Day 29, New pictures & what a view!

So, the "what a view" comment in the title of today's post is for the view of the LAKE up here in Wisconsin, not for my pcp-aspiring body - lest you get the wrong opinion. And so alas, here is what I'm jumping to this week:

Sigh. A bit better than the view out my brooklyn window of 4 hair salons all in a row...

So, I took it easy up here today - lots of time in the sun, I finished my novel, chatted with my cousins. minimal movement outside of the PCP workout and some light chores. I'd say less activity than when I'm at home (i.e. no bike commute), but I think that's ok as it's the whole point of this vacation - rest rest rest!

Speaking of rest, another 10 hours of sleep last night! woohoooo! had some crazy dreams! in one, i went to a play where one of my old boyfriends was unexpectedly the lead, and where he then fed me figs and pickled beets in front of everyone as part of the show! whooooaaaa. I guess that's your answer to the "how's pcp effecting your thoughts about sex?" question, Patrick! haha!

Anyway, not much else to report. I'm excited to have the lighter dinner of fruit and milk and egg whites tonight. This past week I've felt that I'm developing more muscle for sure, but not necessarily shedding the fat as much, so my theory is that the dinner & evening snack variation to this week's diet will change that. we shall see!

Oh! New workouts this week are wicked awesome! Love the 1-2 punch on legs and back and abs - feels good and i'm really slammed by the end of it, but it leaves me very energized - such a great difference from those days of running that just left me feeling worn out. Lately I can't stop preaching and thinking about how much better these workouts feel, in so many ways, than the long runs and monotonous swims of my past. I do love swimming, but it got really boring after 2 years of my own sets and drills without a team or water polo (which I used to play in high school). I agree with Jenny and Tara though - swimming is where it's at in terms of feel-good exercise. Up here I've just been frolicking in the lake (more like floating than swimming) and it just feels fantastic. Good for the soul!

Speaking of the soul, I'm going to get some awesome soul-boosting fun tomorrow when we spend the day water-skiing! Will definitely have pictures to share, so stay tuned!

Day 28, Four week mark! Holy shiz!

GO TEAM SEXAAAY!!!!

I can't believe it's been 4 weeks!!!!! I am so excited that we still have 8 to go, especially because you all look amazing and if this is only 1/3 of our progress i can't wait to see what we all look like come day 90!!

Things are better today here in the woods. Maybe yesterday's annoyance was my final city angst, working itself out (much like that last pimple patrick told us about, before his beautiful pcp skin - an experience i'm having verbatim, btw!). Anyway, today has been great. Had 10 hours of sleep again last night - ah-maze-ingggg. And, today my cousin and her husband arrived and i love love love them so we will have a fun few days!

I wonder how people will react tomorrow when I sit at dinner with my apple, banana and egg whites, but whatever! i'm going to tell them to feel my abs! or maybe i'll just show them the pictures of me on day 1. :-P

oh, and new pictures coming up tomorrow! this time they will be great, since i'll have my sister help with the lighting and set up. wahooo!

hope you're all doing well this week and enjoying the feelings of success. i know i've said it before, but pcp is really rocking my world. thank you patrick and chen for this program!!!!

Day 27, up in the woods!

Hi Everyone!

This post will be quick, as it's dusk and I'm sitting outside the public library in our little town here, utilizing their strong wireless signal (the library itself is closed). Mosquitos in full force! Must type fast!

So, I have to admit that so far this vacation is not the PCP mecca experience I thought it would be. Well, let me amend that - the workouts ARE. I am jumping on the pier (will post a picture tomorrow, promise) and the view is stunning and it must be effecting and also coinciding with a jumping breakthru because i feel like I can jump forever! and i'm not tripping up too much. The rest of the workouts are going super well and with the new moves I'm a little sore again which feels good.

It's the food part that's challenging up here on this family vacation. First there was shock at everything I was picking out at the grocery store (how many times can i possibly say "I swear, I am going to eat all of this, I'm not just being weird!"??). And then it's just been a semi-constant string of comments or questions about what i'm eating, when i'm eating, what i'm going to eat next. I guess I've been in a lucky bubble at home, living alone, not having to explain myself too much. But as much as I think about the PCP, I realize now that I'm not thinking about the food as much as I'm thinking about its wonderful effects, and as much as I'm thinking about all of you and just how cool this experience is. The food details - yeah I'm enjoying the new recipes and everything's totally delicious, but I don't want to talk about it in detail at every single meal! Argh.

Ugh, it's wearing on me. Tonight I had some italian sausage as my protein, purely because I didn't want to have to explain myself allllll over again to new family members, or make a big deal of preparing something different. It was only 60g or so, so I'm not too worried, but there are going to be a few more family dinners so i need to just be PCP and try not to let it bother me (you'll be happy to know that I roasted veggies separately from the big family batch though, so as to control the salt and oil situations).

I guess that's my only report for now. Feels like kind of a downer post, but I'm feeling that way a bit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better, and in the meantime I'm focusing on how awesome the jump view is up here in the northwoods...

one great thing: 10 hours of sleep. yeah baby!!!!

Day 25, Indulgence - meh, but then a strange thing happened

So the rumored indulgence email arrived yesterday, and I'll be honest I was not ready to see it! I've just recently felt like I'm really at a turning point, really getting into the groove of this new routine, this new eat-as-part-of-your-training thing. I haven't craved anything in a real physical way, so the indulgence seemed like more of an emotional thing for me - something I've enjoyed not thinking about too much these past few weeks. So, I had fitful sleep last night--I'm sure it was in part due to anxiety over the indulgence, and then of course also fretting over all I had to do today before this vacation. So after dreading the indulgence all morning and after wasting WAY too much mental energy trying to figure out what the heck to have, I landed on one random item and one old favorite.

The random item:

weird! I probably have a snickers once every 5 years, if even that. Why would I choose it for the first indulgence time in 25 days?! Well, for one, after a friend suggested it yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And secondly, I wanted to really INDULGE, and eat something totally off the beaten path. At first I reached for a modest mini bar of dark chocolate, but I thought, SCREW IT. let's go for the big guns.

Summary: it was pretty delicious at first. Then quickly became overwhelmingly sweet and I could only eat 2/3 of it in total.

Second half of my indulgence:

ohhhh how I used to love these super-crunchy, salty, simply delicious chips!

