouth recently, and I can also tell you that they need to go away for a while.

If you are wondering, I have started my swim training. I am not really pushing myself as of yet, but I have a fairly decent lap pace that makes me confident that the swim portion of the triathalon will not be my weakest event. I am running right about a 1:10 lap for 0.5 miles. That means for about 18 laps, it takes me less than 25 minutes. I also goof around at the ends of the pool, fiddle with my goggles, and check my timer and heart rate. I am so odd.

I have not run in 2 weeks. I do not have an excuse. I worked really hard to bring my pace down to  a 12 minute mile and boosted my distance to 1.5 miles, then I stopped. I am so odd.

I have been biking short distances with a couple of hills lately, and I throw in a couple sprints or tabata drills everynow and then. Except for Sunday morning, when I skipped breakfast before our ride and ended up doubled over on the side of the trail, nearly throwing up. I made my boyfriend ride back in front of me the whole way so that on the off chance I did end up puking, it would not ruin his day too if you know what I mean. I am so odd.

So I leave you with something one of my twitter friends brought up, and it was that everyn should have a saying or a mantra for their journeys. Mine is this,

I would rather be healthy than skinny.

Reality Check!

So the first couple of weeks of triathalon "training" have been, um, well, interesting.

I still spin on Saturday mornings for 90 minutes. I kick ass in that class. Really I do. 1100 to 1200 calories of ass. That is a whole lotta ass.

I have spent 3 weeks trying out the simply filling technique of Weight Watchers. Lost for 2 weeks, then rebelled completely and spent a weekend worshipping chips and salsa only to gain a half a pound. I have forgiven myself. It is over. Damage done. Now get the f*ck over it.

Here comes the anger. I installed my new trip computer on my bike,but not ridden it. Why? I. Do. Not. Know.

Maybe it is laziness.

Maybe it is part of the rebellion thing that I had going on with Weight Watchers. But it has to stop.

The war is over.

The chips and salsa won.

Move on.

And by move, I do not mean figuratively. I mean get that ass up and MOVE!

And the running. Oh, the running. I started at 2 days a week. But the past 2 weeks, I have only attempted to run twice. Each run was about 1.5 miles, and I had about a 13 minute per mile pace. That is not bad, but I know I have a long way to go before I get comfortable with the idea that I will be running 3 miles.

I keep reading about how experienced runners sign up for their first triathalon and get to the run only to hit a wall or have problems. They are runners. I am not. This just intensifies my fear.

Then I stop, ask myself what the fear is, and realize that even if I am walking, I will eventually cross that finish line and complete my first triathalon.

That is my only goal right now.

Finish the race.

But all tri talk aside, I celebrated a big victory last week and I would like to share it. As of last week, I have lost 25 pounds. Even with my. 5 pound gain this week, I am still holding on to that accomplishment.

This goal means I am about halfway through my journey, and my drivers license is only a lie by about 25 or so pounds. When my drivers license is not really a lie anymore, well, I guess I will be a happy, healthy lady.

For now, I am happier and healthier than I have felt in a long while. I stop and shake myself when I realize that running a mile or more was not even a possibiltity for me last June. Spin class terrified me last June. I was a mess last June.

Who knows what July will bring?

Control freak...

Here is a fact, I am a control freak. Totally. I need to plan everything. I have to be in control. If I want something, I plan out the necessary steps I need to take, I complete the steps, and I get what I want. It is easy to me, perhaps because I have practiced it my whole life.

When I was a child, I did not have rules. It sounds odd, but I did not really need rules because I was pretty strict on myself. Oh sure, there was the occassional "Do not run in the street" but it was followed by "unless you want to get run over by a car." That was all I needed to know. I studied fairly well, I loved all things or places educational, and I was fairly well behaved in public.

But there is always one thing I never controlled, food. Early on, it did not matter. I was not skinny, but I was active enough to be a sufficiently chubby but cute kid/teenager. After I stopped exercising, well the eating became my clearly obvious weakness.

I never had control when it came to food. I ate to celebrate. I ate to mourn. I ate when I was bored. I ate when I was nervous. I ate. I ate. I ate.

So when I joined Weight Watchers in 2011, I exercised control...for a while. I would be really good for days or even weeks, then I would lose control. Instead of eating a small portion of something I wanted, I waited until my desire grew so much that I would pratically overdose on it. I was a mess. I was not in control.

So what changed?

I surrendered control. I gave up trying to force my body into submission. I stopped kicking my own ass.

Now I spend more time doing what I want to do, and less time doing what I think I should do. I forgive myself for the bad things (buffalo wings) and I congratulate myself for the good things (spin classes).

I surround myself with the right things and people, but I am not one to shy away from guzzling down a beer or eating dinner out with my girlfriends. I will never be the girl who eats nothing but chicken and salads. Never.

But I eat chicken and salads. And pizza. And bread. And wine.

So here is the deal, since I gave up being so hard on myself I have made my weight loss journey easier.

That being said, I know I would lose weight faster if I gave up cocktails and fatty foods, but no one wants to see the bitch I would be if I did that.

holy crap, i've lost my mind

Do you know about Fit Bottomed Girls?  Well consider yourself enlightened. I follow these ladies on their blog and on twitter and I am always amazed about the span of topics they cover! Food and recipes. Workouts and goals. Challenges mentally and physically. They cover it all.

A few weeks back, I saw a post they had shared about a giveaway they were doing. I love giveaways, and although I enter them all the time for free stuff on blogs, I have never won a single one. I have tried for blenders, books, juicers, cookbooks, free trips, and cameras. Alas, I was not ever chosen. Until a few weeks ago.

