New job, new challenges, new goals

So yesterday, I started my new job (cue confetti!!!)!

Two things about the new job and food:

1) They have unlimited "deluxe" powdered coffee.  You know the kind that you can get at convenience stores in authentic flavors such as French Vanilla or English Toffee?  Yeah those.  If you've never had the chance to try them, they're basically about 40 thousand teaspoons of sugar in a highly caffeinated beverage that tastes nothing like coffee and everything like drinking melted chocolate.  In short, it's delicious.   And it's free.

This may present a problem...mostly because being hyped up on caffeine AND sugar is not the best option.  Secondly, I probably won't like how that feels on a regular basis.  Thirdly, it's not good for me.  Fourthly? I really don't need extra calories in a drinkable form.

My plan?  Know that the coffee is there should I want it.  There are non-flavored, non-sugary options, but because it comes out of a machine, I don't get to pick how sugary or creamed the coffee is.  I can experiment with those options, or I can drink hot tea (which is typically my hot beverage of choice anyway). 

BUT should I really want the coffee, I'm going to let myself have it.  With the caveat that I need to be mindful about consuming it.  If I'm just going to down it while in a stressful meeting and not really savor it, then it's wasted calories anyway.  It might make sense to save the flavored coffee for times when I can really enjoy it.

2) The lunchroom is pretty far away from where my desk is.

Actually, this kind of sounds like it'd be a pain in the butt, but I think it will work in my favor.  First, how often do I go to the kitchen to grab something to eat just for a diversion to break up my normal work day?  Now, I can make the walk a part of the diversion.

The added benefit is that I get in some movement throughout the day. 

I can have some snacks at my desk (although I didn't see anyone actually eating at their desk) to enjoy in a pinch, but most of my items are fruits, cheeses, or meals that require refrigeration.  I'm hopeful that the distance to the fridge/lunchroom may help me decide if I'm actually hungry before eating.  If I am really hungry, the walk will be no biggie.  If I'm not, the long walk may be enough of a deterrent to avoid it.

Yesterday, I ended up eating more food (and food that wasn't healthy) than I had intended.  My boss took myself and another new co-worker out to a bar for burgers (no joke) and Joe and I had dinner plans pre-arranged at a local restaurant.  The dinner was excellent, but not exactly low-cal either.

If I want to look and feel better, I've got to take more control of my eating - at work and outside of work. 

And without any bad habits already marring my normal workday, I'm in a perfect position to set up some great guidelines for me.

Added to that, I get to go to work a half hour later than I used to - with a commute that's half what it used to be.  Running in the morning is going to make a comeback in my life without having to feel like I'm getting up earlier to do it.  I can get up at the same time I always did and still get a great 3 mile workout in.

The new job is going to be stressful enough - learning new people, new things, new cliques, and new unspoken rules.  Why not add some new healthy activities too?

Jumping...





(source)

  

Today is my last day with the company that I've worked for for almost 4 years. 

I've had the above statement on this page for a few hours now and I still don't know how to finish this post.  I guess I have conflicting feelings about the end of anything.  And I have anxieties about new beginnings.

I realize that when I left my other jobs/companies, there was an overwhelming sense of dread about the job when I woke up each morning.  I had to get motivated to go to work and give a crap.

But this job?  It has a lot of perks - one of which that I'm able to blog from my desk while at work.  My boss is a moron, but he's a controllable moron.  And I've been the number one person in our business (in the nation) for three years now - bringing in almost $10 Million dollars annually.  Yes, that's right...Happy Fun Pants is pretty good at what she does.

I think I stayed too long with companies and positions that I grew out.  I waited until the job was almost unbearable before bailing.  And I don't feel that sense of desperation with this job.  In fact, I wasn't even really looking when the HR person approached me about this new position she had.

And this new company?  Well, it'll be more challenging.  They'll have different rules and cliques.  

I still think it's a good move - and I'm excited about the new opportunities.  So why am I not really wanting to go?