And guess what: they definitely hit on some satisfaction spot within me. they were salty, yes, but it was really the crunch that I used to get enjoyment from, and I totally enjoyed it today. Now, I think i was pretty good - the bag of pita chips was small and only 200 calories, and then the 2/3 of snickers bar was probably another 200 or something around that. and sun was at full height, Patrick!

And after I finished the indulgence I thought, meh. No big revelation, no big reaction. My stomach was fine, and I didn't even get sleepy or anything like that (though I also just purely couldn't afford to, with all that I had to do at work today).

But the interesting side effect of the indulgence just happened now, circa 8pm (hours after the indulgence). I just got home from the food co-op (where I had to get some fruit and eggs and milk to tide me over for tonight and in the morning and during my travels tomorrow). I'm exhausted, and VERY thirsty from the salty indulgence, and did I mention tired? I still have to do laundry, and clean some things up at my apartment, and make a cab reservation for the morning.

All to say I'm still a little stressed, and worn out, and feeling the familiar urge to satiate all of that with a full stomach (I truly believe that if I hadn't had the indulgence earlier I wouldn't have felt this urge!). So before I knew it I ate like a bazillion grapes. It was as if I couldn't stop! I think I just needed to drink water, but they were sweet and quenched my thirst and I just kept going. I probably had 500g of grapes! maybe even MORE.

Not. Good.

Now of course, better it be grapes than the tortilla chips of my past. I'll allow for that and celebrate it, even. but the behavior was still there, and it was totally triggered by those hateful pita chips and their crazy crunch (and interesting that they really don't have much taste - i noticed that today for the first time. it's really just the salt and the crunch that I seem drawn to - so odd when I'm very taste-focused, in general). and guess what? I still have to do laundry, and clean my apartment, and make the cab reservation, and go to sleep for a few meager hours before a 4am wake up. So did the grapes solve my problems? of course not!

sigh.

the next indulgence is going to be different, now that I've hyper-experienced what those awful non-food packaged foods do to me. Were it cheese or wine or other natural and delicious indulgence items I think I would just feel pleasantly spoiled for a little while, and able to move on with no negative behavioral side effects. Well, we shall see about that come time for The Indulgence, round 2, but that's my theory for now.

I'm moving on. I'm getting foods ready for travel day tomorrow so that I don't get stuck in any bad situations. And, I think my rule for myself in Wisconsin is no more unlawful anythings, even bananas or "good" things. Unlawful is unlawful! Sure it's a cute word for cheating, but it's still cheating!

Ok, self-lecture over. Going to do the dreaded laundry now. Oh to have washer/dryer "in unit"... someday...

Day 24, So hot out

Well I've just taken a cold shower and here I am sitting in my dining room sweating. futile effort! Luckily I'm not lugging around those 9 pounds I had three weeks ago - that couldn't have made anything feel cooler.

Anyway, that's the state of things in Brooklyn. It's been a long week, and thankfully I am taking after Deborah and Royce and getting the F out of town! I realized today that I haven't taken a proper vacation in SEVEN MONTHS. And did I mention I routinely work 50 - 60 hour weeks? What have I been thinking?! Well, no need to dwell on the past - the point is that I'm departing suuuper early Saturday morning for the northwoods of Wisconsin, where we have a family "home base" of sorts, and where all my stress melts away like the fat on my hips. Oh I can't wait. Really really feeling the tug. I'll be there for a glorious 10 days, during which i'll probably read many novels, sleep 12 - 14 hours a night (that's my average, when I'm up there!), bike around, play ping pong when it rains, continue to cook and eat like a PCP rockstar, and spend all kinds of quality time with my family. Oh, and I'm hoping to go barefoot for 90% of the time up there. I'm going to do my workouts on the pier overlooking the lake! (I'll post pictures, don't worry!) and after workouts I get to rip off my clothes and have a skinny dip (will NOT be posting pictures of that!). I'll be blogging from the funny/cheesy coffee shop in "town" called Brew Moon, or from our neighbors' driveway as they have internet but we, thankfully, do not.

I think PCP will be easy to maintain up there, for the most part, since I usually treat my time there as detox from crazy eating and drinking in NYC. And the best part of food prep up there: dishwasher!! watch out! can't wait for that one.

So blah blah I'm excited. I'll post more about it later, but suffice it to say that I achieve balance by recharging my batteries up there a few times a year and I'm woefully low on juice right now.

...but one thing today made me incredibly happy... I got to meet Deborah!!

Here's proof:

It was fantastic! Deborah is even more lovely in person than on her blog, and it was righteously cool (and a bit crazy) to have some in-person Team SEXAAAY time! We had iced coffees and I was SO bummed to have to go back to work after a measly hour or so. Deb - I felt we could've gabbed for hours!

Can't wait to meet Tara and Naoko too, and anyone else who descends upon the city! Then eventually we'll have to have a PCP party on Saturna, of course, now that Royce has introduced us all to the garden of eden over there...

Ok, gotta go sit in front of the fan and think coooool thoughts.

p.s. i had an unlawful banana!

Day 23, So many temptations...

This has been a temptation-filled week!

First of all, this is the first week-before-my-period week on the PCP. I think it's going well - not going nuts, not eating bags of tortilla chips dipped in chocolate ice cream (ok i only did that once, and it was incredible-for the record), and at least trying not to dwell on negative things. It doesn't help, however, that there seem to be more temptations around me than normal. Have I mentioned that we have free beer at my office? and it's good beer, reeeaaaaallly good beer.

Other snacks out, up for grabs at my office this week: fruit tart (more tart than fruit), chocolate cake, tortilla chips, potato chips, pretzels, more pretzels, gummy bears, crackers, cheese.

!!!

These were some of my favorite snack items, and if I had never discovered PCP I probably would've eaten all of the above and then some!

I'm glad I'm not indulging, in the short-term, because of how all that food upsets my stomach and screws up my skin and makes me sleepy and gross-feeling. Long-term, of course, I'm glad because I've committed to PCP and it feels good to stick with it.

Now here's a funny example of how much I'm used to falling off the health wagon: so yesterday there was the fruit tart and the chocolate cake and the chips and the crackers and the cheese. There were two meetings during which some of this was out for the taking. Now, luckily, during one meeting there were also strawberries and cherries, and during the second meeting there were grapes and melon and berries...I gave in and had unlawful fruit at both meetings. I was feeling so weak, and especially at the second meeting, which was at 7pm waaaay up in the Bronx, I was worried that I'd just be overcome with hunger by the time I got to my food at home.

