Gemma is satisfied with her care

[CourtnieMarie]

14 hours ago, Gemma said:

I have tentatively decided that if prolonging my strength gains and reaching goals like unassisted chin-ups and a 225# deadlift means that I will have to buy bigger jeans - well, who cares? I'm 51 years old and my husband already thinks I'm cute, so who am I trying to impress with some arbitrary standard of leanness anyways? If I ever do compete (a far far distant goal) it will be in Masters Strengthlifting, not Physique.  (<- full disclosure: some of that is bluff. I do want to still respect what I see in the mirror. But I also want to be strong. #firstworldproblems) 

this is a great way to start thinking about it. and even a huge step is realizing that some of it is bluff! after a full lifetime of "everyone should be thinner" thrust upon us, it's hard to turn around and say, who cares about this extra fluff - my body does amazing things and i love it! doesn't happen overnight but i do try to say those things to myself daily as affirmation and maybe one day i'll believe them!

 

if the meal plan makes you feel too full or uncomfortable, let her know and talk to her about it  first step, I would say, is trying to be happy where you are and getting down solid food measuring tactics if that's the way you end up wanting to go!

[Grumble]

2 hours ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

THERE IS NO HURRY. Life is a journey

 

I think that's literally the line of an Andy Grammar song. 

[RedStone]

17 hours ago, Gemma said:

have tentatively decided that if prolonging my strength gains and reaching goals like unassisted chin-ups and a 225# deadlift means that I will have to buy bigger jeans - well, who cares? I'm 51 years old and my husband already thinks I'm cute, so who am I trying to impress with some arbitrary standard of leanness anyways? If I ever do compete (a far far distant goal) it will be in Masters Strengthlifting, not Physique.  (<- full disclosure: some of that is bluff. I do want to still respect what I see in the mirror. But I also want to be strong. #firstworldproblems) 

 

Heyoooo and there is a BIIIIG difference between feeling great in your skin and hopping on stage for a bikini contest! 

[JustCallMeAmber]

3 hours ago, Grumble said:

 

I think that's literally the line of an Andy Grammar Grammer song. 

FTFY.

(Sorry. I just find it ironic his name is actually spelled that way and thus must fix it. It's pretty much a paradox.)

[Grumble]

34 minutes ago, JustCallMeAmber said:

FTFY.

(Sorry. I just find it ironic his name is actually spelled that way and thus must fix it. It's pretty much a paradox.)

Like this?

[JustCallMeAmber]

 

1 hour ago, Grumble said:

Like this?

[Gemma]

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, Gemma said:

 

This a beautiful and awesome and I must have them.

 

I am not joking. Where can I buy these?

[Gemma]

10 hours ago, scalyfreak said:

 

This a beautiful and awesome and I must have them.

 

I am not joking. Where can I buy these?

Well, they're Dr. Martens (I was playing the "pair o' docs" card) - the pattern name is "Galaxy" - and I don't think Dr. Martens carries them any more. Pretty sure they were a limited edition. But I googled "Doc Martens Galaxy Boots" and hit the "shopping" tab, and it showed me a few Etsy vendors that are advertising either the originals, hand-painted Docs with similar patterns, or very cute knockoffs.

All my Docs are purple, and yes I have more than one pair - but just solid purple. I've never spent the $$$ on a print. They have some showstoppers, though! 

[Gemma]

In other news - I am temporarily unemployed, pending a funding decision for the U.S. gov't.   Soooo - I've got t- t- t- t- t- t- t- toooo much, time on my ha-ands (sorry not sorry, Styx  )

 

 

 

 

I guess I'll just work out more. And learn how to meal prep. And deal with the fact that oh my holy kitchen disaster I suck at meal prep! I mean, I did it - - well, half of it - - but it took ALLLLLL day not counting the hours it took me to restore the kitchen to semi-functional cleanliness after. Whew! This is a full time job on it's own - at least until I get better at it. 

