I had a wonderful long weekend with Bobby. On Saturday we lounged. On Sunday we lounged again. Yesterday we went to Santana Row, a snazzy road in San Jose with lots of expensive shops. I got a cute pair of capris from Anthropologie. They’re blue and white stripes. I used to have a pair of pants just like them from Gap, but they don’t fit anymore and I have no idea where they are (New Jersey?).
This was his and hers breakfast on Sunday. Bobby can be healthy too! Mine is green oat bran (just oat bran, fresh peanut butter from Whole Foods, salt, vanilla, and spinach). Bobby’s is white rice with natto (fermented soybean). He loves natto; I think it’s disgusting.
I made a rather intricate meal last night for our holiday dinner. I have been eyeing these recipes for about a week, trying to come up with my own take on them (fruit + meat). So yesterday at Whole Foods I bought about 12 ounces of fresh organic pork sirloin to try something out. Recipes will follow soon…
Raspberry-Rubbed Pork with apples and berries
Berry Delicious Salad
Unpictured was some Garlic Bread topped with parmesan cheese…
And Apple-Raspberry Pie (macrobiotic, vegan, no sugar).
The whole meal was fun to prepare and eat. After the meal we went out to the hot tub for a little while to relax.
Challenge update! All of the participants (comment to let me know if you should be added):
- Readers: Cindy, Gaby, Clare
- Yasmin @ It’s a Wrap!
- Elise @ Hungry, Hungry Hippie
- Heather @ Heather Eats Almond Butter
- Alisa @ One Frugal Foodie
- Hil @ Blueberry Hil
- Junghwa @ An Apple A Day
- Vani @ Fit For Free
- Brooke @ Brooke’s Ball Buster
- Tanya @ Girl XOXO
- Elizabeth @ Elizabeth Edith
- Jessica @ The Dainty Pig
- Julia (my sister!) @ Garbanzo Girl
Overall I’ve been doing well with the challenge.
- Yoga – I did 10 minutes of yoga on Sunday after a walk; down dog, frogs, stretching, headstand. I didn’t do yoga yesterday but I’ll try to make it up today.
- Walking – On Sunday I did 4.26 miles in about 55 minutes on the treadmill (incline 2%). A little bit was running, but mostly walking. Yesterday Bobby and I walked Santana Row for about 2 hours, then walked around in Whole Foods for another hour. I didn’t do any planned exercise yesterday aside from that. I want to do more of this unplanned exercise. I had a really nice time.
- New Meal – nothing new on Sunday (okay because this is a weekly thing) but yesterday I had two new things – the raspberry pork as well as the macrobiotic pie.
- Organic – I’ve been using my organic baby spinach from Costco! I’ve already used about 1.5 pounds since Saturday… good thing I got 3 pounds (3 big containers).
- Green Oat Bran – of course! Sunday’s (above) and Monday’s were both with just peanut butter (+ salt and vanilla, as always). Today’s was with peanut butter and some of a fresh batch of banana-tofu pudding.
I’m really happy with the challenge so far. I’ve learned a lot about my habits and my limits, and I think it’s going to help me maintain that Whole Life Balance that I want. I hope it’s working for you too.
Have you ever attempted something, only to realize that it just wasn’t the right thing for you at the time?
M
(yeah, couldn’t stay away)
I like the fact that the challenge is talking to you…. I think it’s just as important to learn from our “blocks” as well as what we accomplish… if there IS something in the way it forces us to look at it in order for us to over come what ever it is that is getting in our way
good for you!
I had to re-vamp my goals…and so today is day one… and going well. great lunch workout…great raw/vegan day…. and taking long deep breaths over the rest. it’s gonna be a long week (but a good one)
I almost gave up
glad you are there to keep us all going!
Hey Sis,
I got a blog! And I want to do the challenge. I’m just going to try to exercise five days a week and eat less sugar.
Maggie,
I love unplanned exercise, and buying pants at Anthropologie and wandering around Whole Foods for an hour sounds perfect to me!
A goal that I try out often is several smaller meals throughout the day, but I always go back to my 3 big meals a day with a post dinner snack…always. I don’t know why I keep trying to change as the 3 bigger meals seems to suit me best.
Sounds like you’re doing really well on the challenge, and I say eat after dinner if that is what truly makes you happy. There is nothing wrong with snacking on steamed squash late into the evening in my opinion. 🙂
Your pie…amazing!
Glad you had such an enjoyable weekend, and I bet those capris from Anthropologie are so cute!!
I love that berry-licious dinner, and pork sirloin is a very tasty meat, I don’t get it nearly enough!
I think you are making a good decision regarding the challenge for so many reasons. First, we do tend to set goals for ourselves that may seem right or great at the time, but we find out down the road that they really aren’t what’s best for us. Also, it has been my experience lately that anything that causes me more mental distress than I need should be eliminated immediately. I think you are doing great with everything, and realizing that something just isn’t working for you is definitely taking care of your WHOLE self 🙂
I feel like I often want to try out new goals and things for myself but never end up following through with the majority of them because they just don’t work out for me. I like to do things more impulsively too. I like doing things by the moment, immediately when I feel like doing them. I’m not much of a planner to be honest, and setting strict goals for myself just ends up failing more often than not. My goals have to be more broad, open and everchanging in order to work for me.