I think it's because when I joined this company 4 years ago, I was at my highest weight.  I was miserable.  I was in an unloving relationship with a guy that mentally and emotionally taxed me.  I had a mortgage and expenses that I couldn't pay.  I hated myself - really.  I wondered what happened to this vivacious and confident person that I pretended to be.

I switched from that to where I am now - all within the last four years.  I broke up with the boyfriend.  I sold my house in the 'burbs.  I bought a new row home in an urban neighborhood.  I gained a sense of trust in myself.  I started to love myself.    I lost 55 pounds.  I started running.  I met Joe.  I struggled through our relationship.  I had surgery.  I recovered.  I started to grow and stretch myself into being the best version of me possible.

The whole time, I've been supported and loved by the people here.  The whole time I succeeded greatly while here.  This company helped build my confidence in myself -professionally and personally.

It's hard to let this company go...because it's like saying goodbye to a security blanket.

I know that this jump will be a good move.  I know I'll be okay.  It'll probably be fun and exciting.

It's time to jump.  I've got a luncheon to go to in about 20 minutes and then I can leave.

So, here goes nothin'....

3...
2...
1...

Does chocolate milk really do a body good?

I was lactose intolerant as a kid.  If I ingested milk or ate a lot of cheese or ice cream, I would have horrible stomach pains - alleviated by bouts of horrible things that happen in bathrooms that no one ever wants to admit to.

Fun kid, huh?

Anyway, back when I was a youngun' there was no such thing as Lactaid or milk substitutes...not really.  Know what I had on my Cheerios as a kid?  FORMULA.

I'm not kidding.  And in case you're wondering, it tasted as awful as you think it would.  Scratch that.  It tasted worse.

The thing that I admired most about the little Shannon in in my homeroom class (besides her shiny white blonde hair and the fact that her sandwiches had their crusts already cut off) was that she got to drink chocolate milk every day for lunch.

I LOOOVED chocolate milk, but because of reasons stated above, I knew I couldn't have it.

As I've gotten older throughout the years, I've been able to tolerate more and more milk in one sitting.  To where the only time I would ever get "sick" on it, would be if I really overdid it with a milk product. That was pretty rare with milk though...because I never really drank milk by itself when I was a kid, I don't really enjoy it now. 

I still love me some chocolate milk...but while I can overdo it on ice cream, cheese, milkshakes, or other products, I can't really ever overdo it on chocolate milk.  Something about it satisfies me more than just about anything else.

But like I mentioned in my POM juice post, I choose not to consume my calories in liquid form.  This means that I probably have never had a carton of chocolate milk in my house...until I started living with Joe.

This past weekend, we slept in...and when I woke up, I was famished.  Joe encouraged me to have a glass of chocolate milk, promising that it would help satiate me quicker than anything else I could reach for.

Turns out, he was right. I drank a small glass of chocolate milk and felt better in no time.  It took the edge off my hunger so that when we ate breakfast out (as we love to do), I wasn't so hungry that I was eating the tablecloth.

I harnessed the power of the internets and found this interesting article by the Eat This, Not That guy.  And he goes into a lot of information about why chocolate milk is the perfect before and after work out snack.  Surprisingly, he states that you're better off drinking 1% versus fat-free versions so that your body can get the vitamins that it needs.

And he's not alone in touting the health benefits.  Various sources on the internet claim that chocolate milk is a better and healthier for you than energy drinks.  One site lists information like:

•Nutritional analysis indicates chocolate milk is just as nutritious as regular milk.
•Chocolate milk contains about the same amount of sugar as an equal amount of unsweetened fruit juice. In fact, it has only one third more calories than white milk. The difference is equal to the calories in half a banana or pear.
•Just like white milk - chocolate milk is healthy for your teeth, since the cocoa, milk fat, calcium and phosphorus in chocolate milk can help to protect against cavities.
•Chocolate milk hydrates your body and quenches your thirst because milk is 87 per cent water. After physical activity chocolate milk helps to replenish your body's energy stores, and build and repair muscle.
•One cup of chocolate milk contains about the same amount of caffeine as decaffeinated coffee.