I felt guilty on some level, but I also felt proud that if I strayed from the daily plan then it was in the best direction it could've been. but then guess what? I had nightmares all last night about how I'd screwed up the PCP and had all this junk food and completely blown it. I had to talk myself off the ledge this morning and remind myself that we're talking about some cherries and melon here!!!

I think I've officially internalized the commitment to PCP, is what I'm trying to say.

Ok, now for some workout notes:

I still can't do a fracking real pull-up! I can ALMOST do a half one, but barely. Ugh. It's hard to imagine I'll ever be able to do one, let alone a whole set, but I'll keep trying.

The full push ups are killer, in an awesome way. I love push ups - they make me feel so strong! I need to focus on keeping my head up though, and on going a little farther down into the sweet spot.

In response to Patrick's last email about getting thru sets, here are some [odd] strategies I've developed, without really thinking about it:

On the second-to-last set for each exercise I count down rather than up. Something about this change helps me know I'm nearing the end and that it's time to really push.

During ab sets I have this weird thing that I do after each one. I say the following, out loud:

SET NUMBER 1, DONE!

SET NUMBER 2, GO YOU!

SET NUMBER 3, ALMOST FREE

there's nothing official for after the last set, but i think usually it's something like "oh thank god."

And finally, on the food front, another visual diary for your enjoyment:

Sweet potato and Cauliflower with curry; Tilapia, lemon juice and parsley

Baked potato madness!

Potato, roasted tomatoes, carmelized onions, parsley.

Breakfast Bibimbop!

Brown rice, avocado, poached egg, carmelized onions

Best. PCP. Treat. EVER.

I have discovered PCP heaven. You too can experience pure decadent PCP joy.

Frozen banana + milk + cinnamon + immersion blender = better than ice cream frozen tasty goodness treat.

One last fun note to leave on: tomorrow I get to meet Deborah in person! We are going for coffee (not wine, don't worry Patrick!) and I can't wait. So funny how this program has brought us strangers together in such a great way. I'll bring my camera to our rendez-vous!

Day 22, new pictures up!

Wow, can't believe 3 weeks have gone by already! I lost 1 pound this week, which, after 4 pounds in the 2 weeks before, seems like not a lot, but it's probably more normal (and maybe I've gained some muscle?). All in all feeling good though, and I haven't been hungry at all.

Productive morning so far! Took the pictures (I really wish I could figure out the lighting a bit better!), roasted some brussels sprouts while I did the workout (this is the best thing about working out at home - almost every morning I have some kind of food preparing while I sweat. So efficient!

Off to shower and roll into the city. Congratulations Team SEXAAAY on a totally awesome first 3 weeks!!

p.s. i don't see the new picture appearing on the little flickr box on the blog. Is something weird?

Day 21, Thank you Fred The Chicken for helping me get to the PEAK!

This is Fred:

He had feet, and I had to hack them off with a big knife!

Or worse yet, I first had to kind of break his legs and then hack.

Ew, right? How terrible of me!

But you know, I'm a big believer of the chicken roasting prep ritual. It's unpleasant but then also kind of pleasant, it feels freaky, and it's brought me to almost-tears more than once. Now that I've roasted my share of birds, I just kind of coo to it as I get it ready for the pan; I thank it for giving me food (and in the case of Fred, I specifically thanked him for helping me get to the PEAK. I tried to explain the project to him; I hope he understands).

The thing is, it's pretty amazing to be part of the food chain. I feel like these first few weeks of PCP have really illuminated my place in that food chain. When you're making everything from scratch you realize just how much work it really is - and we have it easy! we don't have to actually go FIND the food, or KILL it. And though I've never done it I assume that de-feathering a bird is an even bigger chore than trussing and stuffing and slippin' some garlic and herbs under the skin. I'm appreciative of all of that, believe me, and I'm also developing an entirely new sense of awe for our ancestors.

Here he is again, just for tribute's sake (that's pepper on him, not salt don't worry!):

(Nice trussing, huh?!)

So this time I didn't do my customary Thomas Keller style roasted chicken (in which I slather it with salt hours beforehand, then roast for 45 minutes at as high a heat as I can get it, inevitably setting off the smoke alarm and making my oven filthy). So, we'll see how this turns out. Instead, I stuffed the cavity with parsley, thyme and basil, plugged with this lovely organic lemon. More thyme in the skin, and garlic cloves all over the place.

The thing that impresses me so much about Fred is that I will get my protein from him for the rest of the week. So economical...so handy...so used-t0-be-alive. sigh.

I wonder if I'll ever be a fish-only person or a vegetarian. Probably not. Why? Well, I once ate horse. I KNOW! It sounds like I feasted on Flicka or something, but I was in Canada and it wasn't frowned upon!

Also, want to hear a non-secret? It was the most delicious meat I've ever had.

I did feel, however, that I'd taken one big irreversible step toward cannibalism, somehow. Oh well. It was a pretty cool experience. And, for the record, i'll NEVER eat dog.

That's all for today. Pretty excited about Day 22 pictures tomorrow as I'm feeling lighter and stronger, though I don't know if I'll rock the boy shorts as i have been somewhat remiss in doing laundry. d'oh! Maybe a quick hand washing tonight will be worth it...

Ok, gotta go flip Fred!

Day 19, PCP Food Porn...

Some food highlights from this week so far:

Greek yogurt with parsley, cilantro, mint, thyme, basil, lemon juice, cayenne pepper!

Breakfast burrito!

Scrambled eggs and broccolette, avocado, chapati

Breakfast burrito, assembled and ready to eat!

Whipped sweet potatoes (with lime and cayenne)

Fusilli with ground turkey and a sauce of mushrooms, leeks, parsley, dried tomatoes.

My goal for next week is to get a bit more creative with protein, but for now I'm enjoying simple grilled fish with lemon or lime juice, and ground turkey. I think the turkey is making me sleepy though, so I need to get chicken more often!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Day 18, no topic

Hi hi team SEXAAY and all you blog readers out there!

I'm running dry on a theme or some kind of thought to mull over with this post. I have many little thoughts and anecdotes, but not any one overall thing to discuss today. So, I'm just going to do a little rundown of the little bits in my mind. Call it the little bit post. There's your theme.

10 LITTLE BITS:

1. Yesterday I was washing dishes (after all, what else do I do?!) and I was in my undies (not an AC person) and I looked down and almost dropped a big pan because I didn't recognize my own legs. They're taking on new shape! Inner thighs, way to get with the program! Quads, nice curve you've got going there! I'm trying not to get too vain about this, but it's pretty wild.

