Fall off this planet

My last entry splashed at the end of January, 6 months ago. Between then, I'd wrestled down weight that I gained in conjunction with stress and anxiety. I hiked 50+ miles in Yosemite National Park. I began biking regularly on the Katy Trail. I placed third in a workplace walk-a-thon (81.3 miles in 8 weeks to be exact).

Not much has changed, but one thing does stand out - it's a lot harder to stay focused on exercise when I don't have a goal.

A goal? That's right. A goal. When I started this blog, my goal was to lose weight for my wedding (in the months after our engagement I ballooned up to the most I had ever weighed in my life... who knew Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings and beer weren't part of a healthy diet? I kid.) And the weight loss came easy - four days at the gym, two days of outdoor activities. It was a simple challenge and I enjoyed it, I was convinced I'd keep it going for good.

But as life tends to do, I was thrown a curve ball. Stress and anxiety began piling on. What was once a healthy routine became a chore. Depression set in. I didn't like the idea of admitting this, but I went to see my doctor anyway and the numbers were confirmed - I had put on nearly 10 lbs in 6 weeks and it wasn't my thyroid. Though it didn't look like it, I felt it all over - the slugishness, the bloating the tiredness.

Why would I want to blog about my un-fitness? Isn't that a little, well, antithetical? I fell off the face of the blogosphere with as much notice as a dribbling drop. I haven't made a big enough splash to leave any audiences pining.

After reading an inspring story from a co-worker on how she overcame her fear of running, I decided to sign up for my first 5k. My husband runs a 5k as his workout, so for me to run a race would invovle some serious training (note: my preferred method of pedestrian transport is walking). So I've hooked up with a running coach and I've got a workout plan in place. Here's to picking up my feet and keeping the blog up to date... I'm 62 days away from running a race!

(holy crap)

Combo Fried Rice

Every now and then I get an insatiable craving for fried rice. Growing up, it was a comfort food. On one occasion, I was so rushed to make it backstage before a performance, my go-to fast food was an order of pork fried rice. Now that I’m watching my calories, my carbs, and my sodium I thought it’d be important to give a healthy version of fried rice a try.

Hubby still hates whole grains, so I thought this would be a great way to disguise the much loathed brown rice with a little bit of soy sauce flavor but still all the look of a heavily soyed fast food rice.  It even surprised my coworkers when I brought this in as my lunch - they couldn't tell the brown color was from the rice and not the soy sauce! 

Note:  The ham I used was really salty so I didn't need much soy in addition to this - if you manage to find an unsalted or lower sodium ham, I recommend adjusting to taste.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked and cooled brown/white rice mix (1 ½ c brown, ½ c white)
¼ lb chicken or turkey breast, cut into strips and sautéed in olive oil until cooked
½ lb raw shrimp, deveined and unshelled and sautéed in olive oil until just opaque
¼ lb cured ham slice, cubed
2 – 3 green onions, chopped
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 ½ cup frozen peas and carrots
2 whole eggs, scrambled
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce mixed with 1 tbsp cold water



Prepare the chicken and shrimp and cook in olive oil. Set aside with cubed ham.

In a separate skillet, sauté the onion until translucent. Add the frozen peas and carrots and heat until warm. Set aside

Using the same pan, cook the scrambled eggs until firm. Dice on a cutting board and set aside with green onions.

Heat a wok with peanut oil on medium high.  Add the cooked meats and reheat. Set aside.

Add the cooked rice to the wok, adding more peanut oil if necessary. Add the low sodium soy sauce and water mixture to the rice and work quickly to toss the rice with the soy.

Add the cooked meat and mix.

Add the peas and carrots and onions and mix.

Lastly add the scrambled egg and green onions. Mix lightly and remove from heat.

Serve with sriracha or hot chili pepper oil.

Enjoy!

Get Fit Carlie at Home: 15 minute circuit

A year ago I invested in a pair of five-pound hand weights to keep around the house along with a yoga mat. I used my $15 gym for light circuits that complimented my cardio workouts, but they also acted as a great substitute for days I needed a quick workout and didn’t have time for the 20 minute commute to and from the gym.

I recently moved into a new house and most of my stuff has been misplaced – this includes one of my hand weights. Without a pair to use, I thought circuits would be a lost cause. But I woke up from a post-work nap and had an hour and a half to get a workout, shower, and dinner before I needed to be at a NCAA Sweet 16 Party.

I found the one hand weight I had and a can of paint. I moved my stereo to the living room and I came up with following circuit to get a good sweat. (Note: One thing I learned from my trainer was to do things for time limits instead of reps. It helps you concentrate on breathing and form instead of speeding to completion. Better form is an overall better workout, so if you get tired, hold a position for 15 seconds instead of moving.)

This was one of my more unusual circuits and it lacked a little flow, similar to my dynamic workouts with my trainer. Goal is to get a new set of 8 lb. hand weights to do circuits at home with our punching bag.

What I listened to: Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D

• Jumping Jacks - 1 minute
• High-Step with 5 lb weight – 1 minute (hold weight by the ends and extend your arms straight in front)
• Push-Ups – 30 seconds (whenever I do modified push-ups, I’ll go for 15 seconds more)
• Oblique Crunch – 15 reps each side
• Turn-n-touch* – 1 minute
• One-Leg drops – 20 reps
• Push-Ups – 30 seconds
• Wall Squat – 1 minute
• One-leg balanced Row with paint can as weight – 30 seconds on each side
• High-Step with 5 lb weight – 30 seconds
• Plank – 1 minute
• Lateral Leg Lifts – 30 seconds each side
• Squats with Paint Can (as kettle ball) – 45 seconds

*Turn n Touch with weight: in sit-up position, lift feet off the ground so that lower legs are parallel to the ground; hold weight between hands at chest level and keep your elbows out, twisting slowly to touch the weight to the left side, twisting slowly to the center, then twisting to the right and touching the weight to the ground, repeat. Use your core to keep the V position.

What kind of circuits are you doing at home and what are your tools?  What kind of workouts are in your repertoire?