Obviously, I'm not a doctor (nor do I play one on this blog), but all of this information is prompting me to do my own study - on myself.

I've been looking for something to consume in the morning before I leave for work.  I'm typically not hungry enough to eat breakfast, but if I wait to long to eat (which usually happens when I get to work and the to-do list is overflowing at my desk), I'm famished and sometimes can't seem to catch up during the day.

So a quick glass of chocolate milk may actually be a winning combo for me - breaking my fast (from dinner the night before until when I drink the milk), and giving my body some much needed energy to at least start my day.

Having a cup before a run and after my run may also be a great way to fuel and re-fuel myself...and that's something that would be pretty exciting.  I can't eat or drink much before a race because I puke when my body starts getting active.  In the past, I've relied on energy chews (like fruit snacks, only ickier) to fuel my longer runs.  Now I don't have to endure that any longer....and those were in 100 calorie packs, so it's not like I'm going to be consuming many more calories.

I don't think that an all chocolate milk diet would be a good thing, but I feel like it might be a good addition to my daily consumption.

Have any of you all tried chocolate milk as a regular healthy addition to your life?  If so, what was your experience?

Feels like the first time...

This past weekend, Joe and I did our grocery shopping together.  Because of his crazy work schedule the past few months, this was kind of a big deal because it hadn't happened in so long.  We love to go grocery shopping together, typically to our local grocery store.  But we really love Costco.  I heart that store because I get to have wonderful fresh fruit all week long for a really inexpensive price.  Joe loves that store too - but it's mostly because he gets to eat the free samples.

It so happened that we happened to be at Costco around the 4-5 PM time frame.  Which meant that although we weren't starved, it was time to start thinking about what was for dinner.

We decided to pick up a rotisserie chicken and two other things I've never eaten before in my life.

First, Waldorf Salad.  If you don't know about this "salad" allow me to enlighten you.  It's like a fruit salad.  Ours had fresh chunks of tart green apples, red grapes, slivers of almonds, dried cranberries, celery, and a little bit of yogurt in it.  It was SO delicious! Joe has his with dinner as a separate side, but I had mine for dessert. 

It was fresh, tasty, and a different mix than what we would've normally put in a fruit salad. 

Second, hummus.

I know what you may be thinking...how has this girl not tried hummus before?  Well, here's the thing, I DETEST beans. They have a texture that is mealy and not pleasant.  AND I don't like the taste.  Hummus always looked...bean-ish to me which meant that I didn't want to try it.  It turns out that hummus is made with chickpeas (which are actually bean-ish). 

Anyway, I actually have tried hummus before, but I found it bland and not tasty.  And mealy. And bean-ish.  But when we were at Costco, they had a sample of Garden Fresh Gourmet's version of Hummus.  And OH MY was it tasty!  It was creamy and had some good flavors in it - even just plain.

The tub we bought even came with a little tub topper- with four ingredients (red pepper, jalapeno, pine nuts, and garlic) that we could mix into the hummus if we so chose.  The cool thing is that the topper is a separate container - and both the hummus and the topper have resealable lids.  VERY handy. 

I've been looking for a healthy treat that I could turn to when I come home from work.  Something that I can enjoy, take the edge off my hunger, and then make sane choices either around food while I'm cooking.  This fits the bill perfectly.

As we were checking out, I looked at our cart.  We had fresh fruit (cherries and blueberries for me, grapes for Joe), some cheese, the salad, the chicken, and hummus.  That was it.  All healthy options that I was literally salivating over. I didn't have any shame over what was in my cart...and it reminded me of my post about shameful shopping.

