Day 77: When faced with cheese lasagna... you eat the lasagna.

Ah, back from Basel! Ein Wünderschön Stadt!

It was beautiful, 33 degrees C every day, so I melted, but enjoyed every minute.

I also got slightly smarter, from the whole workshop aspect, that was really the point of getting to go to Switzerland in the first place. It was great to explore a new city and with my excellent map-reading skills, I managed to walk up and down and around one street I wanted to find three times before realizing I was there! A good workout, indeed.

It is a town full of hills and hidden staircases, which I can handle now, without too much huffing and puffing. I was especially aware of the older Swiss folks, who are remarkably fit and spry. Sure, some of them need a snazzy umbrella-style cane to help them wander about the twisty lanes, but they don't let a little balance issue affect their ability to get where they want to go.

I hope to be wandering about with gusto 50 years from today.

In the evenings I went a little crazy with the Japanese food... good, not too heavy, clearly visible vegetables (i.e. not buried under cheeses or sauces). The first night, as I tried to find a shady place to stop sweating, was a delightful noodle house: my choice, a cold ramen meal with chicken and fresh veggies. Delicious and immensely satisfying... though hard to stop myself from eating all the ramen noodles.

The food at the workshop was a little harder to handle. When faced with cheesy veggie lasagna or nothing, you eat the lasagna. I had a little panic about the missing protein, the overabundance of non-PCP items in the meal, but at some point I started breathing normally and moved on with my life.

Moments like that are helping me to cope with the 'what happens next' question. Next being the rest of my life. What happens being, trying to stay healthy, muscley and at a weight near my present one, not my former lifestyle that meant I was carrying around an extra 7 kgs. I'm still feeling a bit angsty about this one. I guess I've got 13 more days to figure this one out.

Day 73: New Pics and a Trip to the Land of Chocolate!

I'm off to Switzerland for 4 days. Away from the comforts of my exercise nook and digital scale and into a land of rich milk, cheeses and of course, chocolate.
Chocolate near Basel, Switzlerland (52 results)

Do I buy a treat for post-PCP or just avoid temptation all together? Actually more than chocolate, I'm looking forward to some good breakfast muesli with yogurt, grains and fruits all mixed together in this wonder compote where the grains are tender and everything is super delicious.

Maybe I can count my morning fruit in with breakfast? Oh, if only breakfast buffets were arranged with all foods separated by type for appropriate PCP-gram estimations! At least I can trust that they will have boiled eggs and the buffet, though probably soft-boiled... it is Europe, after all! Wish me luck!

Day 71: SUMMER approaches and I'm already feeling smarter!

I'm becoming slightly obsessed with how to keep my good habits post-PCP. Which coincides directly with taking a long 2.5-week trip away from the good habits of home, on the day after finishing the program!

I'll have a mini-trial this weekend as I go solo to a workshop in Switzerland, a land of deliciously rich cheese and unweighable buffet breakfasts. I'm hoping I can jump in my hotel room without a riot from fellow hotel-dwellers. Has anybody tried this? Otherwise I'm bringing my running shoes and there seems to be a lovely river nearby.

Perhaps this planning for the future, rather than the right now, is my way of coping with the current multiple reps, groaning through sets, cursing at my resistance band stage. I am pushing through and doing all my sets... but I'm upset that failure still feels like failure to me. If I can do 30 Davincis on the first set and then only 13 on the last one, how is that not a shortcoming? An actual failure on my part?

I've lost 7.5 kilos now and I am comfortably at a weight that I last saw probably 14 years ago. This also means my formerly too-tight pants are too big for me now, too. Even some of my skirts fall down. Bizarre. I think I'll work on learning how to do alterations over my summer vacation. Here's to summer, one-half day of school away, and counting!

Day 70: Mustering up some strength

It is probably the stress of finishing up my first year in a new school and the new German class I just started, coupled with the requisite food prep. and workout time of PCP, but I am EXHAUSTED. Almost too worn out to be enthusiastic about 20 MORE DAYS of PCP!

but not quite.

