HATING on Fit Working Parents?

Initially my first post back was supposed to be about my adventures at AIT, but this is a topic that really struck home with me.

Many people struggle with their weight. Around New Year's Eve each year people usually tell themselves that they'll start eating better and exercising. They usually take the wrong approach, expect overnight results, lose all hope....and eventually quit. They make excuses, return to their sedentary lifestyles and continue to make poor decisions about food consumption.

I struggled with my weight. I've tried numerous diets and workout plans, and expected immediate results. I was just like everyone else. But one day it hit me. I wasn't getting any younger, and enough was enough! I got on the health train and never stepped off. Of course it's hard. It requires hard work and dedication. But that is what I find so admirable about those who get on board this train.

I write this because of the hateful remarks people are saying about Maria Kang. 

She is just an average working mom, who just happens to take her health and fitness very serious. But what is so wrong with that? Everyone should take their health and fitness seriously. Without it, you will eventually become useless. Sure, it's a harsh thing to say, but we all know it's true. When your health is poor, it not only affects you...but your family as well. It can take quite an emotional and financial toll on you and your family. With just 30-60 minutes a day, you can help prevent that. And THAT in itself is worth it.

image via SFexaminer.com

I'm a working mom. Heck, I wear quite a few different hats, but my main full time job is in software. I get up around 5am and workout for about 30-60 minutes, 5-6 days a week. I also cook breakfast for me and my son EVERY morning. Then I take him to school and battle an hour long commute with traffic. Several days a week, I use my lunch break and work on our family business. I commute back home in the traffic once again and pick up my son from my mom's. Upon arriving home, I cook dinner and help out with homework. I clean, prepare meals for the next day...and again, work on the family business. And if my husband is home from the shop, then I spend time with him. It's a vicious cycle, but I make time for my health.

Maria is helping to bring health awareness to anyone who will will listen. Obesity is such a norm in our society, it is scary. NEWSFLASH: Kids are overweight. I've never seen so many "husky" sized pants in the boy section, until a few years ago. That size didn't exist when I was growing up. But again, it's the norm and most don't think there is anything wrong with this. Maria's posts on her blog and facebook page are made to inspire, but people LOVE to twist things around. And in turn, say rude things. 

Check out her blog and facebook page. You be the judge.
And if it's not for you, then carry on.

What's your excuse? - Maria Kang

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

If you go to any blog, or read healthy and fitness articles, they all have something in common…get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. It is true that sleep is required and beneficial to your overall health goal.

Your body repairs itself when you get ample rest, your muscles grow, and it aids in weight loss. 

                 Don’t believe me?  Do a simple google search.

But like many others, and probably yourself as well, I lack sleep. I used to go to bed at 10:30pm and wake up at 5:30 in the morning. I got a good 7 hours of sleep and I did feel good when I woke up. But life happens. You see, my husband’s a machinist, and has been one for about 20years. He’s done projects for others during his free time. He then decided to start his own machining business. Of course it’s a family affair, so I do my share as well. 

This keeps me up late at night. For me, the only time I can work on it is during those odd hours when everyone else is asleep. There isn’t much time, so when I really get into it, I end up staying up pretty late. That of course is not what we want. Not to mention the increase in cortisol levels which in turn does not help with weight loss.
 
I average between 4-5 hours of sleep per night. That obviously is not enough. But now that I’ve grown accustomed to this schedule, it really is hard to return to getting 7 hours of sleep a night. Recently I’m starting to feel more established with our online presence, the shop is busy with lots of orders, and I feel it’s time to back off from working on the business a few days a week. It's time for me to get some good sleep in. It’s not the perfect schedule, but it is much better than it was.


How much sleep do you get each night?
If you’re running a business, does it throw off your sleep schedule as well?

I Survived a Day of FUN Without Cheating

Family time is very important to me. I have a pretty big extended family. I have A LOT of cousins; 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, etc. Heck, it seems like everyone is an aunt, uncle or a cousin. But I love it.

My weekends are usually full of chores, meal prepping, and doing homework with my son. But I try to include some fun. 

    What's the purpose of life if you're not enjoying yourself?

