Thursday, June 13, 2013

Because you didn't ask...

Well, I don't often do posts about me, but I figure I want to document some things about me in my blog books.  And maybe you're wondering about me sometimes too.  

So... my latest thing is trying to get in shape and be more healthy (you might have a similar goal right?).  I want to lose my pregnancy weight, get back in shape, and just improve my general health.  I started jogging again towards the end of February and doing some on-line work-out videos.  I really like this cardio kickboxing one, which I thought I wouldn't.  But it's actually a pretty feel good work-out.  It's good to do when I feel like hitting or kicking something!  :)  It would be even better if I had a punching bag.  (I did kick the wall the other day when I was really angry...didn't leave a mark luckily.)

I also have been trying to make some changes in my diet.  I don't eat terribly, but not the best either.  I know I wasn't eating enough fruits and vegetables.  I don't know why, but I was drawn back to the "Eating Right for your Blood Type Diet."  I had read about it a while back, but never really tried it out.  I am attempting to see if it makes a difference, although I haven't been really strict about adhering to my particular diet.  The BTD has certain foods that you should avoid and certain ones that are very beneficial for your blood type.  Some of the main "avoids" for me are tomatoes, chicken, corn, and peanuts.  Supposedly I don't process those very well.  I have been pretty good about cutting those out, despite several favorite things that have those - like spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, chips & salsa, and peanut butter.  (I did eat a couple pieces of pizza for Jared's birthday).  The other thing that most blood types don't tolerate very well is wheat.  I haven't been great about that, since so many things have wheat in it.  Hats off to the successful gluten free people out there!  It's hard.  The more I am reading, the more I am hearing about wheat not being very good.  But there are just so many yummy things out there that I have a hard time not eating.  It seems like our culture is so in-grained (ha ha) with wheat products, but maybe that's why obesity and heart disease etc. are such a problem.  Lots of sugar, wheat, and processed foods is a bad combination.  Anyway, I figure I have nothing to lose by trying this out.  It's not a type of diet where you feel hungry all the time.  If anything, I'll just end up eating more fruits and veggies since I need to fill up with something besides bread and pasta.   

Another of my main objectives, besides general health, is to also see if I can help my allergies by avoiding certain things too.  I have had this weird thing with my voice, where it cuts out on certain sounds.  At times I have a really hard time talking.  I'm not sure exactly what it is - I have been diagnosed with "spasmodic dysphonia", but that basically just means vocal cord dysfunction.  No one seems to know what causes it.  Sometimes it's better and sometimes worse, so I think it could be related to allergies?  I had the problem towards the end of high school and beginning of college, but when I started allergy shots, it was significantly better.  When I later went off the allergy shots, I had problems again.  Anyway, D'Adamo (the author of the BTD) also has a book on allergies and how certain foods may be a problem.  One of my main culprits could be wheat. Cheese also can contribute to excess mucous.  So although I am not cutting them out completely, I'm just trying to eat less of them. And there are foods that are highly beneficial that I'm trying to eat more of, like onions, pineapple, walnuts, kale, olive oil, and some other things.   

Here's a look at what I have been eating.  I think I do pretty good with breakfast and lunch, but I need some more dinner ideas.  Cooking without chicken, tomatoes, and less bread and pasta is challenging.  I have still been cooking with some of my "avoids" for Alex and the boys.  I haven't subjected them to my diet yet.  I tried a gluten free pasta and didn't like it - it was made with rice and corn though, which I didn't realize.  (Corn is on the avoid list anyway.) Luckily the boys like beef and most veggies, so I don't have to do completely separate meals.  