I had a 1-hour window between school and German class this afternoon in which to do my jumps. Instead I put on my all my workout gear and fell asleep on the couch, which made me late for class.

Now I am cursing the neighbors setting off fireworks and blowing those #@%! horns for the World Cup that keep me from sleeping.

In a few hours, I will be cursing at the birds that awaken me with their 4am singing (that is right before the sun comes up). Grrrr.

The time of day when I like to still have my eyes shut.

Only 20 days left of getting into peak condition, but my grumpiness refuses to leave! Hrmph.

Day 68: Keep On Truckin!

22 more days people!

Don't let the 90-second planks get you down!

Kalasipalaya. Keep on trucking.

from a truck in Bangalore, India

Day 67: Pavlova and Other People

It was the end-of-year shindig.

I ate some Pavlova.

I was trying to just eat the berry topping, granted, with a dollop of cream and ended up having some of the crunchy, sugary, egg-whitey merenguey-ness too. So sweet! Eek! I realized that not only was it waaaay over the top with sugar, but that if I ever eat that dessert again--it is quite a thing of wonder to behold--I should only ever have a bit of crunch with my berries. Because the berries are really the delicious part.

This party followed the staff luncheon: lots of homemade salads and sides, sufficient vegetables and a BBQ provided by my employer. Of course, this is Germany, so while I had hopes of grilled chicken or turkey or something fowl, the real choices were: pork, pork or pork. Oh yes, when you ask there is some variety: pig stomach, steak (made of pig), or bratwurst (also from our dear friend, pig), so at least it's not all the same, right? Oh, German cuisine.

I needed my 90 grams of protein, so I headed across the street for a bagel chicken sandwich. I guess pre-PCP I ate these things regularly and found them quite tasty, without giving much thought to the additional flavorings included. But now I find the mustard/cream cheese/layer of mystery spices not only excessive, but kind of gross, too.

Also for my birthday, my kind co-workers supplied cakes, jello shots and granola bars. I said 'thanks.' I can't really ask people to find the joy in raw bell peppers, if they're not already so inclined.

It is a strange thing, the connection between sweets and pleasure; chocolate and indulgence.

As I continue to be more visibly fit, I find that my appearance seems to make other people feel uncomfortable. Though I'm not trying to 'flaunt' my new physique, just having lost weight and gained muscle seems to make those around me nest their compliments with self-directed critique. I didn't expect that by getting in better shape I would be making people feel inadequate, rather than inspired.

Much more eloquent thoughts on this topic from Pingu:

http://thekungfubody-emily.blogspot.com/2010/06/do-you-hear-that.html

The other weird thing about people commenting on my weight loss and fit physique is the thought: "I must have been huge before! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

chunky hedgehog and healthy hedgehog

New pics going up now!

Day 64: The Importance of Being Regularly Fed

I almost lost it today on the pistol squats.

I was five seconds away from turning into a pool of tears and muscley mush on the floor.

drawing by Dane

This is how we would look without any bones in our body. We would be a blob and we could not stand.

(I love the internet for pictures like this!!!)

I couldn't get up from the squats starting in the third set and kept pushing through the fourth. I gave up the fifth altogether... because I realized I would either disintegrate into tears or move on to the next exercise and be able to finish my workout.

I moved on. Then realized that the reason I probably fell apart was because I put off my afternoon snack until 7:30pm. If I going to stay at school for 12 hours, I've got to pack some more meals!

I'm with Todd and Mikhael on this week's workout... still tough, still a challenge, even after nine weeks of 'getting used' to these workouts. I'm still hoping I can be strong enough to get through these next few weeks. Still carrying the pig!

Day 63: 9 Weeks Down!

Go Team Running Rats!

Beautiful sunset here... seven more days of school. Then I can focus on becoming my most awesome, buff self.