We had the hummus for an appetizer while we cooked up some fresh veggies, enjoyed our chicken with said veggies, and then had the waldorf salad for dessert.

It was wonderful.  Decadent even.

I love that fresh food can give me pleasure.  I'm thankful that I live in a country where I CAN have these options available to me weekly.  And, I love that I'm just now actually tasting my food versus eating things in a daze.

What new food finds have you loved recently?

No, I won't videotape it

Let's just get this said right off the bat: No, I won't ever let you see me doing it.

On my birthday, my wonderful boyfriend got me a Wii. He bought the Wii for me because he thought that I would like it. I was debating getting one last winter for the Wii Fit sales that were going on before Christmas. The thing was, at the time, I couldn't figure out which "games" would help me get the best work out...so like many other situations, I just didn't make a decision and didn't buy one.

But make no mistake, I think that he also got it because he wanted to play some games. Although in fairness to him, he hasn't yet played anything on it (other than the first night when we bowled and golfed and played tennis with it).

So a few weeks ago, I decided that playing Super Mario Brothers probably wasn't the best use of my time (but OH WOW is it fun - it brings back memories!). So I decided to get a workout "game."

I've seen a lot about the Wii Fit, EA Active, and The Biggest Loser games...but I didn't know which would work the best. So I asked my virtual workout buddy, Krissie, and she recommended The Biggest Loser games. Only from some of the reviews, it appears that some things are hard to do without a pocket in your workout clothes and that you can't use your real weight or name when you're "competing."

And I clicked from review to review until I finally found myself SERIOUSLY considering something that I swore I would never participate in:

Dance Dance Revolution.

I'm sure where you can see this going...I bought the game. Again, I'll just tell you right now: No, you still can't watch me.

For those that aren't familiar with this game, it started out in arcades where tweens hang out. The machine, at the arcades, look like this.

Kids hop on this thing, put in their allowance, and music starts. The object of the game is to follow the instructions on screen to know which arrow to step on at the right beat. You may have noticed from the picture that there are two little pads - which means that some other kid (who might have stolen the money from his parents) can also put in money and challenge the first kid.

The screen looks like this: So basically the arrows float up and you have to step on the correct arrow on the pad underneath you at the exact time that it lines up with the area up top. In the screen shot shows two people competing and the "PERFECT!" written in the middle of the screen indicates that both players stepped at the perfect time.

To be clear, I don't see that message often. And no, I won't videotape it and send it to you.

So the game came to my house (I ordered it online)... it has a disc and a mat that kind of looks like this:

And when you plug it in, it has a set up like this:

Only at my house, as far as I know, we don't have teenage boys. And we have a huge TV that is not on a wooden stand. And I'm trying to peek above my dog's GIANT head (she is a HUGE Great Dane that even when she's laying down can somehow manage to block the TV).

I tried it out during Memorial Day weekend for the first time and since I couldn't bribe Joe to leave our place, I tried to pretend that he wasn't there. On the couch. Watching my every move. Remembering that he is the stereotypically whitest boy on the planet (and thus has ZERO ability to shake his groove thing to any music without looking like he's getting hit with a taser gun) also helped.

The first time, I didn't use the instructional video. I figured that I was relatively talented, so I should be able to just pick a song and KNOW how to do it.

Turns out, that's not so much true.

So I'm hopping, jumping, and trying to keep up with some beats and I'm laughing - hysterically - because I look like one of those marionettes where the human controlling them is just bouncing them up and down.

And really, please stop asking: I won't videotape this and post it.

Eventually, I have gotten the hang of it and can even "dance" to a few songs without too much difficulty.

But the best part? The songs.

That's right, I'm dancing to such hits as "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross and "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Rhianna's "Disturbia" and Duran Duran's "Hungry Like a Wolf" is also on there. There are a lot of popular songs on this version (names that I'm too old to remember) that are fun to dance to.

And I'm not even kidding you - Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna' Give You Up" cracks my shizzle up as I'm dancing on this.