 

 
 

Morning Pages is still going - although I'm starting to question it (which is usually my first step to giving up on something that demands consistency.) Has anyone else done this exercise (it's from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way)? Granted it's only been three weeks - but I don't feel like I'm getting anything out of the twenty minutes of prime morning routine time I'm giving up for it. If the purpose of this drill is to teach me to write stream-of-consciousness without self-editing, well, I already know how to do that. Eh, I'll stick it out for the rest of this challenge period, but unless I am seeing some benefit by then, I will probably move on to something more directly related to the actual fiction I actually want to be writing. 

 

Spending ... well, it depends on how you look at it, I guess. I did buy more food-prep containers (and need to buy even more tomorrow!) - but I don't know whether to call that a "need" or a "want."  Technically I could make do with what I have now - I would just have to meal-prep half a week at a time, and set aside another block of time to do it all over again on Wednesday or Thursday. Inconvenient, but not impossible. But seriously, am I going to give up a weeknight every week to meal prep, just to save $20 worth of Rubbermaid doo-hickeys? No. No I am not. 

 

Gyming/arm rehab is going well. I was back at the base gym yesterday. Didn't want to mess about with barbells without my coach, so I stuck to machines. It was kind of weird, I haven't used nautilus-type machines in decades, but I got all the basic bases covered (legs, upper body push, upper body pull). It was a little humbling to see how low I had to set the weights on these things to keep my rep range in 6-8 territory, though. 

 

Machine Leg Press

50# 1x10

60# 3x8

 

One-Arm Cable Pulldown

Right: 30# 3x8

Left: 35# 3x8

 

Leg Extension

70# 3x8

 

Shoulder Press

40# 3x6 

 

 

Nutrition Challenge starts Monday. 

[Jord]

On 1/20/2018 at 5:50 PM, Gemma said:

I guess I'll just work out more. And learn how to meal prep. And deal with the fact that oh my holy kitchen disaster I suck at meal prep! I mean, I did it - - well, half of it - - but it took ALLLLLL day not counting the hours it took me to restore the kitchen to semi-functional cleanliness after. Whew! This is a full time job on it's own - at least until I get better at it.

 

How are you prepping everything? I believe and I could be wrong, that a lot of meal prep folks roast things in big sheets in the oven and also employ the crockpot. So they are not at the stove all day.

 

On 1/20/2018 at 5:50 PM, Gemma said:

 

Spending ... well, it depends on how you look at it, I guess. I did buy more food-prep containers (and need to buy even more tomorrow!) - but I don't know whether to call that a "need" or a "want."  Technically I could make do with what I have now - I would just have to meal-prep half a week at a time, and set aside another block of time to do it all over again on Wednesday or Thursday. Inconvenient, but not impossible. But seriously, am I going to give up a weeknight every week to meal prep, just to save $20 worth of Rubbermaid doo-hickeys? No. No I am not. 

 

 

 

agreed, this seems like a sensible one time purchase to me.

[CourtnieMarie]

yeah i actually find that following someone else's meal plan and recipes takes a lot of time. especially if it's recipes i've never cooked before. did the nutritionist person give you exactly what to eat or just macros/calories? i hope it goes smoother next time!

 

and sorry you're affected by the shutdown   you are using your free time to your advantage though!

[farflight]

I "kind of" meal prep. I find it much easier to bulk cook, and then pack lunch each evening (for the next day). I don't pre-pack dinners cause, well life happens, and a lot of times dinner plans change as the schedule makes unforseen shifts.

 

I tend to cook large protein portions (roasts, pork shoulders, steaks) and always make enough for left overs (especially if it's something that can be used in multiple dishes (e.g. pork shoulder tacos, pork soup, working my way up to tamales).

 

By having large portions, I'm not really "locked" into any particular meals for the week/days.

 

Just what works for me, your mileage may differ.

