I guess the most positive thing about not having my wine at night is that I am WAY more productive! I guess I considered drinking wine an activity, so I was busy drinking wine, no?! 
I signed up for my 75 minute hot yoga in the middle of last week and I wasn’t sure how to prepare for it diabetes wise. My sister told her friend at work that she never eats anything before doing hot yoga because she feels likes she wants to puke. Well, there was no way I was going in without some sort of energy, so I got up at 7:15 and had a small coffee and an English muffin with peanut butter on it. Note to you all – if I had had cocktails on Friday night, there was no way in hell I was getting up at 7:15 in the morning on the weekend!
I brought my yoga mat that I got from one of my beef trips and some towels. I wasn’t sure how sweaty I was going to be. The studio was on the second floor of a boutique fitness center. When I walked in there were four other women there – all in their early 20s, which made me really nervous that maybe I signed up for the wrong class? For the record, this was only my THIRD yoga class of my life. But I had some time before I started and looked it up on my phone and clear as day it said “for beginners and intermediate yoga.” Whew.
I thought it was quite ironic that I was using my beef yoga mat! And Kris, I LOVE the lulu lemon head band you gave me, my hair stayed out of my eyes the whole time. And now I realize why I have bangs – holy cow do I have a big forehead! Those toesox? Love. I asked my Mom for them for Christmas. As I diabetic I am not supposed to walk around barefoot – the possibility is that I may step on something, not feel it and it could get infected. I wear these around the house, but they are also perfect for yoga. The grips on the bottom kept my feet in the right spot for downward dog. Look at me, already spewing out yoga terms! Namaste!
Well, let me tell you, yoga is hard. I knew I wasn’t very flexible going in, but holy balls, some of the moves I was like “what the what?!” But the teacher was nice. Made modifications (I am sure for me) if needed. She would say things like “if it’s available to you, go ahead and go to the next step by standing on your head and balancing with your legs straight up in the air.” Yeah, that wasn’t happening, but I have to tell you, the heated room, all the stretching and having cool acoustic music, the 75 minutes went by really fast. I would definitely do it again. Since I got the “newcomer” price, I’ll have to see what it costs regularly, but I could see that being a new Saturday routine for me. I love that I tried something outside my normal comfort zone – you just never know!
And my blood sugar was just fine – I wanted it a little bit high just in case. It was 227 going in and when I was done dropped to 140. Perfect!
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My store had porterhouse steaks and t-bone steaks for $7 a pound. That’s a crazy ridiculous price. I bought a porterhouse for Jacob (his was 1.1 pound), and a t-bone (mine was 1 pound) for me. Hannah had a tofu stirfry! I marinated the beef in my best beef marinade and let them marinate on the counter for an hour to let the beef get to room temp. Never cook beef fridge to fire – it will cause your meat to be tough, every single time. The steaks were so big, I had to cook them one at a time. Since these were really thick, I ended up cooking them 2 1/2 minutes for the first two flips, then 2 minutes each additional flip. Let it rest for about 5 minutes and they were perfect medium rare.
I wish my kitchen didn’t have such god awful lighting, because this was an amazing piece of beef. And while Jacob ate all of his down to the bone, I ate about 4 ounces and the left will be used later this week for a steak and egg white omelet for breakfast and a steak stirfry for lunch. Cook once, eat three times! Love it.
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The last time I met up with my friend Jacky, (um, which was already two months ago – crazy!) she gave me some of her homemade chorizo seasoning. I used it right when I got it, but in typical Biz fashion it quickly got pushed to the back of my seasoning cabinet. Thankfully once Hannah and I organized the spices last week, the chorizo seasoning was found and I decided to make homemade breakfast pork sausage. The ground pork was also found in my freezer ala Hannah’s cleaning pants!
So good! Just a slight kick of spiciness and the crust was really good. And I’ll have leftovers for later this week. #winning!
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Hannah and Jacob belong to the local Y because as students it’s only $25 a month. I can go as their guest six times a year. It was so cold yesterday – it’s finally starting to feel like winter in Chicagoland – but I am not complaining – it’s been so mild so far. I did a 35 minute run on the treadmill, then did 20 laps in the pool and finished it off in the hot tub. Or as I like to call it a “sleep” tub. I always get so sleepy in there, but it feels so good!