2. Another thing on legs: the skin on my thighs feels tighter. I don't really know how best to explain that but it just does. It's smoother to the touch and there's a firmness behind it that definitely wasn't there before. COOL.

3. I love milk, 2% in particular. After growing up in a skim milk household, I've never really had milk in my home as an adult (because I didn't think it was anything special). But oh, sweet delicious creamy joyful 2% how you've rocked my dairy world!

4. Jumping is getting easier and more fun! Thankfully, my buddy, ASQ, made me a slamburger of a mix for working out this week. And, he's pledged to make me a new mix for every week of the PCP! This first one "was designed with an asymptotic trajectory in mind". I feel pretty special because of this (and also extra motivated!).

5. Another jumping anecdote: i'm up to sets of 300 jumps before taking a few breaths break. Can't do that many without tripping up but can almost do 200 without tripping. Of course then i'll trip once every 10 jumps after a big uninterrupted run but so is life, right?

6. My legs didn't burn once during my bike ride to or from work today. Usually i get a little burn while going over the Manhattan Bridge - maybe this is because of more muscle?! If so, this is very awesome because my 'special thing' that i'm focusing on during this project is getting stronger and healthier to keep living my active life. This is the exact kind of improvement I was hoping to see!

7. Today i was tempted not once, but twice with my most beloved of salty foods, plain crunchy delicious salted yellow tortilla chips. I am still sad that I couldn't have any, but I'm moving on.

8. I have WAY less gas than I used to. There, I said it. This is a BIG one because sometimes, before, I'd just have out of control constant gas. I always assumed it was from having packaged, processed foods, and this totally confirms it. Hallelulia!

9. I have a few auxillary goals for this me-time-PCP-time. One is to get more houseplants and have healthier air at home. Tomorrow I am going to get a new plant! Pictures to come, soon.

10. I'm starting to think of all the fun things I want to do after PCP comes to a close, especially with a healthier, fitter body. Here's the list of potential activities so far: Climbing! Or bouldering, whatever it's called - the thing you do with a climbing wall! Camping and hiking in Upstate NY! Capoeira (maybe)!

ok, that's all for now. Happy weekends all!

Day 17, A Peek[peak?] at The Honest Truth

The past few days have been rollercoaster craziness at my office. Many things are happening (many things are always happening - we are a successful, totally crazed non-profit!), but lately it's enough to set your head spinning. Instead, my head spun immediately in the direction of FOOD. When disaster #1 struck, I went to get a coffee with a coworker but my god all I wanted was one of every pastry they had. When disaster #2 struck I thought of chocolate ice cream, pizza, potato chips. Disaster #3 circled back to baked goods - brownies, specifically.

Where was my stomach in all of this? Not involved. It was happily shrinking, enjoying its milk and chapatis and avocados and fruit. Interesting.

This is probably the first time that I've had repeated days of the toxic mix, frustration/boredom/anger/sadness/nervousness, without busying my hands and face with eating anything and everything in sight to try and calm myself down.

How'd it go?

Well, at first it was just plain embarrassing. It was such a knee-jerk reaction, it was literally muscle memory to get up and seek out some ridiculous food treat in reaction to a bad situation. Had I really been behaving this way?? Survey says yes, missy, and thank god you stopped.

Then the next reaction was just a sense of awe at this trick my mind was trying to play with my body. As the bad news kept streaming thru our office, I kept having that knee-jerk reaction to eat. DISTRACT YOURSELF, the mind was saying. IT'S EASIER THIS WAY. The more I resisted it and just focused on the fact that it wasn't an option, the more I almost enjoyed just watching these thoughts try to move me to action (with no result, of course! PCP 4eva!). I even got almost proud of this misguided mind of mine - it was only trying to help me thru a difficult situation, ease the pain a bit in the short term after all. Too little, too soon, Ms. Mind.

So what now? Well, the dust has far from settled on the not-great times ahead, but obviously I need to focus on other ways to cope. It certainly takes more energy to come up with a plan for self-preservation and success than it does to eat a bag of potato chips; but, if anything is worth serious effort, then self-preservation and success should be, no?

Day 16, I create, I consume, I clean up

Thank goodness for the Park Slope Food Coop and its beautiful, abundant organic produce!

Behold, PCP Bounty #2:

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this was a challenge to get home via bicycle. A challenge I had no option but to overcome! Picture this: basket, full; huge bag hanging off left handlebar; huge bag hanging off right handlebar; determined, tad bit wobbly, woman at the helm! So I made it home with no spills or bruises (on me or the produce). And the bounty is large and beautiful and filling me with a newfound sense of comfort as it fills my kitchen and fridge with beautiful colors and yummy smells.

This week's menus will feature:

Broccolette egg scramble and avocado in a chapati wrap

Tilapia with parsley, lemon, garlic "relish"

Whipped sweet potatoes with lime (and a dash--or five!--of cayenne)

Chapati pizzettas with carmelized onion sauce and balsamic reduction

Ground turkey & thyme patties

Curried orange cauliflower

Chapati pizzettas with sundried tomato pesto, fresh basil and ground turkey

Bulgur "fantastic" featuring stewed cherry tomatoes

Catfish with cilantro and lime

Penne with leeks and mushrooms

Mediterranean yogurt with garlic, herbs galore and lemon juice

Fruit out the wahzoo: bananas, grapes, plums, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries!

Many of these recipes and meal ideas are inspired by Molly Katzen's VEGETABLE HEAVEN - I build my own recipes from ideas in this book often and can't recommend it enough for PCP friendly meals. (won't help with the protein, though!)

Ok, moving on lest I become hungry again and have to dirty every dish in my kitchen as I prepare something (becoming a bit of a problem, but that's another post...).

So I've had a busy couple of days. Today also had a curve-ball situation - no time for a morning workout! Because of said Food Coop, I had to do my workshift this morning and I didn't want to sacrifice sleep to work out beforehand, knowing I'd have time to do it this evening. This is hard for me! I usually hate working out later in the day - it gives me all kinds of time to rationalize skipping it, and I'm tired, and usually hungry, and I don't want to have to choose a workout over something with friends or fun. ANYWAY, today it was fine! I don't want to make a habit of it, but knowing that there wasn't an option to not do it helped (I thought of the mule mentality, and then switched to bulldog), and after a particularly INSANE day at work I needed the release. I am with you other PCP superstars - I was a wet piece of loam by the end of the leg lifts. I hope I'm ok to turn around and do it all again so soon in the morning!

