"Healthy Starts Here"

Good morning and welcome to my 28-Day Healthy Eating Challenge, brought to you in part by my own willingness and my local Whole Foods Market.

In my (ceaseless, sometimes unsuccessful, but well-intended) quest for better health, I have signed myself up for this 28-day challenge. I received an email from the school nurse alerting staff of the program and the word "free gym membership" stopped me from immediately deleting the message. What's involved? After ponying up $35, here's what I've gotten myself into:

• 4 Healthy Eating Nutritional & Cooking Classes
• a One-on-One Consultation with a healthy eating specialist
• a Guided tour of my Whole Foods Market
• Food & Exercise Journal
• a copy of Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
• 28-day free pass to my local Urban Active gym 

As I stated above, the last bullet point is what really got me interested. On the whole, I figure I can do just about anything for 28 days. I hope to get some good eating habits out of this, and if anything, rethink how I look at food.

The main charge of this program is to eat "plant strong, whole grains, low fat, nutrient dense foods that include limited quantities of seafood and meat." Basically the goal is to get closer to the vegan lifestyle. I can say with almost 100% certainty that a vegan lifestyle is not possible in our household. Big Red has willingly gone along with my meat reductionist ways, but he would surely stage a protest if I eliminated animal products all together. Truth is, I'm not sure I want to eliminate all animal products. I don't have to, nor do I want to, eat meat every single day, or cheese, or milk (we've already ditched cow's milk and now drink almond milk), but once in a while it's enjoyable. I do have the upper hand when it comes to what is consumed in our household because pretty much I'm the one that does all the cooking and shopping. Mwahahah!


This morning I was up, eyes open, alert and ready to go, at 7 am. After letting Olive out and feeding her breakfast, we left Big Red upstairs to sleep in, and we headed downstairs. Olive chewed on a toy and occasionally tried to get on my mat with me as I did yoga for 40 minutes. As I was twisting and breathing into various poses, I recognized how much flexibility I have lost over the years. As a young girl, I was a gymnast and could easily contort my body - um, not so much anymore. But I'm working on it. The havoc I have brought upon my joints thanks to many injuries as a consequence of years as a serious athlete, will no doubt benefit from some yoga.

Breakfast was a sweet potato and a few clementines. I haven't gone to the grocery store yet, so that was my limited non-processed food choice for the morning. After I sign off here, I'm going to go through my materials given to me by Whole Foods, make a list, and then hit the store.

I don't know what's going to happen over the next 28 days. I hope to keep an open mind and I'm excited to try out some new recipes. If I stick to my guns, I'm certain to shed a few pounds - always a bonus. As of today, I'm down 8.2 lbs since the start of 2012.

Here. I. Go.

day 1: summer

June 21. The first official day of summer for both the world, and myself. I figured I'd hit the ground running. Got up at 6:30 (it matters not how desperately I want to sleep in, my body just refuses to let me...), and watched the morning news with Big Red. He was off to work, and then Olive and I caught up on a couple of shows stored on the DVR. Then, it was time to head out for a walk. Olive was pumped and all wagging tail when she saw me pull out her harness. We walked for about 45 minutes in the sticky morning air, and then I attempted a yoga DVD lent to me by P. My unagi breath, or whatever the hell the woman from the DVD said it was, got its proverbial lotus-ass kicked. The session on the DVD is 60 minutes long, and I got through 20 minutes of it. I was all wobbly, and my once limber body has since become, un-limber.

From the ages of 5 to almost 13, I was a gymnast. I was a gymnast who could pretzel herself without thinking twice. I could bend myself in half and touch my nose to my knees. The splits? Pshaw! No problem. Now - not so much: BIG problem. I guess I shouldn't say problem, but rather more of a challenge. I'm not 13 anymore. I'm almost 33. I understand that getting back some kind of flexibility is a process and definitely an earned ability. I'm willing to work on it though, and that's what counts. 20 minutes of the DVD today, perhaps I'll get through 22 tomorrow, and then 27 the following day.

This summer is going to be about NO EXCUSES. I have high hopes for what I can accomplish both mentally and physically, and I think I've started well. Z sent me an email about what a great first night of freedom she had last night. A glass of wine and some warm summer air ushered in her freedom. She also wrote that, "teaching can be a beautiful thing if [we] embrace the eloquent freedom of summer." I've written about this before, how important summer is to a teacher, that it's much more than just 8 weeks of no students. In my humble opinion, we need it to be able to do our jobs well and passionately.

I don't think I'll have any problems embracing the eloquent freedom of summer.
Nope. No problems.

summer lovin'

There are just 31 physical days left between me and the sweet toe stretch of summer.  Of those 31, just 17 require me to be an active teacher.  Every year, around this particular time of year, I begin to create lists of things I want to get accomplished during the summer.  Goals, if you will.  My fear is always that the summer will pass and I’ll have nothing to show for it.  Last summer was all about Olive and pure indulgent laziness—although I did do a fitness boot camp.  Long hours spent lounging and watching the entire Sex and the City television series.  While it was genuinely wonderful to while away the hours, I’d like to be just a tad more productive this time around.

So, in keeping with my Type-A nature, and my need to make lists and cross items off, here is my “To Do” list for the summer:

• Take Olive on many, many leisurely walks.
• Do yoga!  This is a new one for me.  I bought a pass off of the ingenious Groupon website for unlimited use of a yoga studio.  I can take as many or as few classes as my little heart desires in the month of my choice.  My choice is July.
• Finish my writing/craft room.
• Pretty up the laundry area.  The cinder block walls are an ugly pale green.  I have visions of purple, and I’d even like to go as far as painting the outside of the utility sink.  Maybe add some flowers and butterflies...
• Eat well. Now, before you go an exhale with an eye roll, I’d like to make the case that it’s never to late to get back on the healthy train.  I had a relapse this last month, but have gotten it back together. I want to use the summer and all the yummy fruits available to me to get myself square and plumb when it comes to food.
• Enjoy my elliptical machine.  That’s an easy one!
• Seek out and try new recipes.
• Seek out new music.
•  Listen to more This American Life podcasts…or better yet, catch it live!
•  Take one trip.  It doesn't have to be big, and it probably won’t be.  I’m thinking something along the lines of Amish country. Maybe a couple of nights at an Amish run B&B.  I’d love to find an Amish made rocking chair that can be used, someday, in a nursery...
• Read, read, read, and read some more.  I believe there are roughly 12-15 books I have purchased over the course of the school year that are patiently waiting my devouring eyes.
• Rethink and revise my wardrobe.  The recent lbs. I have shed and the ones I’m planning on shedding will allow me to perk up my clothes. Don’t need nuthin' fancy, but I definitely would like to inject a little more femininity and cuteness into my choices. 
• Watch movies. I’m such a movie watcher. Thank god for Netflix.
• Write.  I’m going to attempt to make it a point to write every single day.  Be it for five minutes or fifty.

For as much as my job can frustrate the living hell out of me, I am grateful for this imminent time off to reconnect with myself and catch my proverbial teacher breath.  The more years I teach (this is the end of year no. 7), I realize how important summer is in the life of an educator.  For 10 months we’re expected to be ON.  What most people can’t grasp is that teaching is not all about just teaching.  If it were, then maybe summer might not be so critically necessary.  But teaching, real teaching, is just one small tiny component of our daily lives. We are master jugglers tending to ten million issues at once.  The respite summer brings, really and truly, is necessary.  We are systems overloaded by June, and when we leave our classrooms for the peace and quiet of July and August, that is our shutdown and quiet time, the rebooting necessary to come back in September, bright-eyed and willing to jump into the trenches once again.