[Scaly Freak]

53 minutes ago, farflight said:

I "kind of" meal prep. I find it much easier to bulk cook, and then pack lunch each evening (for the next day). I don't pre-pack dinners cause, well life happens, and a lot of times dinner plans change as the schedule makes unforseen shifts.

 

 

I do this as well. I kind of sort of meal plan... every weekend has at least one large cooking project. My problem is that a successful project never lasts very long, on account of being eaten.

[farflight]

5 minutes ago, scalyfreak said:

account of being eaten

This^^^ is why I haven't made tamales yet. 

 

I've got 2 really good pork shoulder recipes (a salt/sugar cured shoulder and a more carnitas style), I always make it saying "Imma learn to make tamales with this in a couple days...." then two-three days later....

[Gemma]

3 hours ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

 

How are you prepping everything? I believe and I could be wrong, that a lot of meal prep folks roast things in big sheets in the oven and also employ the crockpot. So they are not at the stove all day.

 

2 hours ago, CourtnieMarie said:

yeah i actually find that following someone else's meal plan and recipes takes a lot of time. especially if it's recipes i've never cooked before. did the nutritionist person give you exactly what to eat or just macros/calories? i hope it goes smoother next time!

 

and sorry you're affected by the shutdown   you are using your free time to your advantage though!

 

1 hour ago, farflight said:

I "kind of" meal prep. I find it much easier to bulk cook, and then pack lunch each evening (for the next day). I don't pre-pack dinners cause, well life happens, and a lot of times dinner plans change as the schedule makes unforseen shifts.

 

I tend to cook large protein portions (roasts, pork shoulders, steaks) and always make enough for left overs (especially if it's something that can be used in multiple dishes (e.g. pork shoulder tacos, pork soup, working my way up to tamales).

 

By having large portions, I'm not really "locked" into any particular meals for the week/days.

 

Just what works for me, your mileage may differ.

 

 

 

The meal plan is kind of in-between "exact foods" and "macros/calories" - so it has, for example:

Lunch - 6 oz. lean meat; 1 cup rice OR 8 oz sweet potato; 1 serving of green, non-starchy vegetable; 1 T. fat of your choice (butter, olive oil, coconut oil, 1 oz. avocado) 

 

So, some of it was definitely big batch cookery but just because I'd never done anything on this scale before it took longer than it should to measure and portion everything and figure out exactly what order things made sense in. And how MUCH to cook to make 14 portions of 6 oz of meat. (answer - A LOT.)

 

I did a bunch of chicken breasts in the pressure cooker and browned 2 lbs. of ground beef. (Next week maybe I'll do a big venison roast or something.)

Roasted a huge tray of brussels sprouts, and that wasn't enough so then I roasted a huge tray of broccoli. I carmelized three onions, and then I portioned out the 6 oz. meat, 1 serving veggies, and a spoonful of onions into each tray. That doesn't seem like it should have taken as long as it did, but it did.

 

The really most time consuming part was the breakfasts. Normally the hubs cooks brekkie for me, because I'm spoiled rotten my morning routine is already insane and adding cooking to it would mean I have to get up at 4 a.m. to be at work on time. But I didn't want to ask him to do more than he's already doing - this isn't his challenge, after all. So I pre-cooked my protein pancakes for the entire week - but I did the batter one day at a time because I couldn't figure out how else to make sure that each day's portion had the required "three eggs, two egg whites, 1/2 c. oatmeal, and serving of fruit" in it. That makes a TON of pancake batter just for one day, so I was standing over that griddle for a long time to get all seven days in. 

 

Some of my problem is lack of experience - I have no earthly idea how much uncooked rice it takes to make 7 cups of cooked, or if my biggest saucepan can even do that in one batch.

And some is just tedious, like measuring out 2 Tbsp portions of almond butter.