I tried to set a goal for myself a few months ago to run a certain number of miles in a month and although I was able to complete it, it wore me right out of running and I didn’t feel like doing it anymore! It made me realize that I need running to be enjoyable and I need to be more flexible with it in order to keep it up. I prefer quick and sweaty bursts of runs mixed in with slightly longer runs… running for specific numbers and distances just doesn’t work for me!
I guess trial and error really is the only way to find out exactly what works for us though right? Nothing wrong with finding out a goal you set for yourself just isn’t right or doesn’t work out for YOU and thus not continuing with it.
BAHAHAH! Bobby’s breakfast used to be one of the dinners I would have at least 3 times a week!! Natto is good, but def one of those “you either love it, or hate it!” types of foods!!
that pork looks fantastic!!!
Maggie, I think it’s ok to have a little snack after dinner. There is no point in setting this rule for yourself when it clearly makes you miserable. Setting goals for yourself is great, but it is totally ok to let go of some goals that doesn’t work for you…insisting on sticking to it just gives you unnecessary stress and guilt.
and natto…gosh, I hate that stuff too! I bought it once and it’s still in my fridge after a WHOLE YEAR. I’m serious. Guess I should be throwing it out…it looks so good though, like a sticky caramely thingy…looks are deceiving!
I LOVE natto too! At first I didn’t. After 4 years of being macrobiotic I was at the Kushi Institute studying and tried it for the first time. The trick is to try it while you’re eating soup (like miso). You take a small amount and add/dip in the soup. The “strings” disappear! After that I loved it.
Also on the snacking … Dr. John Douillard (author of Body, Mind & Sport) says that if we snack it keeps us from burning off fat efficiently. For example if we eat a carrot (or chips!) between a meal, then our body will burn that instead of body fat. That said, you don’t look like you have an ounce of fat on you!
I think it is great that you are trying different things though. It does mean you have to do it forever, but you are experimenting with how you feel and observing it (and writing beautifully about it).
I really enjoy reading your blog.
great eats Maggie, especially that unsweetened apple pie! I’ll definitely make it this weekend!
and I don’t like natto either, although I know it has great health benefits. I bought it once and it was so nasty that I had to throw it away.
I think it’s good to realize and admit that some challenges/goals are just not accomplishable (at least for the moment) and be sincere with oneself. It’s really hard to distinguish not trying hard enough and not meant to be. I always struggle this with my goals, whether I’m doing it because I set it as goal or I’m doing it because it’s doing me good. But as you said, it made you upset with yourself, therefore it’s definitely not doing good to you and it’s the moment to stop then.
It seems that you had a fun weekend with Bobbi. You made me miss more my Star! 🙂
yeah, i havent been able to hold off after dinner either. i like dessert, so im ok with this. glad you have also realized this doesnt work for you…its important for you to listen to your body.
Good for you for being honest, and listening to your own limits. It seems like this challenge is working wonderfully, because it is bringing you lots of awareness! It is okay to snack after dinner if that is what you need right now. Gradual change is the best, I think, and just because some people / other people find it better to not snack after dinner, Meg is right…you look awesome, and seem really healthy…so I really don’t see the problem.
and…Your pie looks AWESOME, and I can’t wait to try it!!!
I can’t find natto anywhere, so I haven’t tried it yet….but I have a mad spiderweb phobia too, so now i’m definitely scared! haha 🙂
have a lovely week lovely lady!
Hey! Today has been the best day of the challenge for me so far! It started off rocky since I went out of town right after joining and everything just gets a little off when traveling.
BUT this week has been really good! Eating more and stressing about it less. It helps that I’ve made 2 batches of extra large muffins in the last 2 days :X
I got out and rode my bike to a friend’s house yesterday and the weather was beautiful (challenges: exercise and stress management)
I did some cleaning and organizing of my apartment yesterday too. And today I did a hot power yoga class after doing some promotions work for the studio, meaning I get free yoga, yay! So technically that’s not exactly something career oriented but work is work and the value of those classes is more than enough compensation.
Don’t stress yourself out for eating snacks after dinner! I say, if you know you like eating later, then plan for it and enjoy it. I look forward to my nightly sweet tooth fix every day and trying to cut back on it has only led to really bad experiences.
Keep up the great work on all your challenges!
I mihg thop on board with the challenge after all. I need some structure! I like your treadmill walks…they’re showing me that you can do steady, longer exercise without running and killing yourself. I’ve been doing incline treadmill walks lately inspired be you and Sarah and I feel good for them.
When it comes to goals for myself, I try to taper them. I start with something small and then continue working my way up until I get to the “big picture.” I think you’re doing a great job though with your goals!!
Love to wander in Whole Foods – so excited that one is being built 20 minutes from my house!
So surprised to see pork on your plate – looks great!
Girl, your food looks so yummy!! I am looking forward to the recipes!! To answer you question, I always do stuff that I realize is not right for me…or maybe I just don’t give it enough time??? Who knows?
~Justine
I LOVE Anthropologie! Yay for Santana Row — Santana is my brother’s puppy’s name so that sounds extra special to me. The pork with apples and berries looks delicious, as does the pie.
As for your question, I tried hypnotherapy and it was definitely NOT right for me at the time!