If I do have plans to have some fun, all of chores are compressed into a single day. This past weekend, my fun day was on Sunday. Breakfast and then a birthday party. 

I know right? 

This can't turn out good.

Knowing that I might "cheat" on my diet, or consume a larger amount of calories than normal, I scheduled my early weekend run on Sunday. I hit the weights the night before, working my upper body (arms and shoulders). Got a good night's sleep and went for a 2 mile run at 6am.

By 8:40am I was parking in front of Chop Bar in Oakland. They don't open until 9am, so my son and I decided to go for a walk and explore. Doing that is much more appealing than just sitting in the car and waiting. Plus, I got to take a view awesome shots of the architecture.

Knowing that we were going to come here for breakfast, I checked out the restaurant on yelp. Yes, I use yelp often. I found a brunch menu in their photo section and had an idea of what I was going to order. In order to stay on track with your health and weight loss goals, this is a really good way to assist you.

I ended up ordering the pork belly with cheese and onion frittata. It sounded delish and it looked good too.
 
Instead of the fries I asked for fruit. I had about 3 blueberries. My son and grandma ate the rest of my fruit. The bread looked good, but I easily avoided it and offered it to someone else. And I had 1.5 cups of coffee with a splash of milk.

I was full, but not completely stuffed and I enjoyed my meal. Not to mention the awesome conversations we were all having.

Afterwards, we all walked over to the Jack London Square. To get across the train tracks, there was an elevator and stairs at each end.

 

Can you guess which route I took?
Yes, the stairs.
 
We enjoyed the view and each others' company before parting, and then walked back to our vehicles. That get together was done and I don't feel guilty about my meal choice, and happy that I got to include even more physical activity in my day.

Now it was time for the birthday party...
This is where most people fail.
I feel like I started my day off on the right foot, so I continued to stay positive that I would continue to make healthy decisions for the remainder of the day. It was a child's birthday party at a park. They BBQ'd which was a total score for me.

I had a garlic sausage with some mustard, 2 bowls of chili, a water and a small cup of coffee with half and half. I really didn't sit much, I stood the whole time while conversing with relatives and other guests.

My son got to play with his cousin, so they were running around like crazy, which is awesome. Instead of a birthday cake, my cousin made some appetizing cupcakes. Aren't they cute?

     
I was quite satisfied with all I had just consumed that I really didn't feel a need to cheat with a cupcake. And surprisingly, my son didn't want one either. He opted for watermelon, and then some marshmallows. I am pretty strict with his diet, and he was burning a crazy amount of calories by running around....I let him have the sugar.

So that was my family fun filled day of eating out.
Just goes to show you that even though you go out, you can still plan it in a way where you don't drift from your diet. If you think about it, there are things you can do to help you stay on track.




How are you when it comes to family gatherings?
Do you find it difficult to stay on track?
What tips or tricks do you use?

Will a Mountain Hike Get Me Outta This Rut?

Let's see now.
I.....

- Was sick for several weeks.
- Then crammed in 5 days of running in a single week.
   (which was probably the most number of miles I've ever ran in a week)
- Completed a 5k (with sad results)

And now, I haven't ran or worked out since.

Yes, it's been about 2 and a half weeks since I've done any formal exercise. I'm in another rut. It's basically due to some personal and financial issues me and the hubby are going through right now. You would think that I would be super active to help de-stress, but I haven't. And then my sis planned a hike up Mt. Diablo on Sunday which I agreed to attend. I am definitely going because it's awesome there, but boy do I feel SO out of shape.

I gotta get back into the rhythm. Tonight I plan to sleep early so I can run or do an incline walk on the treadmill. An incline walk doesn't sound that bad since the side of the mountain we'll be hiking is quite steep.

I have hiked up this very mountain about 14 years ago. It's great exercise with breathtaking views. I am hoping to experience that again come Sunday.

My First Trip To Yosemite Totally Rocked!

Last month, the boys and I met up with my cousins in Yosemite National Park. I have always wanted to go. During the last couple of summers I kept hearing of more and more family and friends heading to Yosemite. I was a bit jealous. Once my cousin invited me and the boys, I accepted with the quickness. 

