Food 101

So I may have stumbled upon the secret to energy - carbs! Ok, so maybe it's not a secret, but it's the only thing I can equate to me having energy back! Over the last week and a half I have been changing a lot of my regular foods and substituting healthy snacks that God made over unhealthy ones that a factory made. But in my quest for nutrition I've also eliminated a LOT of the bread, cereal, and pasta that I previously consumed.

Well last night I decided to make a homemade pizza using pita bread and that little guy seems to have worked wonders! I woke up easily and my energy level has stayed elevated all day! So now comes the task of finding "good" carbs that will keep me going without growing my waistline.

I'm also wondering if I'm getting enough potassium. Today, at my regular lunch-time walk, my right calf seized into a terrible muscle spasm and although I finished the campus loop, I concluded the walk looking like a pirate. I felt like I had a peg leg and was forced to hobble the last few steps of my walk. Jocelyn (my walking buddy and co-worker) suggested that I up my potassium intake by consuming bananas or pickle juice.

I despise the texture of bananas so today, I opted for the pickles and got two condiment "to-go" containers in the school's cafeteria. Now that I'm resting at my desk, my calf seems to be doing ok, but it looks like I will be adding bananas to my morning smoothie!

I've learned a lot about what essentials my body needs to operate correctly and I'm slowly learning where those essentials can be found. This whole journey has been quite the adventure!

Eating: The Good and the Bad

After I posted my last message about pushing through the pain and overcoming personal obstacles, I found myself eating my own advice. After work on Thursday I attempted to run the 1.3 miles around campus and halfway through found myself thinking about this blog and the pep talk I had posted that morning. My calves burned, my breathing was rigid, my mind was unfocused...in short, I felt awful. As I passed each academic building I found myself wanting to quit but realized that if I had made it 1.3 miles just two days before, there was no reason I couldn't make it again.

So I pushed onwards.

And about 17 minutes later I found myself stretching at the finish line! I was whipped but I had done it! And here's a picture to prove it!

Fast forward to Super Bowl Sunday. Exactly one week since I launched Tash 2.0 and I was hoping to see my hard work and diligence reflected on the scale. I mean, all those calories I've been burning had to go somewhere, right? I knew before my weigh-in that it may be too soon to notice a significant difference, and I convinced myself that feeling better was more important than reading the numbers staring up from the floor. However, I will admit that when the scale still read 140, I felt a twinge of disappointment. However, I'm determined to keep going - maybe 4 miles in 7 days just wasn't enough to transform 140 into 139 or 138.

In other news, I've been thoroughly exhausted. I ran 1.3 miles yesterday after work, made dinner, and suffered through a chapter of grad school homework before crashing - at a mere 8:30pm. I got nearly 11 hours of sleep and still feel like I could use a good 10 more!

I think the fatigue is because 1) I'm fighting a cold. 2) I may have eliminated an important "something" from my diet and by body is readjusting. (Before I get a ton of nutrition suggestions let me say that I'm eating lots of protein and drinking lots of water. I have however, cut back on carbs, milk, and processed sugar.)

Because I've been so tired I've skipped walking at lunchtime for two days in a row :-( and I also allowed myself to eat a chocolate chip cookie today. I know, I know, shame on me - simple sugars don't provide long term energy boosts, but I could either have eaten the cookie or went home for a nap (it was really that bad!). Now, two hours later, I'm slightly regretting the 180 cookie-calories but honestly, it helped get me through the afternoon grind.

Now, I'm not recommending that we all eat a cookie every time we're a bit drowsy (that's how I got to 140 pounds!), but I am saying that after much deliberation, the cookie seemed like the only option. I thought about posting a picture of it, but that would be shear torture and would certainly NOT help those trying to eliminate sugar, so instead here's this:

Each Marathon Begins with a Step

My first run took me 0.6 miles and made me feel great.

My second run (the very next day) took me 1.3 miles and made me feel like a superstar.

The difference? Not stopping.

