I made my deadline!!!

I'm not going to write much, but I wanted to let you know that I made my deadline just in the nick of time!! I had to finish my thesis and have both readers happy with it by today. My second reader got the paper (after my advisor finally was ok with it) yesterday. Usually you give it to them 2 weeks ahead of time. Geesh. I tell you, this has been giving me grey hairs. If I didn't make this deadline I would have been kicked out of the program. No PhD, just the bills from trying to get it! I hope I never run into this again.

I need to go have adult beverages and chill out now!

HYC

I don't have much besides that I'm taking one more week off and starting life again on Sunday. Friday is D-Day for me and Saturday is my belated date-day celebration (besides the hey I made it through Oct 31st celebration). I'll probably not be back again until next week...but, I'll try to keep up with blog reading (it brings me to my zen place)...just don't be suprised if I have limited commenting!

See y'all next week!

I can't find my camera cable...and it didn't have the card in the camera :( As soon as I find it I'll post pics.

I'm having a hard time fiting in exercise (super stressed and busy with the deadline approaching). I think I only walked one day with the doggie. So not the way to be healthier. It'd be ok though if I were watching what I'm eating - I mean besides watching it enter my mouth and go straight to my hips! :( I'll get there, I just need to make sure my whole future isn't down the tubes. I'll be so glad when Friday is done.

Tatas purchase and pictures to come

I'm excited! I finally got my tatas shirt and tote! I wore it yesterday to teach. I'm always reluctant to talk about my family and personal issues, but really...I'd rather help people than be reserved. So, since someone mentioned the shirt I told them a little about my family and stressed the importance of self exams (didn't the mention of fun with a partner option). Besides, it's not a huge secret or anything that I have family members who have survived and not from cancer since there are news papers out there depicting this stuff about my family.

I will be sure to post a pic tonight of me in the shirt (gasp...a real pic...with the face showing and everything? Yes. I will be doing this :) I figure, it would be dificult for the people in my life to find this place. Besides my hubby that is...I always keep myself logged in so it wouldnt' be that hard.

Have a great weekend! Wish me luck with finishing my big project by the 31st! I'll get it done (I think), just lose sleep for one more week!

Food - again?!

I forgot to mention to y'all, I found a whole wheat bread that is non-HFCS that doens't completely make me want to, uh, not eat it ;) I shouldn't be promoting a specific brand, but it's the only one I've found that tastes ok and doesn't have the evil things! It's from Earth Grains and you can find it at the big bad WM store or most grocery stores. I like it because they have a honey wheat Organic...so it's a better choice than others, but yet not too terribly priced (although it can't compete with the $.99 cheapie white). However, don't let the name fool you - my taste buds are too sensative to like it for grilled cheese. It's a pb and j toast or make shift pizza kind of bread! But, it's a start.



As for the yogurt, I'm having a hard time getting over the initial shock of how the plain greek tastes on it's own. However, I fully plan to do some of your suggestions - specifically adding frozen cherries or blue berries. If that doens't work, then I'll add a little honey too. I won't give up on this!



Geesh, being healthier (I still put pepperoni on my makeshift pizzas...can't totally give up all the good stuff!) is really challenging when you're on a budget! Or even when not.

7 things about yourself

I've been tagged by the lovely lainie (fitness fig to most of us!). I need to say 7 (random? unknown I guess) things about myself. Here it goes!

1. I have a weird birthmark under my butt on my right thigh. When I was in H.S. I heard that it's the witches mark...and I couldn't have been happier :) I've always been a little alternative that way.

2. Like Laninie, I'm the baby of a very blended family. I have a half sister and half brother, one adopted half sister (she was adopted by the bio dad...shares a mom with my half siblings), a step sister and an adopted step brother (adopted by my "step"/real in every sense of the word except blood dad, but shares a mom with my step sister). It's been an interesting ride, I'll tell you that.

3. I was raised side by side with bears. My bio dad was a breeder. It was very fun raising the babies...not so fun giving them up. Let me tell you - the babies have the worst temper of any animal I know of. And, they don't let up when they bite you!

4. I was a cheerleader for one "semester" in H.S. Not that type of cheerleader, but really...it was fun. I just didn't like being the center of attention. Ya, ya...I know...dumb move for a social phobe.

5. I am married to a man 4 years younger than me. He was 24 and I was 28. Not that bad until you realize that I'm now 30 and he's 26 :) I robbed the craddle...hehe.

6. I am the only one on either side of my family to go beyond a B.S...was the first to get my B.S. (if I remember correctly on both sides. And, both sides have a lot of people in them...12 aunts and uncles on one side and 6 on the other). I'm actually one of two (me and the oldest) of my siblings to get my H.S. diploma on time. Not something to brag about, but it's weird being the black sheep because I've been sucessful and gotten a higher education.

