Operation: Slim and Trim

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A few weeks ago I assisted with the vacation bible school at my local church, and it was a very fun and worthwhile experience. However, the long evenings and nights wrecked havoc on my daily schedule, specifically for meals. I was eating “dinner” about four in the afternoon and by the time I returned home at 9:30pm-10pm, I was starving and would eat another meal. Six days of this caused a 5 pound weight gain and, with that, discomfort. So this week I decided to get back into a normal meal routine and also add a more consistent exercise routine.
Meals and Snacks



Yummy salad with a gluten-free toast.

So for lunch and dinners, I went back to simple salads. I prefer organic green leaf lettuce for the delicious taste and soft texture of the leaves. I top it with a handful of whatever sprouts I have (broccoli, onion, mung bean, fenugreek, alfalfa, etc.), nutritional yeast, and grown flax seed. I add whatever veggies are handy: green onions, tomatoes, peppers, and/or leftover steamed veggies. For protein, I’ll throw on a spoonful of beans, some tofu, or a gluten-free vegan patty (homemade or, rarely, store bought). For the salad in the picture, I was running low of vegetables so I threw a couple of green grapes on it. Then I put a little bit of homemade vegan Ranch dressing on top.

I am a carb/starch lover so to cut out grains from a meal leaves me feeling like something is missing, even though if I overeat them I feel bloated. So either I will add a small amount of brown rice pasta or brown rice to the salad or I will toast a gluten-free multigrain bread by Schar. My mom tried a homemade vegan butter recipe she got from a church member so I put a little bit on the vegan butter and sprinkled garlic powder, parsley, and crushed red pepper. The trick for me is to get the “Ahhh…” feeling without crossing the line to overeating.



A delish fruit bowl with grapes, strawberries, and a banana.

For a mid-afternoon snack and after dinner desserts, I have been avoiding the tortilla chips and salsa or hummus (though so good) and reaching for the fruit instead. I have been making a fruit mixture using strawberries, grapes (red, green, and/or black), and a banana. I sprinkle a very tiny amount of turbinado sugar on top to counter the tartness of the strawberries. A huge bowl and a cute cocktail fork make this the best snack/dessert and very filling. In fact, when I am done with this entry, I will make myself a mid-afternoon fruit bowl. (^_~)
Exercise

Diet will only help prevent weight gain or to lose some pounds, but if the goal is to slim down while improving fitness, then exercise is a necessity. Exercise is a little bit of a challenge for me as I completely despise sweating. Yes, even back in high school when I was on the Girls Varsity Cross Country Team, I despised getting all sweating. It is a mental block, I think, but one way I have found to counter this block is to implement a variety of exercises that I find enjoyable.
Walks

The first is a walk. When the weather is nice and not too hot or humid, which has been tricky here in Virginia of late, I will walk around the neighborhood. I live on a quiet street that makes a one-mile loop with a variety of flat land and hills, in the sun and under trees, so it makes walking enjoyable. I will go once or twice around the “loop”. Lately due to the excessive heat that just hovered over this area of the country, I have not been able to take a walk because even mornings and late evenings were just too hot to go outside without becoming drenched in sweat in minutes (and remember my aversion to sweat?).
Kettlebell Exercises



The 5 lb. Danskin kettlebell that I use.
The second is simple yet effective kettlebell exercises. I have completely fallen in love with the kettlebell, and it is my favorite tool right now. I use a 5 lb. kettlebell by Danskin; the compact, roundness of the kettlebell with the handle is more manageable for me and my small hands than many other dumbbell-type tools. Many exercises are so simple that I do them when I get out of the shower in the mornings, before going to bed at night, or at random times during the day. The kettlebell can be used in full body routines or to target specific areas, and I really like it for targeting my arms and upper body. Here are four basic exercises for anyone interested from Women’s Health.

Right now my favorite kettlebell exercise is the Figure 8. It is very simple:

1. Stand with your feet wider than hips-width apart, toes slightly pointing out. Squat down and hold a kettlebell with both hands between your legs. Make sure your back is flat and your abs are engaged.
2. Let go of the handle with your right hand and bring your arm behind your right thigh. Pass the kettlebell to your right hand.
3. Swing the kettlebell around the front of your right thigh, through your legs, and behind your left thigh. Transfer the bell to your left hand. Swing it around the front of your left thigh, through your legs and behind your right thigh, transferring the kettlebell to your right hand.
4. Go back and forth, completing these figure eights without pausing for a total of three sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Keeping your thighs, abs, and behind tight will not only stabilize you throughout the exercise but work on those muscle groups (which happen to be my “problem” areas). Keep the swing and pass of the kettlebell under control-not too fast-by tightening the muscles in your arms. I do about 10 reps in one direction (left hand in front of left leg pass through to right hand behind right leg) and then do 10 reps in reverse (right hand in front of right leg pass through to left hand behind left leg). It is fun and easy but really works the entire body!
10-Minute Workouts

This week I knew that I needed something more to counteract my sloppiness from VBS two weeks ago, but I am the type of person who quickly loses interest if I have to use equipment (even though we have a treadmill and a Total Gym downstairs) and if a workout is too long or too challenging, I will give up halfway through and not even try it again. So I went on the look out for challenging but fun 10-minute workouts. I found a lot of options on YouTube, but the one that I am currently enjoying the most is one by FitSugar:

Click to view

This is intense, challenging, but enjoyable. I am drenched in sweat by the time the 10 minutes are over (Eeeewwww…), but despite the sweat, I feel great! (I did hop into the shower right when I was done.) There are some other great 10 minute workouts I have tried and will use on occasion. Some are full body workouts and others target a specific area.

When exercise is enjoyable, I have the motivation to continue with it daily. Though it has been less than a week, I am already feeling some results. The soreness in my legs is not as bad as it was after the first day, my muscles feel tighter, and when lying in bed, my legs and core feel lean and longer… if that makes any sense.
My Goals

I have not weighed myself for two reasons: 1.) my scale seems to be sketchy and I am not certain I can trust it, and 2.) my goal is not weight (pounds) but size (measurements) as well as overall health and fitness. Besides I already know about where I am weight-wise and that, according to BMI, I am hovering on the border line between “normal” and “overweight” categories for my height. Muscle weighs more than fat; that is why my focus is to lose fat while building muscle.

So I recorded my measurements on Sunday and will re-measure once a week. I am more… blessed… in the hips and derriere while being rather petite in the waist and chest. At the moment, I am wearing women’s size 6 on top (or small) and women’s size 8 on the bottom, though some 8 pants/shorts are tight because of my thighs and derriere. My short-term goal is to slim down to a comfortable size 6 (4-ish on top, loose and comfortable 6 on bottom).

However, my end-goal is to see how slim and trim I can get. My last two years in high school, I was about 135-140 lbs. but my dairy allergy and wheat intolerance made me puffy and bloated so I have absolutely no idea how slender my body can and will get. This is a fun and exciting challenge.