I entered for a chance to win the entrance fee into the Danskin triathalon of my choice. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I typed in all my info and hit the button. I never win this stuff, so I was safe. Later that day, I stopped off to see my best friend and mentioned I had briefly contemplated doing a triathalon, but since I was not at my goal weight yet, I was not going to do it. She gave me a puzzled look, then we went on to babble about how much quicker we could lose weight if wine were not so damn tasty. Yes, folks. This is our deep, enriching conversation topic.

Well a few days later I found out I had one the giveaway. I had 24 hours to respond or they would give it to someone else. I ran through every excuse I possibly could. I am still 25 pounds away from goal. I hate running. I have not swam competitively in years. I really only spin, and I only take my bike out once a week or so. It was decided, I would skip the tri. I sent my best friend a joking message about how I had won the giveaway. Her response? "It is a sign."

She is not the type of person to say things like that so when I pressed her and started throwing my excuses at her, she shocked me with her clarity. "Think of it this way," she said, "they just gave you free motivation for the next 4 months."

Hello, epiphany!

So here is my official announcement. I am training for something I never imagined or strived to complete, a sprint triathalon. It is a. 5 mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. My goal is not to finish fast, but to simply finish. The event is sponsored by Danskin and will take place on October 7th in Palm Springs.

Thoughts and feelings are pouring like water through me, and I will try my best to share them as I train, but for now I will say this:

I am scared in a healthy amount, excited in an intoxicating amount, and overwhelmed by the words and actions of the people that I have told already. It is already proving to be a life changing event for me, and I am looking forward to the challenges as well as the success I  can see lying ahead of me.

And as a sneak peak, I will tell you now that the amazingly talented and gorgeous friend I mentioned was motivating me has also decided to join me in training and completing the triathalon. I am overjoyed!

We will let you know how it goes!

recipe review: brown rice

I like to think of myself as a fairly good cook.  I am pretty fearless, and I generally make good eats for myself and my family.  I've bravely tried out new recipes hundreds of times, and modified them lately to make them my own healthier versions.  However, I have one item that I simply cannot get right. 

I cannot cook brown rice. 

Rice cooker. 

Fail. 

Stove. 

Fail.

Me.

Fail.

So I resorted to purchasing pre-cooked brown rice from Trader Joe's.  You read that right folks.  I can make just about any dessert or dish in a cookbook, but I have to buy ready made brown rice.  I felt like such a failure.  Plus, it would be so much cheaper for me if I just knew the secret to cooking brown rice! 

Well one day, my fair god-blogger whispered down from the heavens I have a foolproof method for making perfect brown rice that is never sticky! To which I replied SIGN ME UP! 

So here goes: From Skinnytaste! 

How to make perfect brown rice

5 servings

4 points plus per serving

1 cup of brown rice

8 cups of water

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Rinse the rice with cold water for 30 seconds. Bring the water and salt to a boil over high heat in a large heavy pot with a tight fitting lid.

When the water is boiling add the rice, stir and partially cover (don't cover complete or it will spill over) and cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes.

Drain the rice in strainer, then quickly return to the pot and cover tightly for 20 minutes so the steam finishes cooking the rice. Uncover the rice and fluff with a fork.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups. Different rice varieties may yield different amounts.

SUCCESS!  I can now cook my own brown rice!  That's amazing!  I'm extatic!  Thank you Gina from Skinnytaste! 

Then I saw this recipe and I drooled.  I'm going to have to try that ASAP.  Like this weekend!  Pulled beef and this side dish would be fantastic! 

want versus need

I am facing a major struggle lately.  I was ounces away from getting my fourth 5 pound sticker, then my birthday happened.  The week before my birthday was great, the week after my birthday I was the same weight, and the second week after my birthday I was battling TOM and a whole lot of snacking and up 1.2 pounds.  

If you're on the outside looking in, you might be saying "Gee, 1.2 pounds isn't a lot, get over it" and you're probably right.  But the point is that I need to nip it in the butt.  I need to stop the needless carbohydrate consumption and start getting more serious about the way that I'm training.  I need to ask myself one simple question: Is what I'm about to do something that I want or is it something that I need?  

It's a simple question, right?

But I'm so horrible about answering it.  

Most nights I'd rather stop at Target on my way home from work than the grocery store or the gym.

  

Most nights I'd rather pick up two pizzas than cook a healthy dinner.

Most nights I'd rather curl up with a good book than go to spin or take Maddie for a walk.  

But we all know that I don't need anything from Target, pizza, or to sit my chubby but on the couch.  I only want those things.  

What I need is to make more consistent and healthier choices.  It's not as hard as it sounds.  I don't need to make some stupid statement like "I'm going to go to the gym every single day."  I'd love to pretend I'm that girl, but I'm not that girl.  All I need to say is "I'm going to make healthier choices."

I'll choose an apple over a candy bar more often.  I'll choose one gym trip over nothing sometimes.  I'll make a healthy dinner more often instead of looking for the easiest take out solution.  

Fear not friends, I may have had a mediocre couple of weeks and I'm feeling super bloated, cranky, and irritated but I'm stepping right back on plan.  

My head is screaming "I WANT THAT LEFTOVER PIZZA!" but my body is telling me softly "I need some yogurt and berries."  Funny what we choose to listen to, isn't it?

Note, if you like the illustrations you should head over to Erin Hanson's website.