7. I had a nurse yesterday that swore I was 145 at the most. She had the sliding weights scale and had it at 140 on the bottom. I was like "no, you have to move that one way up." So every 10 pounds she looked to me like...is that right? No. I'm 207. And, she was a bigger girl. It made me feel good, but also annoyed....off 40 pounds? I'll just take it as a compliment.

Whew. So, everyone that reads this is tagged (if you want - I'm a passivist like that)! Except Lainie...you can be exempt ;)

HYC

HYC: I've been doing ok. Starting to walk more, but my food issues are difficult. At least I'm overeating healthier stuff. Next step is to get it back under control. But, if I get out of October ok and with my sanity it will be a miracle. I have a critical deadline at work/school where if I dont' make it I won't be able to finish my degree - and right now I'm not sure how I'll be able to finish. One of those months.

Back to food. So, I tried the greek yogurt in plain because I didn't want to have the extra sugar. And, most yogurts have HFCS, but this stuff doesn't. However, I'm thinking sugar is there for a reason! Have you ever tried non sweetened yogurt? Not like the sweatened stuff at all. I'm thinking that it'll be ok for a smoothie where I will be adding non-sugar sweetner. Or maybe i can add seweetener to it, but doens't that defeat the point? And, I know artificial sweeteners aren't good for us either - but I refuse to give it up for now.

Eating healthier is not quite as easy as I thought. You'd never guess how many things have either HFCS, hydraulized oils, or enriched stuff. It's frustrating, but so are all the extra pounds and toxins in our body. And, it's worth it. Just difficult.

Back to yogurt. What kind do you like to eat? Does it have added sugar? I'm thinking I'll have to suck it up and take the extra sugar as long as it doesn't have the HFCs.

Walking Update

My Sunday walking update...I've decided that I don't care how long it takes me to walk from D.C. to Florida. What I would like to see is every step along the way how long it would take me to go to Chicag0. My closest cousin, one of my best friends, lives there so it makes it more fun.


She's such an inspiration - she's the one I spoke of earlier that had cancer at 29. She isactually on the cover of the Cancer Fighters Thrive October edition (found here if you want to read about it http://www.cfthrive.com/ she's on the cover and the life is great article is about her). She talks about my mom briefly too (helen), but that's a whole post I'm so not probably going to do. She even went on eHarmony after recovering from cancer, with her hair looking more like yoda than anything, and met her hubby. She's awesome. I'm so proud of her.


ANYWAY, the important thing here is about the distance...it's 999 miles from Ft. Worth (not here, but a stopping point along the way). If I keep walking 3 miles every day it will take me a year. I may add biking miles or something like that but I think it'll give me apush I need.


What other related cool event happened? Miz Fit paired us readers up so that we had someone to help us be accountable. Mine is Felice found here. Silly? Hell no, it worked well this week! My fear of being a bum to someone that expects me to do it was/is enough to push me into full gear. It's sad, but hey...it worked, didn't it? I walked 6 miles this week (just yesterday and today, but it's a sart!).


SO, I've completed 14 miles since I started. I will post updates every Sunday. I'll get there in no time...may have to bump up my efforts after a while to knock off the miles. Slow to begin with though!

Body issues

There are several great posts out there that got me thinking about body issues. Fitness Fig kind of summed up what I was thinking about the topic though so I'll let you visit her post, if you haven't already been there. Go ahead and go now :)

Back? Ok. What I was thinking about (and commented about over at Miz Fit's place) is how funny our attitudes change about our bodies. Acutally, I think for a lot of women we are unhappy at all poins in life about our bodies...the amount is just larger for a lot of us. E.g. when I was 16 I was 135-145 pounds. For a woman (girl then?) with a large bone mass this is extremely good. My stomach had very little fat and I looked really healthy. How did I feel? Like a big fat fatty. You have to realize that I grew the big hips and my height early, but really it had to do with friends being 105 and 5'2".

Now? I do feel more comfortable with me as a person, but it's hard to look in the mirror and like what I see. I see my flabby stomach, and dimples on my butt and thighs. Let's face it, 205 is large for a woman no matter what height and bone structure you have. I'd love to be a "fatty" at 145, but really it seems to be about not being happy with your body no matter what your weight. My amount just got bigger. But, we are who we are and our body weight is so little of who we are. Why are we placing worth on it?

I like what fitness fig was talking about. You have one body, why not appreciate it? Why not love it for what it is and not try to be something else. Yes, I want to be healthier, but that doesn't mean I can't love my "big mamma birthing hips" (If you don't believe me see the tatoo post...shows it VERY clearly). Better yet, why not love that my waist is small for my frame? Why not appreciate what you are.