This seems like an obvious deduction - if you don't stop running, you will run further - and yet the results of this truth transported me twice as far as I would have thought possible.

Please keep in mind that I have NEVER ran a solid mile. Not during gym class in high school, not when I decided to join the track team in junior high because my boyfriend was on the team, not ever. So to find the stamina, and perhaps more importantly, the willpower to run 1.3 miles is nothing short of a miracle!

And the craziest thing? It felt amaz-ing. Sure my calves burned (a LOT!) but the personal satisfaction, and utter disbelief, were euphoric.

So my challenge to you is get up, get out, and go. And when you think you have to stop, keep going. When you feel like you have to stop, keep going. And when you finally do stop, congratulate yourself for going further than you ever dreamed possible!

In the Beginning

Yesterday was the official launch of my Tash 2.0 campaign. So far so good... I've been monitoring meals, choosing healthy snacks, and my calves are sore from running yesterday (that's a good sign, right?) I'm hoping my motivation stays strong and that these calories will burn off before my stamina does!

At 5'1'', any extra weight I carry is easily shown on my small frame. And although I've always struggled with maintaining what I thought was an ideal weight, recently (i.e.: the last two years), I have grown increasingly disappointed with the way my clothes fit and how I feel in general. In high school, my body weight fluctuated easily but typically rested around 115 pounds. Now, at the age of 25, I'm at my heaviest ever - a whopping 140 pounds. Just typing that number makes me grimace. UGH! How did I let that happen?

I'll tell ya how, poor meal planning, a busy schedule that encourages fast food, a lack of exercise, and a job that mandates a lot of travel (aka = a job that encourages bad habits and excuses). But folks, that's all changing!

Although I haven't quite gotten the nerve to take and post pictures, I will soon - I promise. I'm still reeling from posting my true weight online for all the world to see! But I know that pictures will be a great method of tracking my progress and I'm sure I'll appreciate them later, when the 2.0 version is complete! I also plan on taking measurements of various parts of my body because let's be honest, sometimes inches matter more than pounds! I am currently wearing a pant size of 8 (in dress slacks) and 9 (in jeans). I think I carry most of my extra weight around my mid section (abs and breasts) so those are the areas where I'm hoping to lose the most. I also dream of having the slender, defined legs and arms of an athlete, so although I'm not the sporty type (I'm MUCH too uncoordinated) - I'm willing to try! If I had to choose an “ideal” weight I’d say 125. Well actually, if we’re dreaming, I’d say 120 but honestly, I don’t know if that number is feasible anymore.


Over the last several months the only real exercise I've gotten is occasionally walking my dog, taking a half hour walk on my lunch break (1.3 miles), and completing 20 pushups every night. The real kind. Not the girly kind. The pushups have helped form a wee bit of muscle in my back which helps off-set the load I carry up front. I see a chiropractor once a week and he has also noticed a difference in my back and says that I'm much easier to adjust. But that's about it. Sad, I know.

My new work-out routine (in addition to what I've been doing) is as follows:

M, T, TH - attempt to run 1.3 miles after work. I tried this for the first time yesterday and made it 0.6 miles before stopping - not too shabby.

T: Bike 2 miles on stationary bike

M & TH - do at least 1/2 hour of Zumba with my roommate at home

Every night: 20 pushups and at least 30 crunches using an exercise ball.

F and S: supplement "fun" activities such as hiking, swimming, biking with Sam (my dog), etc. My roommates are great at finding fun activities that gets the blood flowing!

Wed and Sun: mostly resting. (Let's be honest, if I stick to my routine I'll NEED a couple nights to rest and I'm a busy gal so having a two "off" nights a week will be a nice reprieve)

Obviously, as life happens, this routine may need to be tweaked or readjusted - but this a blue print of my plans. I hope this blog can track my progress, keep me motivated, and who knows, maybe even encourage others to implement (or continue) their own 2.0 versions! So strap on that pedometer, grab a bottle of water, and let's make 2012 the best year ever!