All i can do is try ;-(

Update... 5 weeks of boot camp and not a pound lost... Sad, isn't it? I am hitting it hard 3 times a week. I wish i had the stamina to work out 5 times a week but i am zapped at the end of the day...

I could whine and cry about it except i signed up for another 5 weeks... You know as i typed that, Lady Gaga's song "i live for the applause, applause" song comes to mind. Despite feeling defeated, i gotta keep pluggin away. Last night, i jogged with a resistance band around my waist pulling my daughter. It was tough but i am improving.

I am cooking a little more when time allows. What do you think of these stuffed peppers? I browned ground pork, onions, zucchini and red sauce along with some jasmine rice. Topped with Mexican blend of cheese. Daniel had two servings...



My goal for the next few weeks is to continue logging my food using MyfitnessPal. It is tough to stay under 1300 calories. Every time i log my food fitness pal says i should weigh 173 if i ate this way for 5 weeks.. LIE.... I still weigh 180.

Breast reconstruction seems unattainable even though logically 170 lbs is not that big of a goal. Damn menopause. All i can do is try, right?

Time to dip deeper

Happy Friday all.  Do you have any special plans for the weekend? I'll be working on Saturday. I'm proctoring a Professional Responsibility exam.  We are all doing more at work with the recent staff reductions. I'm blessed to have a job given the state of legal education today.  Many law schools are accepting fewer students and reducing their staff.  Whew... where did that come from?

Anyways, can I show you my recent workouts from Kaia Fit Sacramento? I absolutely love this gym and the workouts.  The woman are super supportive of one another. 

For example, this Super Speed nearly killed me.  I made it to the Kaia Builders and next thing I know, the coach is counting down along side of me, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and she calls time. Everyone starts to applause and it's then that I realize I'm the only one that hasn't finished the set.  I am pretty sure I wasn't doing the exercises correctly but when I could, I called out to the coach for corrections. I gave it all I had. The coach and the class knew I had it in me.... Isn't it odd how we don't know we have it in ourselves? Does that make sense?

Last night, we did a Fit Test. I was able to run the 800M spring in 5.27 minutes.  I've shaved 30 seconds from my first Fit Test four weeks ago. It's not great but it's an improvement.

Burpees remain a challenge.  Any suggestions on how to do them correctly? 

I've been thinking about why I have not lost a single pound in the last 4 weeks. If I'm gong to be honest, I need to examine my portions. Am I being precise in my calorie counting?  I think we're all a little guilty of massaging the numbers as we log them into our journals.  Time to get real with myself.  Bottom line is I NEED TO EAT LESS and not underestimate what I can accomplish.  After all, I did 45 seconds jumping rope last night. I've not jumped rope since I was a kid.

Time to dig deeper on all levels.  If you're up to the challenge, let's do the Super Speed workout in under an hour.  Let me know how you do?

Best,
Paula

Shrimp a la Diabla -- I cooked an amazing meal last night!

Shrimp in red chile sauce

Last night as I waited for trick o treaters, I felt inspired to cook. Daniel was returning home after a 3 day job out of town and so I thought I would have something on the stove for him when he arrived.

I've eaten this dish many times in restaurants but could never quite nail the recipe. I think I came close last night.  Here is what I did.

Sauce Ingredients
3 Chile Guajillos
5 Chile de Japones
4 small roma tomates
3 cloves of garlic

Directions
Toast the Chile de Japones in a skillet until charred and set aside.  Take the Chile Guajillos and remove the seeds and stems.  Place the Guajillos chiles and tomatoes in a small pot with about 1.5 cups of water. Boil on high for about 5-6 minutes until soft.  Add the Guajillo and tomato mixture to your blender, adding the toasted chile de Japones (these are hot so if you don't care for heat, use two).  Add two cloves of garlic, salt and blend.  Set the sauce aside.

Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/2 white onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tbs. of olive oil or butter
2 lbs of clean, deveined shrimp. Be sure to remove the tails.

Slice your peppers and onions in thin strips.  Saute in oil or butter until soft.  Once the peppers half way cooked, add your shrimp and toss for a couple of minutes.  Add the chile sauce to your pan. Turn the heat down low. Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat.  Do not cook too long because you don't want your shrimp to shrivel up.

Serve over a plate of white rice. Heat tortillas and enjoy.  I think this dish would be great with refried beans. I had a little left over from a previous meal and the sauce added extra flavor to the beans.

If you enjoy spicy food, then this recipe is for you.  Daniel loved the sauce.  I am not the most affectionate person but cooking this meal for him was my way of showing him I care.  He must get tired of eating fast food while working out of town.  Actions do speak louder than words, don't you think?

It feels nice to write about food again.  Here's to inspiration (imagine I have a glass of wine in my hand as I clink your glass).

Have a great weekend my friends and don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour on Sunday.

Best,
Paula

stronger than i realized

Happy Halloween my friends...

Man, what a difference a year makes. Just last year, I was struggling with a diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer and gearing up for surgery.  You  never know what you're made of until you're tested....

That's exactly how I felt last night after completing boot camp. Every part of my body ached prior to that class. I wanted to skip out but my daughter motivated me to just work through it.  I am so glad I did.  On my drive home, I could not contain my happiness. It's an incredible feeling to know where I was last year and today I am getting through drills that involve planks, plié squats, sit ups and burpees which I struggle with but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.

I jumped on the scale and it reads 179 STILL.  It's disheartening.  I start to think "what if I never lose the 20 lbs and cannot get breast reconstruction?" Well, I'll come to terms with that when and if it  happens. For now, I'm going to bask in my feeling of health and fitness.

