The Slippery Scale

Ahhhhh.... the scale.

Isn't it funny that sometimes you can be almost obsessive about the scale - weighing yourself multiple times a day, and other times you can avoid it for a month. 

I weigh myself once a day (sometimes more) when I am eating healthy, working out consistently and I really look forward to it. 

Now that the consistent workouts have subsided until my calf muscle is healed (a few more weeks of physical therapy and I will be back up and running!)..... I avoid the scale like the plague.  I haven't weighed myself in around 2 weeks. I am terrified to!

Logic says when you can't workout consistently and want to lose (or even don't want to gain) weight you should eat a very healthy calorie restricted diet. Logic however doesn't hold true for me. Physically I crave higher calorie foods when I am not exercising consistently. I haven't been terrible, but I haven't been great. 

Here's what I am doing this point forward...I am going to weigh myself weekly. No matter if I am working out like a maniac or still on the bench. Every week at the end of each post, I will show my positive or negative results (no matter what... yikes!). 

Next post will be plus or minus my last weight which was -20 from my starting weight in July. Have a great Halloween weekend everyone!

SONG THAT KEPT ME (THINKING ABOUT) RUNNING THIS WEEK: "Raise Your Glass" Pink - can't wait to run to this in a few weeks!

RANDOM TIP OF THE WEEK: If you are having trouble avoiding some of the Halloween candy here's a tip. If you want a piece allow yourself one (a mini one) but make yourself do 10 push-ups after that piece and whenever you have a piece. It might make you think twice about the amount you eat!

THIS WEEK'S RECIPES: Bonus! You get 2 recipes this week since some followers requested a roasted cauliflower recipe :)

1. Bulgar Salad with White Beans & Artichokes

This salad is so delicious. This combined with last week's recipe makes me think that maybe I could be a vegetarian.... that's how good it is! Never a vegan though, as I like cheese and greek yogurt too much. And who I am kidding, I do love a good burger... but this is super delicious nevertheless!

5 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

• 1 1/4 cups bulgar, rinsed and drained
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/3  cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/3  cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4  cup minced red onion
• 3  tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4  teaspoon salt
• 1/8  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (15-ounce) can navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Preparation:

Combine bulgar and 2 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until tender and liquid is absorbed.

Combine cooked bulgar, mint, and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Approximately 200 calories and 6.5 grams of fat per serving.

2. Roasted Cauliflower with Paprika

I've made roasted cauliflower 3 times over the past few weeks and this was my favorite of the recipes and it's SUPER simple.

1 head of cauliflower, cored and broken into small pieces

1.5 tablespoons of olive oil

1.5 teaspoons of paprika

Course salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread cauliflower on foil. Sprink with oil and paprika; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. NOTE: Toss once. 

Being Change

I recently heard this story and it really struck a chord with me...

During the 1930s, a young boy had become obsessed with eating sugar. His mother decided to travel take him to Gandhi who was highly revered across the country - perhaps his instruction could convince her son to cut back on sugar. 

“My son has horrible eating habits,” she said.  “Please, he will listen to you if you tell him to stop eating foods with so much sugar.”

Gandhi listened sympathetically.  “I ask that you come back next week and make the request again.”

The mother agreed and returned seven days later.  “My son’s problem continues,” she said.  “I am greatly concerned about his health.  He rarely eats vegetables or fruits.  Please, won’t you talk to him about the danger of eating too much sugar.”

“Please, come back and see me in a week,” he said simply.

Though the mother was disappointed, she left and returned one week later.  Once again she made her pleas. This time he agreed to talk with her son.

When the conversation was completed, the mother thanked Gandhi.  “I am grateful that you took the time to talk to my son, but I don’t understand why it took three requests for you to do so.”

He looked at the woman and said, “I didn’t realize how hard it would be for me to give up sugar.”

One of Gandhi's most famous quotations is 

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world." 

This story exemplifies that idea and it also reiterates one of the ---main reasons I am finally making this change. 

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Thanks to all the well wishes and inquiries into how I'm doing. Here's the latest update:

I started physical therapy on my leg this week. I am doing everything I can to get back up and running on a consistent basis ASAP. As hard as it is not to run (I did sneak in a "test" run last week and it didn't agree with my leg) I am now trying to do it the right way, so I don't injure myself more or have to deal with a sore leg every-time I run. I've been told this "is not a no pain no gain scenario." 

Excitingly I found out that I am now officially allowed to do yoga and try a little biking, so I am going to rotate those into my routine and get really active again this week. My goal is to get up and running as quickly as possible and stay injury-free for as long as possible! 

The good news in this is that I really really really know that I am going to stick with running, because I miss it so much!

SONG THAT KEPT ME (THINKING ABOUT) RUNNING THIS WEEK: "Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE: Butternut Squash Risotto!

With the cooler weather, changing leaves, pumpkins, football and yummy squash in-season...I was really feeling like experimenting with a recipe that evoked fall. This risotto really fit the bill! It's delicious - slightly adapted from the original version from Clean Eating magazine (yes, you know I love their recipes by now!). 

Serves 4.

Hands-on time: 45 minutes. Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups peeled, diced fresh butternut squash
- Olive oil cooking spray
- Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 5 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (2 cups)
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
- ½ cup fresh or frozen peas (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ shredded fontina cheese or Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts, toasted
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss squash with a little mist of the cooking spray; season with salt and pepper. Spread squash in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 20-25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Set squash aside.

Meanwhile, bring broth to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat; keep warm.

While broth is heating, sauté onion in 1 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until they start to soften, 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add rice and stir to coat with oil and vegetables.

Add ½ cup warm broth; simmer and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Stir in another ½ cup warm broth; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is almost all evaporated. Continue adding broth in ½-cup increments, adding more only after previous addition has been absorbed. Taste rice after three-quarters of the broth has been added. Rice is done when it’s tender but still slightly firm and white in the very center (not chalky). Continue adding broth until only ½ cup remains.

Add thyme, sage, peas and cheese to pan with last ½ cup broth; stir until cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat before all liquid is absorbed. Gently fold in cooked squash and walnuts. Season risotto with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional thyme if desired. Serve warm.

I'm pretty tired tonight. I hope that there aren't typos and that this post is somewhat grammatically correct!