Bend & my gut feeling...

I went to BEAUTIFUL Bend, Oregon for the long Memorial Day weekend with my hubby, one of my best friends & her boyfriend. We had never been, they had. We rented a little house a few blocks from downtown and definitely fell in love.

Sabrina is GF/DF because of Rheumatoid Arthritis and we eat healthy normally so we decided to bring a little bit of our own food! I brought fruit, Mary's Gone crackers, bacon, and 2 bottle of wine :) Sabrina brought veggies, hummus, chips/salsa, and eggs. During our trip we walked over 8 miles on both Saturday and Sunday on hikes and around town. It was so great to walk almost everywhere we went and I managed to get in a barre3 Bend class {or course}!!!

PDX storms barre3 Bend!

My plan for the weekend was to enjoy myself, eat what I wanted but not go crazy. Since it was our first time in Bend, which is known for great restaurants and even better breweries, I knew I'd drink beer and have a few foods off my normal plan. I don't consider this "cheating" because the definition of cheating is: getting a reward for ability by dishonest means; finding an easy way out of an unpleasant situation; or breaking the rules. Sure, I was "breaking" the barre3 challenge rules and how I eat most of the time but I believe in the 80%/20% rule and stick to it almost every day. So a few days "off" wouldn't be too bad...right?!

Sam, Sabrina, Jason & Me

My food for the weekend went a little like this...

Friday - Driving down
- 1/2 a wrap from NS and 1 pint worth of two sides from NS.
Saturday.
- Homemade eggs, bacon, fruit
- Pulled Pork with potato salad from Crux Fermentation Project
- 1 piece of pizza from 10 barrel
- 4 beers over 6+ hours
Sunday
- 3 eggs baked omelet & a bowl of fruit from Victorian Cafe
- Snacks of veggies/hummus/chips/salsa
- 1/4 of a hamburger & 1/2 serving fries from Worthy
- 3 beers over 4+ hours
Monday. Drive home
- 2 eggs with Veggies & a cup of steamed almond milk

Smith Rock

We hiked around - not up & down {risk of falling too great}

barre3 after the hike. 

I promise I did not ever have that pole in my hand during the hike!

I want to talk about my dinner on Sunday {and the real reason for this post} which left me with a weird feeling in my gut. Literally and figuratively. We went to the gorgeous brewery Worthy which is a few minutes drive away from our house & downtown Bend. They had a GORGEOUS outdoor area where we luckily got sat. It was in the sun, we had beers in our hand. And I'd been craving a cheese burger. But not any cheese burger, I knew the one I wanted from the Island Cafe in Portland but I thought any cheese burger would do. I debated for 15 minutes as to what I was going to have and decided to order a burger & fries "because I'd been craving them". Before I even ate the burger I was full from the water on our hike and snacks I'd had after it.

What I believe now is that I was craving what the old Annie would have wanted in that situation. There is still a huge part of my psyche that is the old Annie, especially when it's something I can't have often - a certain restaurant that isn't local, a beer that is only available in one location. It's the thought of not being able to get it again that drives me crazy. And that is crazy. Because feeling like crap isn't worth any food and I think I learned my lesson last weekend.

I'm going out of town for 2 full weeks {plus any additional weekends here & there} so I'll have plenty of practice eating out and making good choices. What makes me the most upset is that my barre3 family gave me SO many great ideas of healthy places to eat and since the people we were with wanted to eat at the breweries, I chose to also. I know I could have chosen something else but I didn't. Maybe next time I will...

Fingers crossed {that my choices keep getting better & better}...

PS. We cannot wait to go back to Bend ASAP!!!

back at it...barre3 challenge style!

WOW! Has it really been over a month since I've posted!?!? I kind of can't believe it but then what I look back at what I've been up to I can!

I'll definitely go back and update you on things that have been happening but starting today I want to go forward. Forward in all things in my life but mainly, the barre3 Spring Challenge!

This couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me! I'm allowed to do barre3 (granted - with major modifications) and I gained 7 pounds after this second shoulder surgery so my body definitely needs it. Yes, I know the number on the scale shouldn't mean anything but it's not just about the weight. It's about how my clothes fit and how I feel. My clothes fit tight and my body feel bloated!