10/30/13

 I'm stronger than I realized.  I know it's because the Lord is in my corner.

Life is sweet y'all.  Just needed to come here with my praise report.  If you're reading this and are struggling... please do not give up.  After every storm, there's a calmness.   Just hold on... keep going. Whatever the challenge is... look for the blessing. Keep pressing forward.  Life is incredibly sweet even in the midst of challenges. It's those moments that we need to call on our higher power. For me it's God.  I can do all things with him. 

Have a safe Halloween friends and thank you for stopping by this here blog.

Later, gators.

 

Accepting limitations or pushing past them? Slippery slope!

Whew, it's Wednesday and the weekend is almost here.  Speaking of weekends, I wanted to share a spicy treat I found at the Folsom swap meet on Saturday. It's called a "mangoneada." It's basically a spicy tamarind drink poured over crushed ice with slices of fresh mango. They top it off with a nice tamarind candy.  Yum. This was pretty delicious.

Mangoneada

Physical limitations post breast cancer

I am in my second week of boot camp and am loving it.  On Monday, it got pretty intense.  I found myself cheating a little with the ladder jumps. I am so uncoordinated.  You are suppose to run to get as many rounds as possible during your timed workout.  I walked... I know I was cheating myself or was I?

It's tough to accept your limitations. I have limitations?  Ain't nobody got time for that!  Especially NOT after breast cancer. Not only do I want to do all the exercises, but I want to rock them!  We all have a competitive side and maybe that's what I'm up against. My rational side says "easy my friend" and the bitch in me says "pick it up!"

I've been thinking about where I am physically, 8 months after my last chemo treatment.  It's not a bad place all things considered. After all, didn't doctors just pump my body with poison to kill good and bad cells? Didn't I just have a double mastectomy less 11 months ago?  I remind self that "showing up to boot camp and trying YOUR best already makes YOU a winner. Easy girlfriend.  You'll get there."

I am to turn in my goal sheet to my trainer tonight. At this point, my only goal is to rock every workout.  To not cheat myself by walking... but giving it all I got. At this point and time, maybe that's the best I can do... or is it?  See, the competitiveness in me rears her ugly head.

God willing, next year, I'll be closer to another goals such as doing an unassisted pull-up.  Yea, your arm hurts where the lymph nodes were removed... Yea, you gotta be careful but it's possible?  Slow and steady Paula... It's always been your mantra. If that doesn't work, remember what your madre used to say, "One day at a time."  

Those words will remind self to have patience, and to look at how far I've come. All in good measure.

MEASURE.... that's a very powerful word. What do you think?

Ever notice how when you move outside your comfort zone, you feel alive?

Hola, how's it going?

Can I just share that I am so sore that I can barely lift myself off the toilet? Wanna know why?  I joined a 5 week boot camp session that meets 3 days a week. It's all woman and all levels.

We are paired up with another woman and we do DRILLS.  When I saw some of the stuff that we would be doing, I immediately thought "damn, I'm too old for this, what am I thinking?"  Well, I have done two classes and I survived.

What an awesome feeling knowing you pushed the envelope.  I worked out with my daughter and I did not want to slow  her down so I pushed. I did luges, squats, sit ups, used a kettle bell, jumped and tonight, I think we're going to push a big ol tire.

I joined this 5 week boot camp hoping it will help me with losing the 10-15 pounds needed for my breast reconstruction surgery.  I started out at 190 and today, I weigh 178 lbs.  It's hard to eat at 1200-1300 calories.

As part of the boot camp commitment, I have given up sugar. Why is it when something is  prohibitive, you just want it more?

I hope I can share pictures with you all in the coming weeks. I'm so excited.  Ever notice how when you move outside your comfort zone, you feel alive?

Well, that's how I feel.

I'll be back soon. Hope you're having an awesome day. Gotta suit up for my 3rd session.

TTFN,
Paula

these pictures don't tell the whole story

Hi friends, how was your weekend? Mine was very good.  I spent the day hiking with my friend Pablo. We went up to Carson Pass near  Lake Tahoe and hiked up to Frogs Lake, then to Lake Winnemucca and then to Round top Lake and back. I would classify this as a "moderate" hike.  It was brutal coming down. We did a total of 6.5 miles and it's Tuesday, and I'm still feeling sore.

My buddy Pablo wants us to climb that mountain in the back?  Wouldn't that be something to work towards?

My friend took these pictures of me and all I see is HOW MY BODY HAS CHANGED SINCE CHEMO. Please do not get me wrong. I am extremely grateful to have beaten Cancer. Damn!  That was a hard word to type.   I don't always feel like I've "beaten" cancer because fear lurks in the back of your mind but I am certainly here and you don't even know how wonderful it was to be out doing something I love.  When I was recouping from surgery and doing chemo, all I wanted was to be hiking and be normal.  Today I was normal.

Looking at these pictures, I see the toll that treatment has taken on my body. I gained a total of 15 pounds and have 6 pounds to lose before hitting my previous weight of 174.

I am now carrying all this weight in my mid-section, back and arms.

My body is different.  I am determined to not let the  mean girl in me tear me to shreds. These pictures don't tell the whole story. I hiked 6.5 miles in moderately rugged terrain.  I pushed myself towards my former self.

I PUSHED MYSELF...and it was marvelous. 

Even though I'm over weight. Even though it was hard. Even though I am not where I want to be... I am certainly not on the couch where I was and I  praise the Lord for that...

Best,
Paula