  
As we approached, the drive was full of awesome sights. Please excuse my pictures as they do not do them justice. It didn't take much to get me and lil man excited. I couldn't believe I was finally in Yosemite. My toe still ached so I couldn't run, (sniff-sniff). But I did enjoy all the walks. And we did A LOT of walking.

We rented a spot near Curry Village. (just the sound of the name makes me hungry) A nice little spot for our tiny tent. It really is tiny at 7ft x 8ft. But it fits a full size air mattress and 3 duffel bags nicely. We were near 5000 ft in November, so we expected some rain. To help shelter us we put our easy up above our tent. We went to bed early that night. It was right before 7:30pm. It was getting chilly and we snuggled under 5 layers of blankets. In the morning, I woke up to a snowy morning. I had such a huge smile on my face. It was SO beautiful. None of us expected that it would snow at our elevation. It was such a pleasant surprise which enhanced the beauty of the area. We enjoyed every minute of play time in the snow.

But look at what I found? 

What type of animal has a ginormous footprint like this? 

I really do want to know. 

Our camper neighbor across the way said that he saw a bear walk through our campsite around 7:30pm the night before. We had just gotten into our tent to go to sleep. I knew I heard something, and now I know that what I heard was the bear. Yes, Yosemite is full of bears. We have to store all food and anything with a scent (lotion, toothpaste, etc) in these bear lockers. None of these items can be stored in cars or campers either.

Well as it got colder, my cousin decided to rent a tent cabin in Curry Village. And well, we thank him for that because it did get quite cold. I believe it snowed another few inches. The tent cabins were cool. They literally are little cabins with a heater. There is no bathroom or sink, just beds, a chair and a set of shelves. And the bear lockers were right outside.

outside

inside

The one thing that the snow does not allow you to experience in Yosemite is hiking. So we'll have to return during warmer weather to do some hiking. It will be a different experience without the snow. But I think it will be just as fun.

I love living in California. We have the beach, desert, mountains, lakes, and snow all within hours of each other. I am blessed.

A Christmas Fatty

Um yeah, that would be me. Tis the season I guess. I didn't go into the Christmas season wanting to be a fatty, it just kinda happened. I'm sure many are experiencing this. Luckily it hasn't been too bad, but I admit to eating more than necessary quite a bit this month. Oopsie. You see, I'm a brown bagger. Meaning that I bring my lunch to work. I rarely go out to lunch. I'm pretty frugal and this way I have a better chance at watching what I eat. So when I go out to eat, I sometimes indulge.

I had lunch with coworkers TWICE in 2 weeks. One was at this neat pizza restaurant called Rocco's. It was good. I inhaled my 10-inch personal pizza. Good thing I got veggies (onions, olives and mushrooms) on a thin crust. The price was awesome too. I'd definitely go back.

The other lunch was at a Thai restaurant several coworkers rave about. Wat Phou Thai. Cool, now I got to try it out. The prices were awesome and the food was good. We had chicken satay and fried tofu as an appetizer. My meal was yummie chicken curry with white rice and egg rolls. I don't eat much rice anymore, let alone white rice. But it just goes hand in hand with curry. I was stuffed. It was good and I'd definitely go back.

Oh, and we can't forget the goodies at work. Orange Nut Bread and cookies. Yum! I mean who can resist these delicious cookies from C-Dog and his wife? Mmmm.  It was like a cookie buffet!

Initial thought was to eat a few and bring them home. Um no, that didn't happen. They were just TOO darn good. I ate them all in a span of 2 days. By the second day I was completely sugared out. I actually did bring home 2 cookies for my boys.

Tonight I'm sure there will be awesome food to grub on for Christmas Eve. I can't wait. And tomorrow we're smoking 3 racks of ribs and a tri-tip. My mouth is salivating. Yeah, did I mention that I really like to eat?

But even though I have been eating food that is not normally part of my everyday diet, I am still incorporating the good stuff. And my food portions haven't expanded much. I am drinking lots of water and green tea. I still have eggs every morning, and bring lots of fruit to work for me to snack on and help me stay satisfied. And I am still working out every single day. If you follow me on twitter, dailymile, or my 365 Workout page - you would see this. I've also started running again, so that's definitely going to help.

