So … this might be a little fancy pants for breakfast. But I was feeling a little fancy pants this morning. So I made some sauted chard with hazelnuts, dried currants, green garlic, and crumbled feta cheese. A squeeze of lemon juice, a dash of salt … a pinch of crushed red pepper. It was rich and complex and full of flavors and textures — chewy currants, bright feta, crunchy nuts.
I made this for breakfast, and now my day is guaranteed to be completely and totally amazing. It doesn’t have a choice.
On my run today I bypassed a person riding a bicycle. Sure … They were taking the biking equivalent of a leisurely stroll … But they were on a bike, and I left them in my dust.
Based on this evidence, I posit that I am now STRONGER THAN ALL OF THE MACHINES.
Also, this marks my most satisfying use of the phrase, “Excuse me, on your left,” to date.
After a very healthy Saturday and Sunday, yesterday I decided to DRINK ALL OF THE WINE AND EAT ALL OF THE PIZZA. Which is fine. I’ve been so ridiculously “good” in terms of my eating and my activity. And splurges? They can be fun and should be enjoyed. I enjoyed the HECK out of my splurge.
But today it’s time to dust off the pizza crumbs and get back on track … because in 18 days I will be heading to France and Italy … and at various points along the course of this vacation, I will be appearing in front of human beings (who happen to have EYES) in a bathing suit.
To be totally clear: I’m all aboard the “love yourself and don’t obsess about your vanity pounds” train. But I enjoy using goals — such as the France-in-a-bathing-suit marker — as motivation.
So … back on track with the goal sighted in … ready to rock and roll and maybe drop another pound or two between here and Paris.
Fastest five mile run to date. High-fucking-five!
Sometimes I like complicated. Risottos that require an hour of slow, coaxing stirring; meals where the sauce for a side dish has a dozen or so ingredients, emulsions, ratios, sweet sour balancing acts.
But most of the time, I like things simple. A hard boiled egg, leftover roasted beets from last night, sitting on my patio, birds chirping the bejesus out of the morning. This, friends, is where it’s at. Right here. Right now. Simple.
Lunch time was approaching. I had a random assortment of food stuff — nothing that necessarily looked like it was ready to be whipped into a meal. The boyfriend was all like “Let’s go get a sammich bomb,” and it was awwwwfully tempting. But instead, I threw a whole bunch of turnip and beet greens into a pan with onion, green garlic, fresh peas, and gnocchi and doused it in lemon juice. So much better than a sammich bomb. I win!
Wanna hear a secret? As of my impromptu weigh in this morning, I have officially lost 20 lbs from my highest weight. Actually … 21 lbs.
148.2 was my magic number. But let’s be real clear here … while I am enjoying the HECK out of this scale victory, I have learned over the course of this journey to lean less and less on the scale as an indicator of my success or failure. I am not doing this for a number, but for bigger things (energy! vitality! joy!).
I have almost entirely stopped weighing myself and I don’t do weekly weigh ins on the blog anymore. There was a loooooong stretch of time where I stayed right around the 154-157 mark where I KNOW my body was changing (dramatically!) but the scale didn’t budge. And so I stopped looking at the scale and started looking at things like:
- How do I feel in the mornings when I wake up? (Pretty awesome 98% of the time.)
- How do I feel after a good run or a yoga class or a set of pushups? (Like a boss.)
- Are my pants feeling looser? (Get me a belt!)
- Is that a whisper of ab definition I see? (Whoa! First abs appearance ever!)
- Is that a BICEP I see? (Damn straight!)
- Was that run faster / easier / more fluid feeling than usual because of how strong I’ve become? (Yes!)
- Do I feel joyful and energetic? (Indeedy!)
- Do I feel like I am exploding with vitality? (YES!)
All of THAT said … being under the 150 mark feels pretty darn good.
Have I mentioned my frittata obsession? Today, I took it to another level … With spinach, vegan chorizo, and cheddar cheese. I licked the pan … And then I licked it again. No shame.
Me. Every day. Bench pressing on Neptune.
I had to double share this one. Because apparently my new “thing” when I’m drunk is to challenge the people around me to push up contests. So … I totally get where this comic is coming from.
Also … Rawr!
Obsessed much?
Yeah — I am really into the photos from yesterday’s race. But only because they capture my best race to date. Longer. Stronger. Funner. All that stuff.
(And yes, funner is a word.)
In other news, I had a brief attack of insomnia last night that has rendered me very nearly delirious with fatigue today. After that run, getting up at 5am to attend that run, a 90-minute yoga class (in which the sub didn’t seem to know that it was supposed to be a MELLOW vinyasa class), I am not feeling awesome on such a tiny sliver of sleep. Ack. No bueno.
Bay to Breakers day! A fantastic (and crazy fun) 12k that crosses the width of San Francisco.
Possibly too much fun … And now for some post-run yoga.
Post PT bicep shot. My trainer was super tough today — and I loved every minute .. Even the minutes I hated.
I just love how strong (invincible!) I feel when I walk out the door. Rawr!
This week was … Boozy. Like … Very boozy. There was a wine country trip, a BBQ, a tequila tasting, lots of wine, whiskey shots, and then some more wine.
This isn’t the norm — which my liver is grateful for — but it was pretty seriously fun.
And then, at the Bay to Breakers expo last night, I ended up in a coconut water booth, where I chose to reenact my recent boozy past. (Side note: Coconut water, any brand, is my miracle hangover cure. This week would have been more painful without it.)