On a taste bud note: I think something is happening, already. Everything seems so delicious! I'm savoring all these tastes that I didn't notice before (might be due in part to the fact that I'm eating a much wider variety of foods than I was before), and I'm having so much fun with flavoring without salt or more than a dab of oil! Also, I seem to have begun a serious love affair with milk. So long, ice cream! Hello, real deal.

Day 15, new diet new pics!

Hi PCP lovies!

So, this morning I decided I would take pictures in a new outfit! I got some boy short undies from Under Armor and they look pretty badass. So, I spent a good 10 minutes trying to find the elusive perfect spot for the pictures, trying to take some where I don't look like I'm on drugs, or halfway out of the frame. (this is another one of those times where roommate/boyfriend situation would come in handy!)
Finally I got a few that I liked.
So what did I do? Oh, just...deleted them!!

So the pictures for today are quick re-dos, in the grey spandex pants that I now really don't like (for a fun reason though - they are too big!). Next week I'll try to rock the badass boy shorts.

Also, food tip: Fresh snap peas (raw) are a delicious, crunchy component for lunch (satiates an urge for crunchy things like, say, potato chips!).

Full and satisfied!

Photo log of some of today's foodstuffs:

Enjoyed yummy poached eggs on toast and a big iced coffee with my sister this morning. I don't know if I've ever eaten that much bread in one sitting!

Does anyone else have trouble eating plain yogurt? I just can't do it, not yet. So I've been adding a few blueberries and a very frugal drizzle of honey to it. Less than 1 tsp of honey, promise. BONUS: freezing it makes it feel like much more of a treat, and satiates some kind of craving for the coldness of ice cream.

YES! I finally rocked it and found a way to have a 'real' meal with some kind of sauce to bring it all together. This wonderful concoction consisted of:

• whole wheat pasta
• broccolette (amazing, amazing vegetable - tastes like a cross b/w broccoli and brussels sprouts!)
• salmon w/yummy spice rub from israel
• balsamic vinegar glaze: poured swigs of balsamic vinegar in small sauce pot and simmered for roughly 20 minutes, reducing it by over half and creating a sweet/tangy delicious glaze to drizzle over the dish.

Now off to grill a bunch of chicken and steam some cabbage for the next few days...

Recipe Redux: 100% Whole-Wheat Bread

"Pro Tip" (heehee): bread making is not hard! all it requires is precision, a good timer and an adventurous spirit.

100% Whole-Wheat Bread

(from CRUST AND CRUMB by Peter Reinhart - a great book for serious bakers)

So first you make a sponge (sometimes called a poolish, which is a pre-ferment method). Reinhart suggests medium-grind whole-wheat flour rather than fine-grind and I agree! More interesting texture that way (you can also use a blend of fine and medium). What I like about this recipe is that the sponge only ferments for 4 hours or so (so you can decide to bake bread within 1 day, rather than have to plan ahead and make your sponge the night before, like some other formulas).

The sponge!

8 oz medium-grind whole wheat flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 cup cool water (65-70 deg F, but go by your senses - you don't want it cold, but also not warm. cool!)

Stir together the sponge ingredients in mixing bowl til flour is absorbed and the mixture forms a thick paste. You can cover the bowl with plastic wrap, but my preferred method is to put it in a plastic bag which is loosely tied closed above the bowl.

Let the sponge ferment at room temp for ~4 hours. It should rise and then fall (but don't worry too much about the falling part, as it will fall when you mix it into the dough).

Next: The dough!

Combine all the following ingredients, plus the sponge, in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer w/a dough hook.

• 4 oz med-grind whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp salt (bread baking does require salt, but only small amounts!)
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp raisin juice concentrate - what?! i know. now, this is what makes this recipe A)very PCP friendly, and B)totally creative and awesome. To get raisin juice concentrate soak 1 c. raisins in 2 c. water for an hour. then drain and reduce the water over high heat until it's syrup-y. The juice is a great natural sweetener and perfect food for yeast! Another bonus: I didn't have raisins, so I used some dried sweetened cranberries that I had in my cupboard. Not ideal, since they were sweetened, but regular cranberries aren't sweet enough to be a good substitute. Anyway, they still didn't give off quite as much sugar, so I pulverized them in the food processor and then reduced the puree. Worked like a charm. Also: the juice keeps for months in the fridge, so you can use again for your next loaf!
• 6 Tbsp cooked brown rice (if you're at the tail end of a week of brown rice carbs, grab the final 6 Tbsp and make this bread!)
• The SPONGE

Ok, so now you have all of that in your bowl of choice. If making by hand (which will give you a great arm workout!), knead for about 15 min; if by machine, 1 min on slow speed and 10 or so on medium speed. The dough should be soft and elastic, tacky but not super sticky.

Next: put dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic bag or wrap and let it rise at room temp for 90 min, or until about doubled in size.

Grease your loaf pan! (4 by 8.5" or 5x9" work, use a saved butter wrapper to lightly grease the pan)

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and just GENTLY form it into an oblong shape, with any seams side-down. Don't strong-arm it here, as you want it to keep the good air bubbles it's developed.

Place in the dough pan and make sure it fills from one end to the other. Mist the top lightly with cooking spray or, what i do: dip a pastry brush in the smallest amt of olive oil and brush over the top.

Put loaf pan of dough into that trusty plastic bag again (really, use the bag! forget the plastic wrap!) and let it do a final rise. This rise is the one you need to watch every 20min or so. You want the dough to crest over the pan, but not so much that it's mushrooming over like crazy. It took 60 min for my loaf yesterday, but this stuff all depends on heat and humidity and whatnot, so may take longer.

Position oven rack in the second-to-bottom rung of the oven and preheat to 350F. Almost time to bake!

Finally, place the loaf in the center of the rack and bake 20 min. Turn it front to back for equal browning, and bake for 25 to 35 min more. I like to go on sight and feel to tell if bread is done, but I think you learn that over time. So, the best way is to get a meat thermometer and stick that puppy in your bread after 25min. Internal temp should be about 185F if done.

Finally, take her out!

Flip the dough out of the pan and let it cool on a cooling rack for at least 90 minutes before you slice. This is the point at which I have to leave the house because the smell is too tempting and I have trouble waiting to slice.

voila! homemade bread! you can totally do it.