By the time we left it was nearly 4 p.m. and having not had anything to eat since breakfast, we were hangry! We stopped at our local taco place on the way home – I got the two steak taco plate with beans. I ate half the beans and one taco and brought the second taco home – go me! I normally wouldn’t have thought twice to clean my plate, but I was satisfied so I stopped.
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I am happy to report that my no alcohol is still going strong. On that Happier podcast I’ve been listening to, one episode talked about if you were an abstainer or a moderator. Abstaining meaning you just cut something completely out, where as a moderator can pick and choose on the 80/20 percentage and decide when to indulge. While she said while most people think that the abstainer is too strict on themselves, they are really taking the lazy way out. Which I couldn’t agree with more. So instead of me thinking “should I have a glass of wine with dinner” “should I order a beer at the Bulls game” I’ve taken the lazy way out and decided to cut it out altogether so that it becomes a non-issue. There’s nothing to debate because I already declared January an alcohol free month with my step-son. And it seems to be working! And Joe is going strong too
Another thing I curbed over the weekend? Night time snacking. I decided that I can only eat at home at the dining room table with no distractions, i.e. iphone, tablet, etc. Obviously dinner is fine because I am eating dinner with Hannah and Jacob. But on Friday night around 9:30 I thought I felt snacky even though I knew I wasn’t hungry, and thought how stupid it would look for me to be eating cheese and crackers on a plate at the dining room table by myself, and I quickly got over it.
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It’s nice to know that I have the ability to modify my behavior! I also went to bed on the weekend the same time I do on the week days which also made a world of difference. It wouldn’t have been unusual for me to watch movies until 1:30 in the morning on the weekends and to not wake up until 11 or later the next day. Both days this weekend I got a shit ton of stuff done all before 11:00 a.m., which also makes the weekend feel longer.
I hope you all had a great weekend. We’ll be bitter cold for the next couple days. Right now it’s –1 and with the wind chill feels like –15. That’s the Chicago January I know! And since I didn’t win the Powerball on Saturday, I’ll just wait until Wednesday to pick up my 1.3 billion dollars!
Make it a great day!
Just like all activities, to lose weight, you must know what you are doing. So many weight loss methods exist and there is so much advice available, that it can be difficult to know how to proceed. Sticking to tips that are known to work is the best way to go.
That was a great weekend Biz. So proud you tried something new and liked it. I never have gotten into yoga. I have done some Pilates classes which I liked more.
I always go to bed around the same time at the weekend as on a weekday, maybe an hour later sometimes. And I don’t need much sleep anymore. When I go to bed around 11 pm, I wake up without an alarm between 6 and 7 am. But I don’t mind that. Sleep is necessary but it takes away hours in a day to do fun stuff 🙂
Have a great week sweety.
Thanks Fran, I am pretty proud of myself too. New stuff usually intimidates me, but I figured worse case scenario I could just lay on my mat and take a nap for 75 minutes! 😀
Have a great week too!
And glad the headband is working out!
Love it! I’ll have to keep my eye out for lulu lemon stuff when I thrift 😀
Inspired by Hannah I organized my freezer and have made my own resolution to eat all mystery meals before anything new is added to the freezer. Here’s to the adventure and defrosting. In the vein of facing my fears I made my first meal in my new instant pot. Happy to report the kitchen I survived and it was almost easy lol.
Glad that Hannah inspired you to clean out the freezer – sometimes it pushes you to get creative! My friend Tracy has an InstaPot – not sure I can add one more kitchen appliance to my kitchen – Hannah already thinks I have too much kitchen shit 😀
I saw that picture with all that snow & turned my heater up! Lol It is cold here today & I’m not liking it. No way I could live up there!
Great job with staying on track! I sorta fell off the wagon yesterday but I’m fighting my way back on today. 🙂
I took yoga a few years ago at our gym & loved it. I have been thinking of dusting off my mat & taking it again. Got to pretty up my toes first! Lol Love your polish & toe socks! 😀
Oh Sherry – that’s hardly any snow! Every day is a new day – remember that 😀
I figure I can get away with my toes like that through January before having to switch them up 😛
Are your feet numb all the time? Just curious. I gave up alcohol too and it feels pretty good. I am sleeping better and find my sugar cravings are going away slowly but surely. A friend took me to a very upscale restaurant at The Getty Museum over the holidays. I had one of the best meals ever, including the dessert we shared. Now when I want something sweet, I say to myself, nothing can compare to that dessert at the Getty which I will have again some day. Then it is easier to just have a piece of fruit instead. Yay Me!