But you know what? It's fun.

I don't break a huge sweat (at least at the level I'm at) and there are some longer pauses in between songs than what I'd like...but it's better than the couch and it's more fun than I thought I would have.

I decided that as much as I love running, I wanted something to do to exercise-wise when I don't feel like running. This fits the bill.

Now it's your turn:

What kind of non-traditional exercise things do you do? And if you have a Wii, I would LOVE to know what your take is on exercise games that you have tried. I'm looking for things to break a sweat but will still be fun.

I'd LOVE to hear your opinions!

What's cookin', good lookin'?

Almost all of my life I've been a picky eater. If it had any vegetable on it, I probably turned up my nose and went on. I'd pick through my mom's casseroles for the grains of rice and beef and would discard any thing that looked like it would taste gross (i.e. everything else in the casserole).

During the past few years, I've opted to branch out. I've tried new things and have tried eating the items as they are on the menu without a ton of omissions. I've found that I actually like zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Instead of wanting my hamburgers with cheese, mayo, and ketchup only, I eat them with many veggies and no mayo. I've found that I love the burgers more when prepared this way. Who'd have thought? Definitely not the 6 year old me.

But cooking? It's still a little intimidating to me. I used to think that I had to look at the recipe and if I didn't have all of the ingredients (or if I didn't think that I liked all of the ingredients), then I shouldn't cook it.

So basically, this explains the THOUSANDS of dollars I've spent on fast food in my life.

I've only recently tried to cook. It's hard to do in my smaller than small kitchen. I've fallen into a rut during the last two years of having one of a few different breakfasts, one of a few different lunches, and one of a few different dinners. I still eat out more than not.

Given the unstable work environment I'm now in, I'm determined to save money and brush up on my cooking skills. I'd like to be able to have guests over and know what I could fix them without calling my mom in a panic. I'd like to be able to look in my fridge and figure out what I could make out of the various ingredients I have.

I want to continue to build on my healthy relationship with food. I want to get more enjoyment out of my food by preparing it instead of just eating more of whatever food I happened to pick up on the way home.

So I've been looking for cook books or websites that meet the following criteria:


1) They have to be easy to prepare.
2) They have to not require a bunch of ingredients because I don't have the space for lots of them AND I don't want to waste money by not using all of them before they go bad.
3) They can't make 6-8 servings per recipe. I don't usually like leftovers but I can bring myself to eat a few - just not 7.
4) They have to be healthy (like low in points, low in fat, high in fiber, or high in protein).

Not a lot of cookbooks/sites meet these needs. If you have any ideas, I'd love to know about them!

So I came across "Hungry Girl's 200 recipes below 200 calories" in Amazon.com a few weeks ago. I got free shipping from Amazon.com for a month and because this book was only $11 and change and I thought that I might as well purchase it to try it.

Here's what I found: all of the recipes feature items that are easy to have on hand - and pretty much all of them are packaged and processed. Most of the recipes are for sweet foods - lots of cookies, cupcakes, treats, and sweet breakfasts/lunches. All of the recipes are 4 points or less per serving and the serving sizes look pretty reasonable. AND there aren't a bunch of servings in each recipe. The list of ingredients are usually pretty small in number and it seems manageable.

I love everything about this cookbook other than that there is a lot of sweet items featured and I usually like savory items more. There are many savory items, just not as many as I would've hoped for. I'm looking for meals that I can make quickly and easily and these seem to fit the bill. The only other problem I have is with the amount of "fake food" in it. I'm not too bothered with this now because I figure this is a good way to get my feet wet in the world of cooking.

So far, I've written all of the points values by each recipe (those values and pictures can be found here). I also printed off the thumbnail pictures and taped them by each recipe so I can see what it looks like.