(Final tip: the best way to learn about baking bread is to try try try and try again. It's one of those things that I find best learned by trial and error. You start to get a feel for what's going to happen based on the temperature and conditions in your apt and outside, and that becomes a very fun 6th sense, in a way. Also, don't be daunted by all the rising time! While making this recipe I did a grocery run, I met friends at a bar to watch part of the world cup, I vacuumed and I did my PCP workout. The only requirement is that you stay somewhat close to home so you can check in for the next step in the process.)

Happy baking, everyone!

Day 13, wow

The workout tried to school me and I tried to school it right back!

After Patrick's last email I reflected on how I do sometimes take 2 or 3 seconds mid-set if it's getting "too hard". No more! Never again! I want these muscles to grow, not waver on the edge of being awesome.

So I got up an hour or so ago and jumped right in (literally!) to today's challenge. On sets where I'd start to feel the burn and usually take a breather, I pushed thru AND added 2 or 3 more reps on the end just to show myself that I was being a wimp and that i can do it.

It felt good! And I'm looking forward to 800 jumps tomorrow. I'm still tripping up a lot on the jumping. sometimes i can do 50 or 60 or even the other day i think i did 100 without tripping but then i'll trip every 15 or something ridiculous. Trying not to get frustrated about it though...

p.s. about to post whole wheat bread recipe - it turned out to be a great loaf!

Homemade bread!

100% whole wheat; new recipe - if it's tasty I'll post the full recipe in case anyone else feels so inclined...

Day 12, Observation roundup!

Happy Saturday in PCP land (and beyond)!

I hope you're all enjoying the day. I've had a great morning so far - did I mention I'm deeply in love with my apartment? It's borderline weird, I know, but before I moved into my first very own 1 bedroom I lived with a crazy/scary roommate and I had a not-great boyfriend. Got rid of both right around the time of the move and I've been basking in my independent glory ever since. Part of why I love PCP is that it gives me more time alone in my place and lets me have a nice morning routine before work (as opposed to when I'd wake up, rush to the gym to swim, and head straight to work from there).

Anyway, a few things going on out here in Brooklyn.

1 - I had my first PCP nightmare (after getting a glorious 9.5 hours of sleep, btw)! It felt so real that I woke up with that all-too-familiar feeling of disappointment and self-loathing from indulging too much the night before. Thankfully I soon realized that I hadn't actually done so! The dream was intense - it involved an old boyfriend, a 4-star restaurant, and a bridal shower (not mine). In the dream these factors all added up to me having wine and fancy cocktails, gougeres (yummm), little amuse bouches by the dozen, and some fancy french fries. YIKES! I'll be staying away from said old boyfriend, restaurant, and no bridal showers happening this summer so all clear on that front.

Oh - this one's for Deborah: I also had another dream where I directed Meryl Streep in a movie! It was glorious, and she was SO pretty and wonderful.

2 - I'm making bread! Right now I'm waiting for the sponge to ferment a bit more, but i'll post pictures of the final loaf later on. I found a great recipe for 100% whole wheat bread so I'm trying it out. Bread making is one of my favorite hobbies (and much cheaper than buying bread in the store!). I haven't had bread yet on the PCP (brown rice was my carb this week) so I'm excited, especially because I love having toast, avocado and poached eggs for breakfast! That was my breakfast pre-PCP, though with the addition of prosciutto and grated cheese, mmmmm.

3 - I was feeling a little sluggish before doing the workout this morning so i decided to try some clothes on for motivation. great motivation! I already fit much better into a couple pairs of pants that I couldn't really wear on day 1, so that's cool. I have 2 pairs of jeans that i've lugged around for 6 years - SIX YEARS - that i've never fit into. I still don't fit into them, but I certainly hope to during the PCP, so i tried those on to see just how far I am from that goal. Maybe a month? I will most definitely post a picture of me in said pants when they fit. I'll probably sleep in them I'll be so happy!

Ok, update coming later with bread pic.

sooooo sleeeeeppyyyyyyy

This sums it up:

It sounds like a few others of our group are also experiencing some unusual exhaustion this week. Every night this week I started to crash around 10pm. 10pm! This from a lady who was routinely staying up until 12am or 1am! The interesting thing is that usually I'm golden with 7.5 or 8 hours of sleep. That has been the sweet spot for years now. But this week, exhausted by 10pm, asleep before 11pm, 8 hours later: awake and still not completely rested!

I guess those muscle fibers are working hard!

My plan: serious shut-eye this weekend, and then starting Monday I'm going to plan for 9 hours of sleep and see what happens. Can you imagine getting 9 hours of sleep on normal nights?! Not completely feasible for me, all the time, since I have many evening meetings, but I'm going to aim for it at the very least.

Poll: how much sleep do you A)want to get? B)usually get?

ok, beddy bye.

Hello [hot] body; is that you, hiding under there?

And so begins the self-obsession...

Yesterday and today were the first days when I started to feel a noteworthy physical change.

Goodbye bloat! We won't miss you! Go pick on someone else! Take Salt with you, he's the gateway drug!

I mean, maybe I have lost a few 'real' pounds, but mostly I feel like the puffiness has officially left the building (lock the doors! quick!). Sure, there's still some squishy-ness, but that's what we're here to address, no? It's nice to have the bloat out of the way so that I can see and feel what I'm really dealing with.

Also, noteworthy aside: it feels so much better to marvel at one's body and strength than it does to berate it. This is something I need to internalize for the long haul.

And in other news, I'm not hungry! NOT hungry! Dare I say full? I dare!

Because of the curve ball fact that I bicycle around NYC for transportation rather than take the train, bus or--gasp!--a car, Patrick and Chen recalculated my diet to factor that daily activity in. It's not an enormous change, but I think it's going to help. We'll see - tomorrow will be the first full day with the new allotments so it will be an interesting experiment (I bumped up to the new plan mid-day today).

Now time for a PCP team love note:

I never would have guessed, 2 measly weeks ago, that 6 people who I've never met and who are scattered all over the globe, would become so important to me. 10 days in and I'm already waxing poetic and thinking about PCP reunions and visits in years to come. What a sap! But for serious, you peeps are rad.

and finally: i'm out of protein! or, rather, i'm out after lunch tomorrow!

my plan is to buy a can of tuna in water, mash it with avocado and squirt lemon juice on it. Then this weekend I'm going to do some culinary planning and try to think of actual recipes I can make, rather than focus on preparing each individual component of the meal. Will report back on what I come up with!

