There is something inherently wrong with eating a big fat muffin while watching Biggest Loser. I’m going to pretend it’s okay. At least it’s a bran muffin.

I did have a yummy dinner before my muffin (thanks for the treat, Jill!). I made a hugh jass stir fry with random veggies from my freezer plus sliced burdock. I topped it with smoked mozzarella cheese. So simple, so delicious.

I also had a heart-healthy (3/4 cup) serving of protein powder oat bran (oat bran, protein powder, cinnamon, salt, vanilla). I topped it with lowfat milk and real maple syrup. And sesame seeds.

Then the muffin. It was a very satisfying dinner.

I did Get Fit With Catra again tonight with Jill, and it was fun. Our workout was…

• 1 lap around the park
• 25 sit ups
• 25 jumps (onto a 2 foot high wall)
• 25 jumping jacks

Repeat circuit 3 times. We also walked to and from the park. When I got home I did 25 minutes of yoga – mostly Eoin Finn’s Yoga Quickie, but I did my own thing at the end.

I’m off to snuggle with my sweetie. My dad left this morning and I’m sad… but happy that I will see him in 2 weeks We are moving in less than two weeks and I’m so excited!

Do you have any tips for moving? I’ve done it a lot, but I’m always game for more pointers.

Keep the BSI entries coming in!  I have some great ones so far… (if you’ve entered and you’re not on the list please let me know!)

• Junghwa’s Kabocha Ezekiel Sandwich
• Sophia’s Kabocha-Lentil Burgers
• Michelle’s Oven-roasted Fusion Kabocha
• Cindy’s Nuts for Kabocha
• Elise’s Baked Kabocha
• Heather’s Kabocha with Almond Butter
• Alison’s Soy-Braised Curry Kabocha
• Coco’s Ideas for Kabocha

You have until Sunday night to submit!  Then I’ll pick a winner and announce who’s going to be hosting next week.

There have been a few challenges recently (Shelby, Coco, and probably more) that I really liked.  I’m going to propose my own challenge.  If you want to join me, pick at least one of the following tasks and keep me updated with your progress!  Ways to do this:

• Link back to this post OR
• Comment on any post OR
• E-mail me (magpie707@gmail.com)

I’ll post summaries of your updates periodically (depending on how much of a response I get I might post this every day or every other day).  I’m calling this the Whole Life Challenge, because I think it’s important to have balance in our WHOLE life – not just bits and pieces!  This means nourishing our body, nourishing our mind, and nourishing our soul.  Feel free to use this icon or make your own…

The Whole Life Challenge starts tomorrow, Friday May 22nd, 2009!  Let’s try to do it for two weeks.  If we like it, we can continue on through the end of June.  Feel free to join at any time.  Here are the options (remember, you only have to pick one for each day, but you can do more):

1. Yoga every day (at least 10 minutes)
2. Walking every day (at least 10 minutes)
3. New meals each week (at least 1 *new* recipe each week – can be for lunch or dinner; this can be a recipe that you make, or a meal that you eat out that you’ve never had before; preferably more than 1 each week!)
4. Eating a big enough dinner so that I don’t need to snack before bedtime (aiiii, this is the hardest one!)
5. Going organic for greens…
6. So that I can eat a nourishing bowl of green oats each day! (any variation of “green” is good here – green smoothie, green oat bran, green oatmeal, green anything!)
7. Pick your own!  Just let me know what you want to try to do for 2 weeks.  I’ll post about it and link back to you if you have a blog.

I’m going to try to do all of them.  Are you with me?  Try to do one each day!

1 day until cruise!

This is actually a lie… we leave tomorrow for LA, but the cruise doesn’t leave until Friday.  Ha! I tricked you.

To do:

• register with Carnival (thanks Bobby!)
• clean the bathroom
• clean the kitchen
• vacuum
• laundry
• mani/pedi
• cat stuff
• packing
• other random things!