A wise woman (ok, my mom, but she was very wise!) always told me that no matter what your size...you are at someone's goal weight. Appreciate that and let that motivate and guide you. You are already at a goal weight, the rest is gravy :)

Protein

Thanks for the great tips! My favorite was posting notes on the fridge (or on my snacky foods) saying "do you really need this?" Dont' worry, I'll probably be stealing more of your ideas along the way. Baby steps though!

One thing I've noticed with my friends that have gotten healthier through docotor intervention (of all sorts) is that they focus on protein. Not as in the Adkins way where you monitor carbs, but more like "you should strive for X amount of lean protein/day as your main goal." I *get* it - it fills you up. And, if you do this and plan to achieve this then you are making sure, in a sense, that you don't need the junk foods. The plan to achieve this can guide the rest of what you eat. I like it.
So, what did I do? I looked online for how much protein I *should* be getting. The crazy programs said I should be getting @ 80+ grams of protein. Wow. That seems like a lot considering 2 eggs with some cheese is only 14 grams. WTF. Maybe "normal" Americans eat that much, but really I am a carb girl so I doubt I am. I don't eat that much meat in a day. Yikes.

What have you been told about how much protein you *should* have per day? Does 85 grams seem like too much or about right?

I think I'm going to focus on this. Trying to hit a protein (lean, focus on lean) amount per day and let the rest of my foods fall into place. It's funny. Low fat = bad in my head. but, if you focus on lean proteins then it doesn't seem like deprivation to me. Crazy, but I'll follow my "crazy" instincts and go with it :)
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Edit/update: did you know that one small can of chunk white tuna (albacore at least) has 20g of protein in it? Yeah, this might not be as hard as I thought!

Trying to get remotivated

I was listening to the program from Light living with Irene and her interview with MizFit and Felicia. So inspirational and really motivating. In fact I was reaching for large amounts of food, not needing it, and realized that it was crazy to listen to a program about healthy living and emotional eat. Sure, I still munched, but it was on something smaller and healthier than the grandious meal I was going for.

So, I think (especially during this very stressful time for me) that I'll have to look for inspiration in places like this. And, I need to devote 30 minutes a night to reading the *you* book I talked about.

How do you ward off the emotional munchies when you're stressed or upset? What coping strategies do you have for this? (I'm hoping to steal some ideas :)

Link to me :)

Thanks to MizFit for the link to my place :) I'm very passionate about the issue of breast (and ovarian) cancer...I just hope that more people will catch their cancer early. I've seen up close and personal what advanced cancer can do and I don't wish that on anyone. But, I've already exhausted this subject so see here and here to read more about it :)

Not working out never felt so good

There's never a good excuse to not go to the gym. Except, now I'm glad I made those for the past month! As I posted last month we're already on our property manager's S*** list. Well, all the tenants (there's a ton of us) got a letter saying our apartment complex’s gym tv was stole! And, the sad part is that we're all given keys to the area (as long as we don't abuse the privilege), so it was someone that is a tenant. It’s a great neighborhood, I never have my car messed with, our neighbors suck but we haven’t been bothered by their complaining since the officer can never prove it’s us playing loud bass (since it's not us that makes it easy :). But this news just makes me glad (for once!) that I was lazy enough to avoid the gym! You can’t get blamed if you never go! Walking outdoors is looking better and better every day!

Feel your boobies

I know I already posted about this below, but someone asked about the "feel your boobies" button on the side of my blog. I stole it. Bad, I know. Good thing though? I found the page on the feel your boobies web site where they offer them for free to post on blogs and such! Yay!!

So, go to Feel Your Boobies for fabulous breast cancer information, gear, or just to get one of the buttons to put on your blog/myspace account/etc encourage others to feel their boobies.

Note: feeling of the boobies does not have to be done by yourself. You can have others do it for you! Make it a marital event! (yea, I'm a perv, but there have been women who detected their cancer early because their hubby's felt them up!)

Walking Food and Tata's update

So, I only went 2 miles last week. See, my thesis is beyond due and I was trying my hardest to finish it. Talk about stress!! Not much sleep all week, then crashed yesterday afternoon and today. I'd go walking today with the doggie, but she refuses to do anything when her back gets wet and it's raining. Silly thing...it's funny at times, but so frustrating too. Keep in mind that most of the time it uncludes going potty too. What would she do if we lived in Seattle?

Did any of you walk? If we band together (maybe I should have called it a walking challenge and given a deadline?) we could knock this out in no time.

So, I got rid of all the high fructose corn syrup and most enriched stuff. I also got rid of hydrogenized oils (since they're bad too). All that is good as long as I eat home! But, I'm determined to do this and do better in this department. I also got a lot of organic foods too. Do you know how hard it is to buy "bad" foods when you cut these three little ingredients out? I even had to buy organic ketchup. Weird. But, now I don't know what I'll eat them...maybe some brats?