I didn't do barre3 from December 31st - March 24th. It was, quite possibly, the worst 3 months of my life. I was so down about surgery #2 and not being able to do barre3 that I just gave up. Well, not all the way but was definitely more lax that I should have been (can you say CHEESE?!?!). But you know what, that's okay, to an extent. It's going to happen again (and again) and now I know how much I don't like the feeling of letting myself go! I have learned from the past and hopefully when a big event in my future comes I'll know how to handle it better!

I think the toughest part of the bulge is that I'm having to actually work to get it off! Up until last June when I had surgery #1 and plateaued at my weight I hadn't struggled to lose weight...it just came off! Lucky, I know!

I'm hoping this barre3 spring challenge will be my newest jumping off point! Here are the details...And, as with almost anything, you can make it your own! My fellow barre3 Ambassador Robyn is also blogging her way through the challenge and all things whole, good food! Check her out!

~ 4 studio classes per week
~ 2, 10 minute online workouts per week
~ Whole, fresh, organic foods using the barre3 nutrition guidelines

There is a menu plan but I'm not going to follow it each and every day because I just know my brain doesn't work like that. And that's part of the process - learning what works for you and your family. We work better when we have 4 meals per week planned and we can have them when we want!

Day One of food & earning my barre3 sticker!!

Day two Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie. +banana for Jason

This is the first challenge I've been able to do since I did the tester round of barre3 28-to-Great back in September 2012. I think back then I wasn't as ready as I needed to be...but this time I'm in. ALL IN!

Fingers crossed {that in 1 month I feel 100% better}...

there's always time for a little celebration!!

Last night my hubby and I dressed up, went down into Portland, and had a nice & fancy dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Harborside at the Marina! We had some celebrating to do {and some gift certificates to use}!

Jason & I :) Love him!!!

 



At first I went into this dinner and I was in a "I'll have whatever I want (likely something I shouldn't have) mood" but then once I sat down my conscious really got the better of me. Maybe conscious isn't the right word. My thought pattern went like this...

- I want the blackened chicken pasta with alfredo linguine.
- But, I had cheese a few days ago so I don't know if I need that much dairy today.
- Plus, I might have dessert which might have dairy in it.
- I still want chicken though. What about the Parmesan chicken? It's still dairy but not as much as the alfredo sauce.
- Order glass of Riesling.
- Talk to waiter. Tell him I do want the chicken pasta but I don't want the alfredo. Waiter suggests that we do a veggie medley on top of noodles that have olive oil instead.
- BINGO!

I forgot to take a picture of my dinner but it was delicious. It was the Parmesan crusted chicken breasts with linguine and tomatoes & fresh basil. It was fresh, it was light, and it was perfect & just for me.

I've said it many times on here and many, many more times in my life - YOU have to be an advocate for yourself. Whether it is going to the doctors or eating as best you can at a restaurant you are the only one who is truly looking out for you!!

it wouldn't be an Annie post if there wasn't a comparison picture!

left ~ April 2012

right ~ May 2013

Because I made the decision to change my meal I felt better about myself, I am proud of myself, and I ordered {almost} exactly what I wanted for dessert. If I had had my choice {and I did, I just chose something else} I would have loved to have had the cheesecake with berries and next time that is available I just might. This time, though, I decided to share the MOST delicious apple pie upside down pie with vanilla ice cream with my husband. There's something fun and intimate about sharing a dessert...and my husband always lets me have the last bite! He's sweet like that.

Have any of you made any good choices recently at a restaurant? Salad instead of fries? Sharing dessert? I'd love to hear how everyone out there handles eating out!!

Fingers crossed {that next time I go out I can make good choices}...

there's been a lot going on!!!

*a week off the wagon*

I had a week off the wagon, the week after Thanksgiving to be exact. I had been put on "barre3 rest" by my physical therapist because I strained my bicep tendon and kept using it so it kept hurting! For some reason...I couldn't get it together and ended up reverting back and sitting on my ass all day every day for a week. BUT I continued to eat well and didn't gain anything...

*no milk - minimal to no cheese*

For the past 2 months I've been milk free almost all of the time. There are still some items (prebought/processed) that I am sure still has milk in it but I haven't had cows milk from the carton in over 2 months. The milk was pretty easy to give up. Since I've stopped drinking cows milk I haven't had a single acne point on my scalp/in my hair. For, oh, the last 15+ years I've had acne in my hair. That's right... And now it's gone. All the way gone. I'm amazed.