In other news, I spoke about eating well and knowing where your food comes from and the need for unprocessed foods in our lives in German class today. Not only a real conversation starter, but I could make myself understood auf Deutsch!

I've been so busy with PCP, teaching & end-of-year wrap-up, and German, that my capoeira practice has slacked off. I'm hoping I can get back into the swing with that soon. Otherwise my goal of doing some awesome gymnastic moves will be unrealized in the 90-day timeframe I was hoping for.

Well, good luck to us all as we enter WEEK TEN!!!! Yay RRs!

Day 61: Unsatisfied

It's a weird way to feel on your birthday.

I'm stuck in between being lackadaisical and feeling defeated.

Concern #1: Hunger

I thinking I'm not eating enough vegetables when Patrick says AMAYW (as many as you want) for lunch and dinner.

Concern #2: Enough of the Salads

Having had out-of-town visitors, I would accompany my guests to good German restaurants where the only thing remotely PCP friendly was, you guessed it, SALAD! I've eaten so many. Somtimes two in a day. Enough!

Concern #3: The Six-Pack

It's not a make-or-break for me. I still have some stomach fat and little rolls when I sit and stare at my stomach. (I try not to do this often) I don't think the six-pack is coming for me. And I don't really care. The not caring is the part that concerns me more. If I'm doing this whole 90-day project, shouldn't I care? Am I just saying I don't care because I'm feeling anxious that it won't happen? No, I think I really don't care!

Concern #4: Lack of Abs

I know, this ties into the prior concern, but I still feel really weak on the V-Sits, Bicycles (which are more of a leg workout than the abs--Thank you Jason! I'm glad I'm not the only one with this concern!) and the not-even-close Kung-fu Sit-ups. I probably need to crackdown and finally do that 8-minute ab video. Hrrmph.

All of this is probably not made better by my avoidance of my workout until now (after 9pm here). At least the sun is still up. I've got to get to it!

Day 60: Logistics, Milestones, and Making it Work!

Congrats to all my Running Rats!

60 days down and we're looking good!

It's been a busy week, so I've been thinking about blogging, but not getting to it.

Just celebrated my 10-year anniversary, 33 years of me (tomorrow) and my 60th day of PCP!

A spontaneous trip to nearby Coburg and their all-night weekend flohmarkt (garage sale/flea

market that takes over the entire center of the city) was the way to celebrate.

It was a bit of a disaster food-wise, as my spontaneous planning did not involve bring hard-boiled eggs with me or remembering my food chart. But after 60 days, I've learned that sometimes you just have to accept that life isn't always lived precisely within guidelines, and although you ordered the wrong soup, because it has cream... everything will be okay.

The first look at the castle... far, far away

I substituted jumping today for a serious hike up the town's hill to visit the castle. The problem was starting on the adjoining hill and seeing the castle and then realizing one must first walk down a valley and then up the real hill that the castle was on to get there. I rediscovered my butt muscles.

Taking the stairs to the top, shorter, but harder!

The view from the top

Leaving with smaller pants, and wearing an emergency belt purchase: clothes to fit my new body!

Tomorrow is my birthday and so in following German tradition, I must bring in treats! This was a bit tricky, since baking usually involves sugar and salt and cream and other taboo food bits. I compromised with a zucchini basil muffin recipe. Savory, not sweet. Minimal sugar (less than 1/4 cup in 20 muffins) and salt (a generous pinch), as I'm a little superstitious about what will or won't happen with the baking chemistry if I leave these things out.

As I close, I'm watching the Germany vs. Australia World Cup game. Those damn horns make it sound like I'm surrounded by a swarm of bees and people set off fireworks whenever Germany scores. It's freaking out the cats!

I'll just imagine the bees are rooting for us all in the next 30 days. Go Team Running Rats!

Day 55 and counting!

Time to take after Ren, Todd and other food mavens and post my food pics!