OH, and I didn't buy Ezekiel (sp?) bread. But, I did finally find (after searching) a wheat bread that doesn't have HFCS that I don't remember tasting bad. I'll let you know how it goes :)


I'm so excited!! I bought my first save the tatas t-shirt and bag. I've wanted one for a while, since the issue is so near and dear to my heart (see post below). I'll let you know when I get it!!

Blogger questions

Anyone know how to widen the columns of a layout that you got from a free website? I don't like the wasted space and narrow columns.

Also, I will add my blog reader list later this weekend. Too much work. UGH. Wish me luck!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

You may have noticed I've changed my blog layout...I chose pink to represent Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
We all know a woman that was unfortunate to have gotten breast cancer. I happen to have 3 survivors and 1 that passed away from breast cancer in my family (plus my best friend/mom to ovarian cancer). I still can't bring myself to do more than the little things (donate money and buy products that donate money to breast cancer research)...it's still too painful and just as I write this little blurb I find myself with tears in my eyes, but I hope that my little effort can help.

I heard on the radio that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. If that's true, then why can't we do more to find a cure!! One that actually cures and doesn't poison our bodies and kill good cells? I used to think that breast cancer was the survivable disease...until my aunt passed away from it. Now I know first hand it's not.

There's research out there that says that self breast exams are not actually predictive of survival rates. That there's only a couple (I think out of a hundred) difference between ones that don't and ones that do. It's easy to reduce these to numbers. I whole heartedly believe that it saved my 29 year old cousins life. Maybe she's 1 in 100 (or 10000), but if it's your life or your best friend or your mom....wouldn't it be better to take the chance? Also, this is one study. One.

SAVE THE BOOBS!! Fight for your future and life!
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P.S. I know that heart disease is the most prevalent...with it being the number one killer of middle aged and above men and women. However, it's not cardiovascular awareness month.

Walking

Now that I'm feeling a little better I'm going to start my walking again. I've been told that we're supposed to do 30 mintues/day for good heart health anyway...and that's that most important part! The second would be the little doggie I have that wants to walk so, so badly :)


Anyone wanting to join me to knock off some miles is MORE than welcome to check in with me. Every Sunday I'll re-post how many miles to go. I'm doing D.C. Washington, D.C. (cause I've been there) to Jacksonville, FL...cause it's Florida!

So far I've done @ 6 miles. So, I have 700 to go till Florida :)

cheerleader for you, on a diet

Ok. Apparently I was wrong. I'm so a cheerleader for this book it's redulculous. It explains everything I needed to know. It nerds out eating, but in a readable way, which is something I needed! Love, love, love the explainations. I was hoping it was going to help, but secretly thought it'd be like all the rest. Nope...it clicks with me.

It even explains the high fructose corn syrup stuff. The background is important, but I can't possibly tell you about it all so I'll give you the short version. Apparently HFCS doesn't shut off our hunger enzymes or chemicals in your body. Therefore, you want to eat it more and more. It's worse than sugar because at least that shuts up the hunger stuff, if only for a moment. I always heard HFCS was bad, but never knew why (and too busy, ok lazy, to figure out why). I'm sure the guest at MF's place said it, but without the long version it never made sense.

I thought once I was done with this book I was going to give it away. But, I think you'll have to get your own copy! Maybe I shouldn't give away all the good stuff then, huh?

Not a you, on a diet cheerleader

Thanks for your opinions! I suppose the message is that if it's important you should do it anyway? I knew that part, but really...I don't want to choke stuff down to be healthy. I want to enjoy food still! I'd be more likely to stick to it if it tastes at least ok...if not good.

I think what I'll do is try different whole grain breads and pastas again. I'll try Ezekiel bread if I get the chance or feel a little braver later. I just can't throw out more food that's healthy but gross...no one can afford that, but especially not on my budget!

You, on a diet. I just have to say that they really emphasize belly fat. I don't have a lot of belly fat for a bigger girl. I carry it on my hips and leggs more. They say that you *should* be below 32.5" in the waist, and anything over 37" is in a more risky level. I do have @ 32.5" and considering I weight @ 205 it's impressive to some. Until they see me try to buy pants @ a size 16-18 but still fit my waist! Anyway, I still think it's important to read the book and follow what they say. They say that they will be informing us of how food works in our body, so I'm excited to get to that part. But, in general I want to lose weight so that I don't have as many joint issues as I have (or will have). Plus, I have a family history of cardiovascular disease, so every factor I can take into my own hands needs to be addressed!
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updated 11:20am: I'm not trying to be their cheerleader (but, hey, I think I ended up doing it anyway). They promote low fat but also low refined carbs. We all know this is bad, but what makes the book more appealing for me is the reasoning they go through (historic issue plus some of the bio behind food in our body). But, here are sites so you can make up your own mind...if you even care about it :)

Barnes and nobles overview
Their Real Age Page
Recipies they posted in good housekeeping