Like everyone else, it will be back to the grind once the new year begins. Good thing I'm still eating alright, so getting 100% back on track won't be terribly difficult.

So from my family to yours.....

My Vibram Buddy

Status On My Foot
So it's been a week since I started walking on the treadmill. I'd push it a bit doing a faster walk with a form that's similar to how I run. I actually jogged for a few minutes this last go round. The foot itself feels fine, but the toe feels a tab bit weird as I lift it off the ground (treadmill). Still has a bit of soreness which is frustrating. But still, I'm walking barefoot as much as possible and doing barefoot activities to keep my foot muscles strong. While in the parking garage in my Airwalks, or even barefoot at home, I'll do a bit of sprint here and there. My body is still aching to run. I'll continue to walk on the treadmill and evaluate the foot again this week. Stay tuned!

Vibram Buddies!
Next month, I plan to visit my good friend Sherry who has returned to running thanks to her new Vibrams. She stopped running because she was experiencing all those awful aches and pains that shod runners face. To stay active she would walk. But walking was boring for her, and she would end up running. And of course, the cycle continues and she would be in pain again. Sherry started doing more hikes locally and during her travels abroad.

I am hoping that during my visit, our Vibrams can meet. LOL Do you have a Vibram buddy? I am hoping to go for a run with her. That is yet to be determined. Stay tuned!

My First Race Next Year?
I haven't really thought about next year's races. I have been reading that many are getting excited and signing up for them. But with somewhat of a bum toe, I didn't want to depress myself. There are several races around Lake Merritt, and I asked Sherry if she wanted to one of the 5k's with me. She gladly agreed, and that's the only race I've really thought about so far.

It will be fun to run with a friend. I won't be going for PR, but for fun. I've never ran with anyone before. I do all my runs solo. I think it's because I'm slow. That's one reason why I haven't checked into any running groups in my area. Heck, I have no idea if I'd be able to talk when I run. (another reason) I guess I'll be finding out in a few months. Stay tuned!

Do you prefer to run with others, or alone?
Do you try to break your PR with every race? Or just run for the heck of running?

10 Year Cancer Survivor - Join the fight!

Last month, October, was Cancer Awareness month. I celebrated LIVESTRONG Day by wearing my yellow LIVESTRONG shirt during my first 5k. I also wear my yellow band everyday. I donated to Lee Denim Day at work. I also promoted #beatcancer on Facebook and Twitter. And Team Lagade walked in the ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in San Francisco. I do what I can to help spread the word. Not only in November, but throughout the year.

me before the walk

I H8 CANCER!

I really do. So many people I know are affected by this horrible dreadful disease. So may people I know, know others who are dealing with it. My cousin's friend's husband just passed recently. Why? My father in law lost a toe due to an infection that wouldn't heal. Why? Why does this have to happen?
Unfortunately, your medical professionals won't help you prevent this. Yes, the check ups are a good starting point, and they'll tell you eat right and exercise, but that's all they'll do for you. DON'T just count on your medical professionals. They see a great number of patients daily, so they can't keep track of you or check up on you unless you're in a hospital bed.

I spoke to my primary physician about my concern about getting breast cancer. 

Why?

My cousin had it, along with brain cancer, and she passed this year. RIP coz. She was in her early 40's. My aunt had breast cancer and is now a 10 year survivor. How remarkable is that?! Woot! Woot! I just had to share this info and express how I feel about this disease.

 Susan G. Komen Walk 2009

 Susan G. Komen Walk 2010

 

So what are the chances I'd get it? According to my doctor, she wants to start breast exams when I'm 35. Ok, cool. She told me about the BRCAI and BRCAII tests. Ok, cool. Let's do it! Doesn't it make sense to take the tests to see if I'm a carrier of a breast cancer gene? You know...try to be preventative here. But get this, if I am a carrier then it's noted in my medical record. AND if I do get cancer, guess what!

I would be UNINSURABLE. 