Onto more serious talk.  I have been listening to a bunch of Jillian Michaels podcasts recently.  (Find them in iTunes by searching KFI AM – they’re under the “Sunday” program.  Or you might be able to find them HERE.)  I know some people don’t like Jillian, but I adore her.  I love her Shred workouts, I love her on the Biggest Loser, and now I love her podcasts.  She’s real and honest and kicks major butt.

In the podcast I’m listening to today (12/7/2008), she’s talking about a contestant on the Biggest Loser and the things that are holding him back.  She asks the contestant, “what do you want?” and he responds, “I just want to win this battle within me.”

I really liked what Jillian had to say next.  She says, “What battle are you talking about?  You’re not a character in your own movie, fighting evil.  What battle??”

She goes on to talk about how we create these “battles” for ourselves, and we create so much drama and hostility.  We create these stories for ourselves in which we’re fighting such terrible battles… when the truth of the matter is this: there is no battle.  Maybe we have hard days – counting calories, exercising, trying to eat enough, trying not to eat too much – but it doesn’t have to be a battle.

We create so much mental drama about how we are fragile, or not good enough.  It all boils down to this – the Ego is creating a story for us to get absorbed in and hold us back.  Let’s lose the story and stop thinking so much.

The reason I haven’t been commenting as much the last few days is because I’m taking her advice. For the past few days I just haven’t cared about obsessing.  I have to thank that *new friend* that I mentioned yesterday for most of this.  It is so good to just have someone to talk to.  When I listened to Jillian’s podcast today it really hit home: what she said confirmed a lot of what I’ve been thinking the last few days.

What are your thoughts on this?  Am I simplifying it too much?  As recently as a week ago I might have said that these are real struggles and real battles and we need to glorify them… but I’m not so sure anymore.

I’m hoping I’ll keep feeling like this for the rest of the week, and on the cruise.  It’s kind of liberating.  I really need to get on that to-do list now…

For any readers near Portland, Maine – check out this post at Becoming Whole.  Dr. John Herzog is conducting a study on plant-based diets following his interest in The China Study.  He’s looking for participants and it sounds like a great opportunity.

I got a really great response to my question – tips for what to do when meeting new people?

Now here are the tips: (I hope I didn’t miss any!)

• VeggieGirl says: “just make pleasant conversation and hope for the best”
• Becca A says: “if you have something in common you already have something to chat about so it makes it much easier!”
• Sharon says: “It can be a little nervous to meet new people, but after some time, you feel comfortable and let loose.”
• K says: “Don’t be nervous!! Have confidence – remember, people DO want to get to know you.”
• Melissa S says: “try to remember that they probably feel exactly the same! just relax and go w/ the flow!”
• Diana says: “I just try to suck it up and will myself to be confident. Sometimes, a deep breath beforehand helps.”
• Biz says: “just be yourself and you’ll be just fine!!”
• katecooks says (I love this one – so many ideas): “…i just accepted every invitation, and made plenty of invites myself. i found a college alum group… and met up with them. i found a sorority alum group… and met up with them. i befriended every nice, normal girl i worked with. i asked people to happy hours, and went to many random dinners and events with friends of friends of friends. sometimes it was no fun at all. but i just kept putting myself out there, and now i have a great group of some of the best girlfriends i’ve ever known!!! it all started with one girl from work, and then i met her roommate, and then i met her roommate’s friend from high school, and the chain keeps going and going, and now i have my group of girls! i still put myself out there a lot though… because you never know who you might meet!!”
• Olga says (this is great too – find something unique about yourself): “it’s really easy for me to break the ice with my name”
• Danielle says: “just being myself is the way to go, if I shut down and get quiet I’m perceived as snobby when really I’m just shy”
• Emily says: “Just be yourself!”
• Lara says: “when I moved to England I had to use the few people I did know to meet others… the Wii seems like a great activity to have fun and interact!”
• Erin says: “its always better after the first awkward few minutes”

I hope you can use these!  I think the most common idea was to just be yourself, and remember that everyone else probably feels the same way.  It never hurts to find something that you have in common to talk about either.

Happy Sunday!