 

The cheese...well, that's a different story. I've really, really {really} struggled to get off that. I've been off about 95% of the way for the past two weeks and I haven't gotten a new zit on my face since! It is amazing. My goal now is to reintroduce cheese in small, controlled amounts to see how much I can tolerate.

 

I'm not exactly sure what it is in the milk and cheese that made the acne stop. My PCOS specialist told me to try to stop - so I did. I definitely need to look more into the "why" part of it. But it's working so I'm not in a hurry ;-)

 

the cheese drawer. i pretend it isn't there.

 

*my first soy {anything}*

Last weekend we were out & about near Seattle {happy retirement to my father-in-law!!!} and stopped off at a coffee shop for breakfast. While there I decided to try my first soy hot chocolate. I needed a treat, or so I felt. And since it was a coffee shop, and not Starbucks, I decided it would be worth it. It was good...but some friends have suggested I try almond milk next time...which I will!

 

 *50th barre3 class*

On 11/19/12 I took my 50th barre3 class. It was also my last one before I was "barred from barre3". As I've written before, barre3 has changed my life. I've lost inches, pounds, and insecurities. I've gain peace, some balance, and a place I can go and be happy. There is nothing bad about barre3, nothing.

 

left: April 2012 {before barre3}

right: November 2012 {50th barre3 class day}

-17.15 inches off my body from the left picture to the right picture

 

With all that's been going on with report cards, stresses at work, stresses at home, money, Christmas, presents, and battles within myself I'm super proud of the fact that I've lost 5 pounds in the last 8 weeks. Only 4.2 pounds to go until my HUSBAND has to go to barre3!!! He agreed {well, he didn't have a choice} to join me. And two of the other instructors have volunteered their husbands too!!!

 

*standing up for what i believe in*

At the end of November there was a story about a woman named Siobhain Fletcher who ha PCOS and grew a beard for Movember...the event where men grew mustaches to support prostate cancer. I thought it was SSSOOO brave of her to stand up, speak out, and support a good cause. In my eyes she was SO brave. Brave to do it and brave to speak out about it. Then...the women of "The Talk" on CBS played this clip. I was disgusted!!! How could they make fun of this woman who was so brave? They compared her to Larry the Cable Guy. I seriously had tears in my eyes and was hoping that she will never see the clip! I said my peace on their facebook page...but I hope they take me up on my offer {or someone else} and invite women with PCOS on to the show to inform the nation. I doubt it will happen ~ but you never know!

 

 

While haven't PCOS isn't easy I am proud to be part of such a strong group of people!!! I love my "soulcysters"!!! 



labeling & portioning!

Part of my success has really been watching how much food I put in my mouth {aka portion control}. Seems simple, right?!? Well, not for me. That's why I got to where I was. My husband is the same way and I am proud of how far we have come!

One simple thing I recently started doing is labeling and portioning the leftovers for lunch. Sometimes my husband {who leaves for work before I do} would accidentally take the smaller portion. While I was sometimes secretly happy that I got more food for lunch, I knew that wasn't what I needed {but don't let yourself be fooled, I still ate the bigger portion}!

To aide in this I've started to label the portions, that way my husband can't grab the wrong meal when he leaves at 5am!

My method is simple. Small square post-it notes and a pen. It isn't anything special but it is working to help us control our portions! And I'm proud of myself for not color coding the tupperware like the freak organizer in me really wanted to...

J = Jason and A = Annie. Trust me - this method is husband proof!!!

1 = 1 portion
1.5 = 1 and a half portions

My husband generally gets 1.5 portions because he is just overall a bigger eater and guy {and gets WAY more WW points than I do}. It took me until about, oh, last week to realize this. We were talking about a picnic lunch we'd been on a few months ago and how I'd packed him the same portions as me and it wasn't near enough for him. He said that sometimes he needs more than I do to function and it really got me thinking how true that statement was. I DON'T need a portion of a man because I am a woman. *insert lightbulb moment here*

For the last almost 9 years I've been serving up equal portions when I make food because I thought it wouldn't be "fair" if he got more food. All the while I was probably over-feeding both of us, myself in particular.

Fair isn't always equal - especially when it comes to portions between a husband and wife.

Fingers crossed {that I can keep up the portion control good thoughts}!