Reclaim the vibe!

Ok, so I kind of freaked out about being hungry today. I imagined everyone else, moaning with fullness, rubbing their full (but still shrinking) bellies on one side of the see-saw, and me with my frazzled state of hunger on the other.

But then you wonderful PCPers came out of your world corners and reassured me that I'm not missing some big thing, or doing anything wrong. And Patrick assures me that they're thinking about what to do with my diet, which made me feel such...relief. Normally when I try to boost my health I inevitably reach a point where I'm not sure what to do. Run a million miles? Don't eat carbs? Swim more? Increase fiber? Go to a boot camp class? Something else?!

It was so nice to know that Patrick and Chen are going to help me figure this out, for the next 80 days. It's as if I'm in the boxing ring and I have the best two dudes in my corner - one fixing my wounds, the other keeping my head in the game.

LOVE IT.

So, I'm reclaiming the trust-PCP vibe and trying to let go a little more here.

That bowl of peaches, blueberries and grapes I just snarfed really helped too. :-)

Ummm, still hungry...!

Is anyone else hungry? I'm so envious of you who are so full with your diets!

I am resisting the urge to get really whiney, but man, I don't deal well with the feeling of hunger; it makes me grumpy and tired and irritable! It's when those hilariously irrational "I hate everything about my life!" thoughts come out (luckily I've learned to let those pass by and I do take some entertainment from how nuts they can be; examples: "It's time to move to Montana and work on a farm." or, "Maybe I should just open my own bakery.").

Maybe my body just needs a few more days to get used to not eating whenever and whatever I want? With all the beer and the bites of snacks during the days pre-PCP maybe I still haven't adjusted to what a normal diet should be like? Perhaps. oh how i want to feel full like the rest of you!!

Today I didn't even ride my bike to work and still, the hunger persists. So, I had another unlawful experience: 1 banana and a handful of grapes when I got home from work. I was starting to feel faint! I'm waiting 20 min to see if it kicks in and makes me feel a little better. If not then I'm going to have 100ml of milk.

Whine whine whine.

Week 2 begins!

Phew! I am wiped out!

Here's how day 8 (or, day 1 of the true PCP life) went:

6:30am, up before the 7am alarm! Tried to keep resting, but too antsy to get going so I did my stretching and donned some spandex (woot woot!). Picture time! yikes. Weigh-in time! Wha?

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but i lost 4 pounds this past week. That's how much I was eating and drinking BEFORE. Yech.

7am, workout time! I loved the longer, more intense workout! The jumps went well - did about 200 without tripping up and then i tripped like a bazillion times after that. Stayed zen though.

On the strength sets almost all were nearly impossible at the end, but I pushed thru. That felt great! For the incline pull-ups i rigged this crazy thing where I was up on my normal pull up bar with legs on a chair that I wedged against my toilet. It was weird, and I had a little laughing fit in the beginning. It's times like that when I do wish I had a roommate or a boyfriend or some kind of witness. There is a daddy longlegs walking around - maybe he caught a glimpse of the action.

7:30am, FOOOOD PREEEEPPPPP! Yowza! I'm someone who cooks a lot, and what happened next was a little intense, even for me. I roasted cauliflower and asparagus, I made the dough for Helen's chapati bread, I pan-grilled two swordfish steaks, I poached an egg, I weighed out fruit for the day, I weighed out yogurt (hadn't picked up milk yet). oh, and I made coffee mmmmmm.

C'est d'accord, no?

I decided to use the poached egg yolk to add a sauce-like element over the cauliflower and asparagus. It worked well - highly suggested! Plus, poaching an egg is not only my favorite way to enjoy eggs, but also requires no oil.

Somehow I got showered and dressed and packed all my silly little containers and rolled into the city somewhat on time. But, I left this impressive path of destruction to deal with later:

So, breakfast was definitely more than I'm used to eating at that time. It was filling, and I was so happy to not be hungry after last week (when I was hungry almost the entire time, hence the ridiculous 4 pound weight loss).

I had a kiwi for my first snack - YUM!

Then, lunch was a repeat of brekky but with swordfish instead of the egg. Also YUM - i did a really nice spice rub on the swordfish, i think it was cinnamon and paprika and some pepper. delish!

Eventually, yogurt for "afternoon tea" (which I think is a very cute title for our second snack of the day).

But then I have to admit something. I got hungry. I got hungry around 5pm and I had to wait to leave work, ride alllll the way home, and figure out what to do for dindin. With all this talk of how much food we'd be eating, I was surprised to be hungry, but there you have it.

Now, I didn't let the hunger over take my urge to do yet more cooking. Pots and pans triumph!

I cleaned up the chaos and got started on making another round of it. On deck for dinner: swordfish steak again (already made in the morning), but on a bed of sauteed onions and peppers (yellow, orange, green and 1 bonus jalapeno!). I was able to saute w/out more than a drop of oil b/c I got the onions sweating. That was clutch.

Here's a dinner shot:

I panicked a little bit, because I was really really hungry and it just didn't look like much. But I guess it was okay. I still don't feel as full as after breakfast, but I'm noshing on blueberries so hopefully that will help.

(I even checked my scale with a packaged item to see if it was weighing things correctly!)

I assume it'll take a few days to get used to the eating, but I'm a little scared of cutting portions from this, admittedly. Maybe it's the bicycling that I do, that's making me a little more hungry? I bike 15 miles roundtrip for my commute, but I go fairly slow (gotta take in the sights!). If i have meetings I will bike to those, so I would say avg 1 hour - 1.5 hours of bicycling each day.

Hmmm. Could also be that I didn't eat the most filling versions of fruit/veg/protein/carbs today. Tomorrow I'll mix it up and try rice or pasta to see if that makes a difference.

Well anyway, I'm super pleased about making it thru the day and getting ahead of the food a little. I have enough veggies made now to last me thru Friday, I think, but I've got to saute up this ground turkey meat I have tomorrow. I'll come up with some good spicy action on that one and throw it in w/the peppers and onions.

P.S. I ate 3 unlawful grapes right when I arrived home! There, I said it. I feel fine about it.

...and I say HELLO!

Part II: kick-starting the PCP, armed with tools for success!

Why hello, dear pots and pans! Hope you're all rested up for some grilling, roasting and, most of all, steaming!

Vinegars, we're close, but we're about to become closer. Are you ready? I am!