I don't really miss sandwiches - I love the yogurt and fruit for lunch.  I'll probably eat more tuna fish when I'm not breastfeeding anymore.  Tuna tastes pretty good on salad.  I have been trying to eat more salads, just prepared individually right before I eat them.  I used to not make them because the boys don't eat them, and the rest of the salad would go to waste in the fridge.  But if I just make my own salad, it's great.  (Why didn't I do that before...?)  I recently went to this salad class with the church ladies and was introduced to homemade dressing.  There are variations, but basically you just use lemon juice, olive oil, and a little salt or vinegar.  Basil tastes good too.  I really like it.   

Bacon and pork aren't very good for you, so I'm trying the turkey bacon - love it.  We're still doing lots of eggs since protein for breakfast is really good for you.  (A friend from church gave us some quail eggs - such cute little egg bites.)  We're doing some yogurt smoothies now, about every other day.  I'm putting some spinach, kale, and flaxseed in there for a boost.       




So... when you ruin dinner, you usually throw a pizza in the oven, right?  What happens when you ruin the pizza??  The pizza slid off the pan, cheese side down....


Well, I wasn't eating it, so I just picked it up and added some more cheese, popped it in the oven, and it was good to go! Ha ha. What a mess...

As I mentioned earlier, the other part of my health kick is getting in shape.  I don't really think you can lose weight and keep it off without exercise.  You have to burn more than you consume... 
Back to jogging again.  I am still going pretty slow, but trying to gradually increase my mileage.  I have been doing about 3 miles, bumping it up to 4 sometimes.

I did do a local fundraiser race - 4 miles.  I wasn't really ready for it (knew about it 3 weeks beforehand), but it wasn't hard to finish it.  My time was 38:30.  The boys asked why I ran so slow... that's about as good as I can right now.  I had only done about 30 minutes at a pace.  



The mornings work well for jogging.  My dad will be happy to know that Nathan and Jared are now running in the morning with Alex or me.  I ran with my dad in the mornings when I was young.  It was a good feeling coming full circle to now have my kids running with me.  They have only been doing about a mile, but I hope to start running a little more with them too.  I think this is the 7th week of running for them, so we are sticking with it pretty well! 



7 comments:

The Purtle's said...

Well I'm happy to read about you! :). And I think you're looking awesome!!

Mamapierce said...

It IS about time that we heard about you. :) Sounds like you are making some great food choices. I have noticed that I am more likely to stick with a lifestyle change if it is little by little - instead of not eating any wheat, just reduce it. The more extreme I am, the less likely I can stick with it. So happy to hear that you are jogging! What a great exercise. I hope to do it one day. (((HUGS)))

Debora said...

Lookin good !!! Of course we have chatted about some of these things and soon :) I'll be getting back to walking/jogging. My most recent cut-it-out-of-the-diet food is lunch meat. Less sodium nitrate for us :)

Grandma Fay said...

Food looks good.

Jennifer said...

Good job, Annie! You are always so inspirational! Our favorite "green" smoothie around here now is this: 1 frozen banana, 1-2 c. spinach, 1 cup Greek yogurt, milk and 1-2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup. (My SIL makes hers from scratch.) That's it. Anyway, my son with food allergies is very texture sensitive and won't eat bananas, spinach or yogurt... unless it's in this smoothie. Good luck and keep at it! You're amazing.

Alison said...

Annie, sounds like you are doing awesome. Way to go with all you've learned about foods and whats good for you and whats not. I love to hear other people taking healthy steps and making good choices for the good of their bodies. Stick with it, its worth it! And you look great too! :)

Lisa said...

I like reading about you! I think your meals look delicious. I've never been one for elimination diets. I just try to eat as close to the way foods come in nature as possible. I'm reading a really interesting book by Michael Moss called "Salt Sugar Fat," which is all about how the food industry manipulates those ingredients in processed foods to get us "hooked"--often using the same tactics as big tobacco companies. It has made me think twice about some of the things I buy, which are mainly for Steve since he's definitely a sugarholic. I digress. :)

You look great, by the way. Not sure exactly where you're hiding this alleged baby weight. Any excuse to spend some running time with those awesome boys is totally understandable.