Life has gotten considerably better since the farm deliveries to my house began. The weekly bins include milk, hearty bread and mystery produce! Each week there's something different. It helps with the variety thing Patrick is always pushing us to have in our diet. However, there is always some troublesome item that I have to figure out how to cook. This week's challenge was not-sweetened rhubarb. Here were my results:

Garden ends casserole!

fennel, kohlrabi, leeks, rhubarb and some chicken hiding under it all

spiced with tumeric, marjoram, balsamic vinegar and some chicken broth

I decided rhubarb was a vegetable, what with its stemmy-ness and its celery look-alike qualities and baked some for my evening veggies and for tomorrow's lunch.

Baked rhubarb with yogurt, cinnamon and light touch of maple syrup

The yogurt w/rhubarb was sour, but tasty. I'll report back on the casserole after tomorrow's lunch!

Day 54: The Bad, the Good and the Things That Keep Me Up at Night

First the bad:

• My chest dips are like shoulder shrugs. I can't find two same-height surfaces that don't make my wrists hurt, that are a reasonable distance away from each other. I tried the kitchen counters (too far apart) and even climbed in the bathtub to try that today (too low)!

• I'm afraid to go too low in my push-ups-- the fear of smashing my nose on the floor when I lose all muscle control-- so I'm not going down as low as I think I should.

• My kung fu sit-ups don't work because my arms are too tired to hold my body weight at the end of the workout. I can't get my legs straight or to 90 degrees, let alone hold them for a moment and hold a breath. This makes me feel wussy.

• My biceps and shoulders seem massive to me... which makes me think I'm overcompensating with these stronger muscles and not working out others as much.

• I also feel bad that thinking these muscles are too big... I am feeling good about my body, I should like all of the new muscles equally!

• I'm not sleeping enough. The sun being up until after 9pm and rising around 4am isn't helping at all!

Maybe not bad or good:

• I was too out-of-sorts post-Indian food to eat the chocolate gelato I was craving... so I ate a cookie at my favorite coffee shop today... many hours post-indulgence time.

Okay, now the good:

• Size 8 pants! Or 38 or 40 in Germany, depending on the brand. Size 42s are a thing of the past...

• I'm enjoying the food still. Even kefir... even plain yogurt... even (dare I say?) egg whites! If you aren't eating frittatas as a way to have eggs and protein and veggies, you aren't living. They are a most excellent breakfast.

• I am a bajillion times stronger than 54 days ago.

• Jumping rope felt fun and easy today.

• I'm doing my workout every day.

• I'm still getting compliments from people I see every day.

Now the worries:

• Is it normal that my wrists hurt every day?
• Should my knees make horrible cracking noises in the creep and pistol squats?

Ugh. Time to get some sleep.

Day 53: Indulging!

Dear Body,

I understand now why you crave creamy, spicy, super flavorful foods. They taste good. But those heavy foods are too much work to digest, sap you of strength and generally make you feel about as motivated as a rock. Food that makes you feel good involves crunch and plants and sometimes a bit of grilling.

That 2-hour nap you had to take today after Indian food-- yes, it was delicious butter chicken, chili ginger naan and a sweet, but not too sweet mango lassi-- shows what hard work it is to break down this kind of food into something useful for you. So let's stick to the good stuff, okay?

Thanks.

the rescue salad... crunchy, but salty

Day 50: Hanging out with the Italians

Me with a teddy bear, not my Italian friends

I'm still following my eating and jumping and working out regimen with visitors from out-of-town. We ended up at a really tasty organic food restaurant in the touristy town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber today. Beet soup, scallop with warm veggie/lentil salad and green salad made for an excellent lunchtime feast. I think my friends think I'm a little insane with the banana-milk-egg white dinner. I agree with them on this point and pine for the time when I can eat with others in the evening again.

Happily they cooked dinner tonight, which means I will have some killer lunch pasta tomorrow.

Italian friends serving up some awesome-smelling-looking pasta

I'm definitely looking forward to a planning my future indulgence in a dinner out sometime this weekend.