To my lovely spice collection: thank you for being fresh, interesting and salt-free! I'll be visiting with you often.

Bonjour, kitchen scale. I don't know you very well, but I already like you because you're small.

et voila! The essential tools for success!

Dear sweet, ripe fruit and crunchy, earthy veggies: I'm gonna eat you up!

PCP team, let's ROCK THIS!

You say goodbye...

Part I: A tribute to pre-PCP life in my kitchen...

Goodbye, liquor cabinet;

happy age-ing, expensive red wine;

I'll see you on the flip side, veuve clicquot;

our time will come again, someday, Barros Porto.

Don't wait up for me, Ice Cream Maker;

Sit tight, muffin pans;

Have a nice summer, cake plate.

(cuisinart, ignore this message - I'll see you very soon!)

Oh Kitchen Aid...

This goodbye is the hardest,

but we'll only part temporarily!

And after all, I love you not only for your superb mixing skills,

but for your promise of multi-generational existence.

You'll wait for me, of that I'm sure.

Dear cabinet-o-baking-supplies,

I'm sorry to say that you will be crowded for at least 3 more months. Please try to stay fresh, so I can use you in the fall!

Like grains of salt in the baking cabinet,

so will sit the rolling pin and cake pans.

Salt -

Our love affair has been intense, and long-term.

I hope you'll understand when I don't touch you for 90 days, but you may be with me for the rest of my life, since I hope to use you oh-so-sparingly forevermore.

From truffle to olive, grocery shelf variety to fancy schmancy, I wave goodbye to you, oil (and balsamic fig delicious sauce stuff too) and quickly shove you into the cupboard for fear of going back on my word.

Cheese boards, cheese knives, you light up my life.

Please stay well-seasoned and beautiful.

I will definitely be back for you, but perhaps our visits will be a bit less indulgent, a bit less frequent.

P.S. I'll miss you the most.

To all my past loves, I'll quote Naoko and Samantha Jones when I say, "I love me more."

Question: shoes

Question for all of you out there:

what are the best shoes for our PCP workouts? I only have running shoes, and while they are cushioned I don't think they're right for jumping or the strength training. I saw on Mikhael's blog post that he ordered some converse. Any suggestions for a good shoe to get for this stuff?

Thanks!

Day 7, sore!

Yaaay! I finally woke up with some real soreness this morning - it's around my torso, just below my armpits. lats? the push-ups felt harder yesterday, so that must be the cause. Love it!

Today I'm lounging around in pajamas for the morning after yesterday's hard work day. I'll jump in the afternoon, which will be nice because I'll be warmed up a bit more than normal. Otherwise, I plan to spend the day putzing in my apartment, reading in the park and meeting up with a few friends. I haven't decided what to eat yet for the final half-day, but I know I'll have a scoop of ice cream tonight.

More later!

Day 6, big work event=challenge!

Today was a crazy day for me. It was our second big event of the year at the organization where I work, and the first during PCP so I was nervous to see how it would go. Today's event was the "Tour de Brooklyn" which is a big bike tour we do around the borough of Brooklyn (http://tourdebrooklyn.org if you're curious).

Anyway, I manage the volunteer program at the organization where I work so I'm on deck, big time, for these events. They are mostly staffed by volunteers (150 or so at this one, 500 at our biggest event in September) and I have to be majorly "on" and energetic and calm and in control of things.

Event days like this are LONG. Work starts around 5:30am with me furiously riding my bike to wherever I'm supposed to be, then I delegate, problem solve, manage people like crazy, lift heavy things, run around, etc... Usually this ends 10-12 hours later with all our staff going out to drink many, many beers and eat tons of food. We're thirsty and hungry and exhausted and in need of some kind of celebration and collective pat on the back.

So, while I have been doing the half diet pretty well and not changing what I eat too much (but sticking to the half portions), one thing that I cut out, cold turkey, on day #1 was alcohol. I just didn't want to drink alcohol anymore, even in pre-PCP week, so I haven't had any all week (which is pretty huge considering I can't remember a day before PCP when I didn't have at least one beer!!!). Anyway, today's event was prime beer-craving situation, so I knew it would be a challenge.

Here's how it went down:

I practically jumped out of bed at 5am, feeling surprisingly awake (i'd gone to bed around midnight), and I did our PCP workout! I know this makes me a little crazy, but I knew how exhausted i'd be when I finally got home after the tour, and how much I'd just want to take a shower and not exert myself anymore, so I did the right thing and got that workout finished by 5:15am! (Man I am loving the jumps, p.s.!!!) Then after the furious bike ride to the start and some crazy time as things got going I realized I felt surprisingly good - I felt more truly energetic than at past events (I can pull it out of thin air for this kind of thing, but it was nice to have real energy rather than run on fumes). Anyway, the event was great and when it's great I actually have a lot of fun. I love volunteers (even the crazy ones) on all days, but especially days like today when we rely on them so much and they follow thru with such pure enthusiasm.

Anyway! Fast forward to the beer/food challenge... it was fine! I was so thirsty I only wanted water anyway, so I kept having that, and while I would've loved some ice cold hop-y deliciousness, I didn't crave the taste in any physical way. So that was cool! And finally, even though it was a super social situation and there was lots of hanging out and just talking and telling funny stories and whatnot, I did fine without the little alcohol boost. I think I knew that I'd do fine, but I kind of didn't really know, because it's become such a standard thing to have a drink or two when I'm out with people in that way.

I also had super tasty pickled beets and some wonderful cheese. Then, a very light grilled veggie sandwich and more cheese. It was a medium sized meal but it was my lunch and dinner rolled into one so I'm pleased with it. Plus, considering that normally I would've had twice the calories with the amount of beer I would've drank, I still passed the half test. :-)

And when I got home I was so thankful that I'd done the workout earlier. I was covered in bike grease, my sweat, volunteer sweat, nyc street dirt and god knows what else. It felt great to just get in the shower right away and look forward to reading everyone else's posts for the day. I had 3 little pieces of chocolate while doing that, and some tea while writing this. I can't believe I was so healthy on this of all days - last year tour de brooklyn day I think I had 2 bagels, a few cliff bars (they are a sponsor so we have them all over the place), 1 beer, 1 bottle of wine and a huge meal. At the end of that day I was in tears and felt disgusting. At the end of today I find myself peacefully exhausted. Off to bed now, m'lovies*!

*quoting Jenny's cute term of endearment here