Nope, my feet are not numb at all – it’s kind of like a glove for my feet! 😀 Ha, it’s kind of like how I view food as “insulin worthy” – great job on picking fruit 😀
Yoga is the BEST!!!! For mind and body! (not that I’ve been on my mat since November….not sure why….just life was in the way. time to get back!) I will be doing a “Lose the booze” month for charity in March. (did it last year too) You don’t drink for the month, and you donate the money you would have spent on it to charity. During the month last year, the ONLY time I missed it was at a friend’s dinner party. And a glass of wine with everyone else would have been lovely. Have a great week Vat!! Bundle up!
I remember you going to yoga – hope it find to get it back into your routine. Hope you had fun at your Momma’s house!
Sounds like you had a very good weekend. Now I need to get on the stick myself and make things better for my health. You are an inspiration.
It was a great weekend – I am glad I can inspire you! 😀 Hugs!
love that you tried hot yoga! i really like hot yoga, i’m not doing it while i’m pregnant but can’t WAIT to go back after the baby comes. it’s so refreshing.
i never knew you weren’t supposed to cook beef fridge to fire, no wonder beef always tastes too tough to me. i bet half or more of restaurants don’t let it come to room temp either, i almost always think it’s tough in a restaurant too. i will have to try this and see if i change my mind on beef.
habit changing is hard, but i think you might be right that abstaining is the lazy way out… if you do the 80/20 rule it slowly goes to 70/30 to 60/40 to 50/50 etc and there’s really no change at all. good luck on the no snacking, that’s my downfall too and maybe i should just abstain.
happy monday!
Hey Maggie! You also have to cut across the grain with beef – if you don’t – even if prepared correctly, it still will be tough. Just look at the meat and see where the “lines” are and then cut across the lines. Here’s a quick video to watch if you want to prepare beef at home 😀
https://youtu.be/IqEKO-Sk3wc
I like how you’re finding “new” time now that you’ve made some behavior modifications! Stay warm this week – it’s chilly here, too – finally.
Thanks Shelley – but I am not sure your chilly is close to your chilly 😀
I am so proud of you Biz! You’re trying new things, challenging yourself and working on improving habits. Way to go! I have a good feeling that 2016 is going to be a great year for you and that makes me smile big this morning.
I haven’t heard of or ever looked for Chorizo seasonings (why would I? I’m not cooking). Is there a certain brand? My husband and I have tried making our own sausage so that we would know what exactly is in there and to control salt somewhat. Yours sounds (and looks) tasty. Have a great week!
I was so happy to see you post this year Tammy! Anything I can do to help, you know I am here for you. And sorry if you thought I was stalking you – I just care! 😀
Let’s 2016 both be an awesome year for us!
That sausage looks amazing!!
Yeah, I’ve sometimes thought that cutting something out is the lazy way out, but I don’t care. I consider it a good reset.
For some people, it’s also a sign of an eating disorder. How many young bloggers have you watched go from healthy eating, to vegetarian, to vegan, to paleo, to running marathons…? It seems to me the answer is … a lot. For some people, it’s a way to continue disordered eating with “rules”. Not everyone of course.
Fact is, the 80/20 rule, or moderation – it isn’t sexy, or exciting. Being that person who eats a little of this, and a little of that – and the person who exercises in moderation too – oh, a little walking, swimming, weight training – it’s boring. No marathon training??
I like to use elimination as a reset because it really can help form new habits. Certain foods are addictive, and certain people are more susceptible. Sugar, wheat, alcohol – under stress, one can turn into 10. Eliminating it forms new habits. At the end of the month, you can go back to having that cookie on Saturday and glass of wine on Sunday.
Thanks Marcia – couldn’t have said it better! 😀
Can’t wait to make the breakfast sausage, looks yummy! Happy Monday, brrrr.
On a day like today, I was happy for two things – that I don’t have to wait on the L station, and heated seat warmers in my car! Stay warm my friend!
I’m glad you tried hot yoga – it’s always good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while! Sounds like it would be a nice routine to start the weekend…
And I totally agree with you that no alcohol is MUCH easier than one or two glasses per week. If you eliminate it, it isn’t an issue. If you limit it, it’s always a possibility…
I also like your eating rule – glad it helped with night time snacking!
Have a great week!
Thanks Andrea! I already signed up for the next one and it just sets me up for success right off the bat on the weekend. I am loving all your outfits lately!