 

I suspect that by the end of this three months I'll be an Aunt Cass caliber kitchen pro, and it will be kind of a shock to go back to the "old" way of not thinking about what to eat or preparing it until it's time to start. Hopefully I'll be able to bring some decent plan-ahead habits with me even when I'm done with eating out of tupperware full time.  

 

[farflight]

3 minutes ago, Gemma said:

The really most time consuming part was the breakfasts.

Not sure how set you are on the mastication side of breakfast, but smoothies could be an option (and not the "fruit salad in a cup" smoothie).

 

I've started making my smoothie the night before, only takes a minute or two. Then in the morning I throw in the almond milk (wife is dairy allergic so we don't keep it in the house) and water and blend...boom breakfast (.5 avocado, protein powder, peanut butter, chia seeds, 1/4 cup fruit, handful spinach, sometimes a banana...its so think that the straw goes in like a spear to the ground...no wiggle).

 

Keeps me full from 530 am till....about now....stomach just started growling...but the might have to do more with the 2 fun size butterfingers I stress ate an hour ago

[Gemma]

6 minutes ago, farflight said:

Not sure how set you are on the mastication side of breakfast, but smoothies could be an option (and not the "fruit salad in a cup" smoothie).

 

I've started making my smoothie the night before, only takes a minute or two. Then in the morning I throw in the almond milk (wife is dairy allergic so we don't keep it in the house) and water and blend...boom breakfast (.5 avocado, protein powder, peanut butter, chia seeds, 1/4 cup fruit, handful spinach, sometimes a banana...its so think that the straw goes in like a spear to the ground...no wiggle).

 

Keeps me full from 530 am till....about now....stomach just started growling...but the might have to do more with the 2 fun size butterfingers I stress ate an hour ago

I completely agree, I normally (when I'm normal-eating) do smoothies for my "second breakfast" post-workout meal and I love 'em - but since my plan-dictated breakfast for this particular cycle is literally just eggs,  egg whites, oatmeal, and fruit, I could not imagine those ingredients in a blender coming out any variation on non-gross. 

 

After this first month is over, I should get a little more leeway to make substitutions. At that point I'll do the work (math is hard!) to figure out a smoothie that matches the calories and macros of this current egg 'n' oat mess. 

[farflight]

Just now, Gemma said:

I could not imagine those ingredients in a blender coming out any variation on non-gross. 

Agreed...however, those could not trump my most atrocious smoothie mistake.....

 

canned spinach DOES NOT...LET ME REPEAT  DOES NOT replace fresh spinach in a smoothie....I can still taste it sometimes...and that was months ago

 

[Gemma]

Just now, farflight said:

canned spinach DOES NOT...LET ME REPEAT  DOES NOT replace fresh spinach in a smoothie....

 

[Grumble]

1 hour ago, farflight said:

canned spinach DOES NOT...LET ME REPEAT  DOES NOT replace fresh spinach in a smoothie....

[farflight]

In my defense, it was early in the damn morning and I'm a little "too" routine driven...it was the only spinach that we had in the house...

 

The fun part...

1) ask me how many times I've made that mistake since then (answer-0)

2) ask me how many times I've purchased canned spinach since then (see previous answer)

3) ask me how often I've run out of fresh spinach since then (you get the idea)

 

As bad as it was...I DID choke that mother down...you know, starving children in china and all that other guilt shit we were force fed as children

[Scaly Freak]

1 hour ago, farflight said:

Agreed...however, those could not trump my most atrocious smoothie mistake.....

 

canned spinach DOES NOT...LET ME REPEAT  DOES NOT replace fresh spinach in a smoothie....

 

 

OR ANYWHERE ELSE!!!

 

[Jord]

27 minutes ago, scalyfreak said:

 

OR ANYWHERE ELSE!!!

 

 

seriously. who even BUYS canned spinach? what do they use it for?

[Grumble]

1 minute ago, Taddea Zhaan said:

 

seriously. who even BUYS canned spinach? what do they use it for?

 

Home Invasion Defense.