The Deep End

When I first met Tony he was a divorced father of a 10 year old son.  His parents had just retired to Florida, yet their house was still on the market here, so he lived there before the house was sold.  Coolest part about the house?  It had an indoor pool!  I know!

So before we got married we’d live at my house during the week, pick up my step-son at his Mom’s house on Friday nights, then go to Tony’s parents’ house for the weekend.  Joe and Hannah were both fish and loved being in the pool.

Me?  I liked to hang on the edge or holding on to Tony.  Water freaks me out.  Other than dying in a car crash, I think the worst way to die is to drown.

Maybe because I almost drowned when I was 16.  We were in Nags Head, NC on vacation.  Not being a good swimmer, I hardly ever went in the ocean higher than my knees.  But the water seemed calm, maybe I was feeling a bit adventurous, but I ventured out farther, until my feet no longer felt the sand.  I felt okay!  I was treading water, when all of a sudden, I saw a giant wave coming my way and I panicked.  I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing, which probably saved my life.

Next thing I knew my head was under water, I was being pulled in a completely different direction and I literally thought “wow, so this is how I am going to die!”  Thankfully, the wave finally spit me out 100 yards down from where I entered, and I stood up and realized that I had survived, I pretty much vowed never to get in an open body of water again.

I especially don’t like the Deep End.  I was reminded of this yesterday when I was swimming at lunch.  The lap lanes are about 4 ½ feet deep until you get half way and then it is a sudden drop to 13 feet deep.  I swear every time I get to that drop point I get a butterflies in my stomach.  The water is clear, I know nothing is going to happen to me, but it still freaks me out.

It made me think of an analogy of losing weight and exercising to the Deep End.  Isn’t it much easier to stand in the shallow end?  The chances of anything happening to you are slim to none.  Which is why I am so proud of myself that I’ve kept up my Insanity these last six weeks – I actually have been in the shallow end since the beginning of this blog nearly 5 years ago.   And while the Deep End is scary and hard, it’s worth it.

So we left off yesterday’s post about me making a smoothie out of leftover spinach, strawberry, almond and goat cheese salad.  I do have to say that there was no dressing on the salad – that would be a bit ick – and no chicken either!

The Salad Smoothie

• 1 serving: 279 calories, 15 fat, 23 carbs, 8 fiber and 16 protein

Ingredients:

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (added from freezer)
• 1 tablespoon goat cheese
• 10 almonds
• 1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon honey

The verdict?  It was good, but not great.  It was a little on the savory side – I didn’t taste it before heading out the door.  An added 1/2 of banana would have made it, so I am going to use the remaining salad today.  I have to say it was filling though!

So now Nature Valley has another flavor of protein bar – these were on sale two packages for $5.  In order to get to my 1800-2000 calorie goal, I had this as a mid-morning snack.

It was another gorgeous day at the pool!  I was texting back and forth with Helen, the leader in the DietBet and I told her I was on my way to swim.  I texted her back this picture saying “I am already at the pool!”

I had to laugh at the few comments yesterday about my feet – about how recognizable they are and how tiny my toes are – this round of comments made me laugh out loud – love you Ally!

1. Ally’s Sweet & Savory Eats July 11, 2013 at 1:46 pm Edit Reply

   LOL! Love it Biz!

   Can I just say something really honest? (Because I know you would say the same thing to me…)

   Your toes are really short. But maybe its because I have long fingers and toes so I think everyone else’s are short? Please don’t hate me.

   • Tony (Mr. Bizmoto) July 11, 2013 at 5:58 pm Edit Reply

     Ally, she has the toes of a small child. One foot is much larger than the other. She was assembled from pieces, that’s how twins are made! I appreciate your honesty. Lol.

     • biz319 July 12, 2013 at 5:59 am Edit

       OMG, I had to laugh at Tony’s comment that twins are assembled from pieces! Ally, it’s true. I have two giant big toes and tiny toes after that – and one foot is an 8 1/2 and the other is a 6! I blame my sister – I think she sat on my smaller foot so it didn’t grow as much as the other one!

       p.s. I love your honesty too!

It was a refreshing 30 minute swim. 

Lunch was another tasting plate, or what I like to call, throw shit in a bag!  A turkey sandwich on light flatout, carrots, celery, grapes, a tiny bit of leftover pasta salad and some black bean chips with hummus.  I’ve mentioned this hummus before, it’s so damn good.  My store sells it for .99 cents a can – look for it if you can.  While I know homemade hummus is delicious, tahini is so expensive.

I’ve had a jones for shrimp lately, so I stopped by the store on my way home.  I used 2/3 of this package, and will use the other for my SIL’s lunches next week – she’s back from vacation and back on my meal plan.

While I grilled the steak and made stovetop polenta, I simply poached the shrimp in a tablespoon of butter on super low heat – sadly, I over salted them a tad, but the texture was wonderful!  Dinner: 1 cup instant polenta, 5 ounces steak and 4 shrimp.  This is a super quick weeknight meal – took me probably 20 minutes?

I am happy to welcome Katelyn R., Victoria T. and Roxy of Losing the Rolls to the DietBet!  The pot is now $725 with 29 members!! 

My WI yesterday was verified and after that was accepted and I told them how much I exercise, they gave me this assessment:

To reach your goal weight of 161.5 lbs by Aug 9th, below are some general guidelines to follow:

• Lose 1.7 lbs per week on average
• Consume 1480 – 1830 calories per day on average ?
• Partake in very intense exercise 6-7 times per week

168.2Starting Weight

Very ActiveActivity Level

31 (Obese)Body Mass Index

Gah.  Still in the obese category for BMI – although I know that is not an indicator on how healthy I am, I’d still like to see a number closer to 25!

My goal is to actually be 159.9 on August 13. 

I did Month 2: Day 6 of Insanity last night – holy push ups!  But I pushed it – I didn’t stand in the shallow end I dove head first into the Deep End! (your welcome for the boob shot of me.)   After my workout I had an apple with two tablespoons of reduced fat peanut butter – so good!

Stats for the Day:

• 1757 calories, 91 fat, 147 carbs, 41 fiber (hello!) and 105 protein
• 33% calories from carbs, 47% from fat and 20% from protein
• 30 minute swim at lunch (seeing no grandpa ass today!)
• 55 minute Insanity M2:D6

I am happy today is my rest day!  I decided to make Friday’s my rest day because I have more time on the weekends to work out. 

And I have to give a shout out to Tony – he told me last night how proud he was of me for sticking with the workouts and that he’s happy I am doing this for me and no one else.  It’s true – Tony has loved me at 138 pounds and 175 equally – I am a lucky woman!  I love you!

Alright – who’s ready to dive into the Deep End with me?!

Make it a great day!