Yup! Can you freakin believe it?! UNINSURABLE. Say it with me...

un-in-sur-able

Yeah, so I'd pretty much get a big freakin EFF YOU from the insurance companies. What would you do at this point? Give it a think. It's pretty hard to swallow. Because of this, I opted not to take the tests and do all I can to be preventative.

Note: I have heard that there was an act that would make the insurance companies cover you even if you are a carrier. If it's true, it would be a great start. If you have info, please contact me.

YOU need to take care of yourself. I've said it before and I'll say it again - YOUR body is YOUR temple. Yes, eat right and exercise. Include cancer fighting food in your diet. Get enough sleep. One of the best sources of info is by Dr. David Servan-Scheriber. He had brain cancer. After conventional treatment, he beat it. But his doctors told him to go back to living his life as he did before cancer. You know what happened? His cancer came back. You see, even doctors don't have all the answers, so you must do your own research. If you've gone to his website and want more info, he has written a book called, Anticancer: A New Way of Life.


So what am I doing to be preventative?

• I exercise daily. I keep moving.
• I buy mostly organic food.
• I eat lots of fruits and vegetables daily.
• I limit red meat.
• I eat clean.
• I limit intake of high fructose corn syrup.
• I do not smoke.
• I do not drink alcohol.
• I drink lots of water and green tea.
• I even limit items I apply to my skin in order to be a natural as possible.
• I examine my body.
• I try to get 7 hours of sleep a night. (this one is difficult for me)

As you can tell, I'm very passionate about spreading the word about cancer. Life is WAY too short and precious. I was a teen once, and thought I was invincible. Even in my 20's, I figured I had lots of time. But in all honesty, you don't. More and more kids are dying of cancer. More and more adults are dying of cancer. It does not discriminate.

What are you doing to prevent cancer?

How are you spreading the word?

Join the fight. Lets #beatcancer!

Turkey Lunch, Dinner and the Aftermath

Hello to all the full bellied shoppers out there. I am avoiding Black Friday by hiding out at home. I'm not one for standing in long lines and crowds. But most of all, I'm not one for spending money as I am quite frugal.

How was everyone's Thanksgiving yesterday?

Did you over eat?

Did you fit in a workout?

Did you watch some football?

Thanksgiving Lunch
As mentioned, the hubby did quite a bit of smoking yesterday. He slept a few hours and then got up at midnight to place the turkeys in the smoker. We got up at 6:30am and he put the tri-tip and ribs in the other smoker. By 1:30 it was time to get our grub on. 

The turkeys came out quite moist, the ribs were falling off the bone and the tri-tip was full of flavor. The sweet potato casserole was as yummie as always. The sweet potato pie from my mother in law got rave reviews as always.  The dressing was a hit. And my dripping-less gravy turned out alright. I used the broth in place of water which I think really helped with the flavor. I'd say it was a success.

 fall of the bone ribs

 moist smoked turkey

 flavorful tri-tip

 group pic

 my lunch plate

Thanksgiving Dinner
As the hubby took the Coasties back to base, me and the little man headed over to my grandparents for a small Turkey Dinner. It had a bit of a filipino twist to it since we had 2 types of rice, stir-fry and lumpia. Mmmmm.

During our dinner conversation, the topic of fitness came up. My son was showing my dad pics from my iPhone4. (yes, this gadget is my 5th limb) It started with a pic from my first 5k. Then a pic of me in my Vibrams in Yosemite. Yeah, my dad is one of those people who does not want to feel anything but cushion under his feet. And, like many, question why I prefer to feel the ground.

I am happy to say that I did squeeze in a bike workout in the morning, and did not over eat. As soon as I felt full, I quit eating. I'm definitely listening to my body more nowadays.


Unfortunately I came down with a cold. Yes, I blame the hubby as most wives normally do. It started to progress throughout the night and I went to bed early on a vacation day. Ugh. I tried to stay in bed as long as possible, but I was home alone with the little man and I knew I couldn't leave him alone for long. Although he's pretty self sufficient, he's just 4. I plan to hop on the recumbent in a bit here, and spend the rest of the day nursing this cold.