I've only tried one thing - "The Choco-Monkey Oatmeal." The recipe calls for some cinnamon, a package of low calorie cocoa mix, some salt, a sugar substitute packet, a half of a mashed banana, and (of course) oatmeal. I don't really know how to get permission to write the recipe here so I won't, but I'm sure that you're smart and can figure out how to mix it all up. Anyway, I tried it (as directed) yesterday and found that without some protein in it, I was ravenously hungry within two hours.

So today, I did something I haven't done before. I adapted the recipe! :)

I took out the sugar substitute, knowing that sugary type things in the morning sometimes triggers me to crave other sugary things throughout the day. And I added a tablespoon and a half of reduced fat peanut butter.

I am SO happy with my adaptation! It added protein and was very filling and satisfying. It was a bit thicker (almost like undercooked cake batter) so I'll add some more water tomorrow and adapt from there. The addition of the peanut butter made the breakfast only 6 points...which is pretty good for me - especially since if I eat well for breakfast, the rest of the day seems to go smoother.

There are a lot of other recipes that I want to try - ones that look easy to prepare ahead of time and then take with me to work. There are quite a few that require microwaving rather than pots and pans...which is the solution to my small kitchen issues.

I'm sure that there are those that will turn up their noses at this type of cooking...and maybe years from now I'll be like them. But for now, this is a manageable gap between cooking one meal a month and cooking a few a week.

It's progress, it's healthier than what I was doing, and it's fun. As cheesy as it sounds, THAT is the recipe for healthier living.

Tofu: It's better than you think :)

I've really been trying to be on track this past week. It's not coming from a place of hate towards my body (like "You're so fat!" "You need to lose weight!" "Ugh, you're STILL in that same size?") but rather from a place of remembering what is healthy and what isn't.

Anyway, last Wednesday, I went out to eat with a friend of mine. This friend likes very specific things and her favorite restaurant is Chili's...followed only by Applebee's. While there is nothing wrong with those restaurants, I'm finding that I really like to eat at different restaurants.

So we met up - as we do a few times a year - to talk and eat. The thing was, earlier in the day, I was so hungry...so I went through quite a few of my points. I had 11.5 points left - including those that I earned during my lunchtime run. That may sound like a lot of points...and in some ways it is.

It's just that we had already decided to meet at PF Chang's (aka Land o' Lard). In all seriousness...after counting the points for most of the meals, I figured out that each entree was around 56 points. That's over TWO DAYS worth of points (for me).

But I knew I was so hungry, that I couldn't just have a salad (even if they *had* salad). So I caved. I looked at the tofu options (which were much lower in points).

When we got to the restaurant, the waitress was eager to help. I asked her what the consistency of tofu was like (I'm a huge consistency person - the taste doesn't matter as much). Our waitress crinkled her brow and said, "You don't want the tofu wraps. You want the chicken wraps. They're a lot better."

So I asked, "Have you ever *had* tofu?"

And she replied, "No. But it's gross."

So after MANY questions, she finally offered to bring some of the tofu out so I could try it. And you know what? It was pretty good. It didn't have a lot of taste, but the consistency of the stuff that they put in the lettuce wraps was kind of like mozerella cheese. It wasn't bad.

The tofu that they had in the cup of hot and sour soup was more slippery and wasn't my favorite thing...but it wasn't bad either.

The total for the night was 11 points: 2 for the cup of hot n' sour soup, 2 for a small order of shanghai cucumbers (chopped up cucumbers with soy sauce and seasame seeds), and 7 for half the meal of the vegetarian lettuce wraps (I had them put in some mushrooms too). Actually, the total was probably less than 11 because all I had to look at was the nutritional info from the PF Chang's website - and that didn't have any fiber information.

So basically, I left there satisfied and happy that I got to talk with a friend for a few hours.

I'm learning that eating out doesn't have to feel like a diet. Eating out doesn't have to feel like a full on gluttony fest either. In fact, eating out is becoming more and more about the company that I'm with and about the memories that are shared.

Funny...but I think that that's what it's *supposed* to be about anyway.