On Weight and Work-Outs

So we're gonna do a "real" blog post for once.

I get a lot of comments these days.  Whether it's from people I know, people I don't, people I am vaguely acquainted with--they all make little comments every now and again about my weight/size/"skinniness".

If you had told me 10, heck, 5 years ago that I would be called "skinny" by a large amount of people, I would have laughed in your face (I also would have laughed in your face if you told me I'd be running 4+ miles 5 days a week, but that ties in).

I don't mind the comments, really, until they come with an undertone of "Ugh, you're on of those people."  Which is, to say, one of the people who eats whatever they want, does nothing for exercise, and simply IS skinny.

Which is 100% false and not true and I won't lie to you;  I got where I am through a lot of trial and error, hard work, and dedication.

Or, there are the (very rude) people who mime vomiting actions at me, suggesting that I have an eating disorder.  Well, I used to, so there's that.  It took a lot of self-help and willpower to get past THAT stage of my life, so kindly go @#$% yourself if you think it's funny to tell me that I MUST be throwing up/vastly restricting my food to look "healthy".  Not to mention how horrible it is to joke about that.

I cannot sit around eating bon-bons all day, stop exercising, and stay where I am weight-wise.  I never could.  And it would be very wrong of me to not admit that I have had my fair share of massive body-image issues because of this--that got me to where I am, and where I WON'T go.

I decided years ago that I would rather look the way I want and feel the way that feels best than, say, have that piece of cake or fried food.  As I said, much trial and error has gone into this.  I can, essentially, eat mostly what I want when I'm exercising on the regular.  But "what I want" tends to consist of mostly healthy foods (mostly fruit and vegetables, actually) with a modest dessert thrown in a few days a week.  I'm a self-described "flexetarian" (meaning I'll eat vegetarian most of the time, but I have nothing against eating meat), eat low-carb compared to most Americans (I guess slow-carb is a better term--I avoid the major starches/grains), and I generally watch my calories.  Generally.  Calorie counting gets dangerous, kids, so don't get obsessed.  If I gain a few pounds?  I cut back on sweets.  I actively watch how my clothes fit.  It's pretty easy.

I work out 4-5 days a week.  I listen to my body.  If it hurts in that not-related-to-a-good-workout way, I take a break.  If I'm exhausted all the time for no reason, I take a break.  In fact, every few months, I take a week off of everything and "recharge".  Working out is my me-time, it gives me a chunk of time to simply think by myself, and I feel great afterward.  I don't torment myself.  I rarely ever really PUSH myself hard.  I just go run.  I used to HATE it, but now I really enjoy doing it, as hard it is to believe that.

So, really...I started this blog post a while ago, intending to post, and worried that it would come off as vain or braggy or...I don't know, unnecessary.  But I get tired of people thinking that I simply get away with my health.  I don't.  I work hard.  I come from a long line of diabeetus (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose), heart disease/problems, obesity, etc.  I do not want my life to involve any of those things, so I do my best to counteract it.  I also enjoy being proud of how I look in a swimsuit and my clothes.  I don't cry anymore when I go shopping, which happened all the time as a teen.  I am happy with myself.  I simply want to up-keep this happiness!  When you get to where you want to be, you have to maintain, you can't simply quit!

So when I turn down that cookie, that cake, that extra helping, it's not because I don't like your food (or because it has gluten in it, 'cause I can't eat it!), but because, thank you, I am full, I've had enough carbs today, or I just don't feel like eating it.  And that should be fine.  Don't shame me for watching my weight/health.  In my humble opinion, more people would be better off doing it.

End scene.

"Detox" Salad

So sometimes I get a little overindulge-y on the sweets and carbs and good things in life (funnily enough, in the summer, there's WAY more dessert present in my house than any other time of year--thank you, fresh fruit!), and I just feel like eating a giant pile of vegetables for a meal.

I don't buy into the whole "detox" movement (or "cleanses" or "raw" or any of that, really), but it just feels...GOOD sometimes to eat a full-on healthy salad of not much more than shredded veggies, dried/fresh fruit, nuts, and very little dressing.

Maybe that's just me and I'm weird like that, but whatev!  I do what I want!

Your best friend, in this situation, is a food processor with a shredder attachment.  If you don't have that, this'll take a lot longer (and more effort) to make.

Inspired by this recipe, with a few additions/changes for my own tastes.

Ingredients:

1-2 bunches of broccoli, washed and stems cleaned up
3-4 small red beets
2 medium carrots
1/2 bunch of kale (curly or dinosaur, your choice), finely chopped
1/2 cup nuts, roughly chopped (I used cashew pieces and almonds)
1/2 cup unsweetened raisins
1/4 cup kelp powder
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T.-1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 T. olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Optional: handful of fresh berries on top :)

Instructions:

Using a food processor, finely shred broccoli (stems and all!), carrots, and beets.    Toss together in a large bowl.

Add in the kale, nuts, and raisins.

In a small bowl, mix together the kelp powder, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, and oil.  Taste and season/add more honey.

Toss everything together!

Enjoy!