I'd love to hear about your holiday feasts. 
My one friend Andy had 35 people over. Yikes! Brave man.
My sis and her boyfriend headed to Sin City.
One of my cousins had a quaint dinner for two.

Giving Thanks

In a few minutes, it will officially be turkey day. I am sad to say that I won't be waking up early to attend the Turkey Trot 5k I signed up for. I am super bummed about that. But in order for me to run again, I must continue to let my foot heal. This experience has taught me patience, and I can't wait to reap the rewards.

On a plus side, Turkey Day will be quite eventful for me this year. We are hosting a lunch at home since my brother in law is in California for Coast Guard training. We're smoking some ribs to feast on, as well as smoking TWO turkeys. I am bringing the other turkey to my grandparents for a Thanksgiving dinner.

DOUBLE the turkeys

2 different homes

TWO gatherings

I have never had a smoked turkey before, so this will definitely be interesting. Dan will be waking up in a few in order to start smoking them. About 30  to 40 minutes per pound. And we have a 18lb and a 19lb turkey. I am SUPER excited to try them out. Only downside is that I won't have the drippings for my gravy. I hope the broth from the neck provides enough flavor.

I know this will be a cheat day for most people. It may even be a cheat weekend. No matter what happens, be sure to get back to the grind come Monday. We've worked SO hard in our fitness journey, that we must continue on that path. So have your dark meat, gravy, potatoes and pie...but just remember that this is just a time to cheat and not to revert to our old unhealthy eating habits.

What's Thanksgiving Day without a word of thanks?

I would like to give thanks to those who motivate me. I read your comments on this blog and on twitter. It helps me stay focused on my goal to a healthier me.

I am thankful for my supportive husband. He doesn't understand the whole barefoot thing, but seems to accept it.

I am thankful for my son who understands that running and exercising is important to me.

I am thankful for the Lord. He has blessed me with this awesome experience we call life.

What are you thankful for?

And how did your turkey come out?

My Weekend

I had a crazy busy weekend. But then again, most of my weekends are pretty crazy busy even if they're just filled with chores.

Saturday
Went out for a nice and easy bike ride in my neighborhood. It was pretty chilly. I was in shorts and a shirt and my Vibrams. It was nice to get out of the house for some activity. Foot is feeling better. It actually feels like it did last Saturday before I ran on it. Yeah, um, I'm not running on it now. I'll let it continue to heal.
Cleaned like crazy. Shopped for some stuff for Thanksgiving and our Yosemite trip. Got us an 18.31lb turkey at Safeway for $9. Turkey Day is at my place this year again. My brother in law is in town doing some training at the USCG station in Petaluma.

Sunday
Rode the recumbent bike for a bit. Yeah, I focused on legs this weekend.

Headed out to Petaluma to visit with my brother in law. Went out to eat at Black Bear Diner and went to a couple of sports stores. And look who I found at Sports Authority?

I had to take a pic because I was with both of my sister in law's men that day. Paulie and her hubby. She got a kick out of it. I also bought a stability ball....finally.

Then we headed to the beach near Bodega Bay. Hiked down a muddy path to the beach. It was super nice out. It didn't feel like November. Even the fog decided to take a break and let us enjoy the day. We hiked back up and realized there was an easier path which wasn't muddy. Oh well.  My foot was feeling pretty good. I have been putting more weight on it and it hasn't complained....at least not yet.

After dropping off my brother in law we went to Big-5 to buy some gloves. Apparently it's going to snow in Yosemite this weekend. Yeah, it's going to be rainy/snowy and cold for just the 4 days we're going to be there. What can I say? We're just lucky like that I suppose. While we were there, I saw this ginormous camping chair. It was so funny that I had to take a pic.

I also bought my pull up bar. YES! I can't wait until I can actually do a pull up. My gym is coming together nicely.

I'd say this was a pretty productive weekend. But I've been so tired lately and not getting my 8hrs of sleep. (I know, so bad. And I really enjoy my sleep.) I went to bed at 7:15pm. I got a good 10hrs of sleep that was well needed. I wish I could've stayed in bed longer, but duty calls.