It’s National Kale Day apparently! Hope y’all are celebrating.
Here’s a recipe for a kale salad from one of my fave bloggers The Food Babe. Looks delish and very simple. I’m definitely going to try this one. I might be sneaky and add in some chicken!
Kale Party
There is an abundance of healthy, beautiful, tanned and toned people here in San Francisco.
To the point where I was about ready to hop back on the plane to Dublin when I first arrived. I don’t belong here, I’m an imposter! My shins are too pale to wear shorts every day.
But after a while I realised:
1. I’m not the only one with pale shins. We’re in the tech nerd capital of the world after all, filled with engineers who have pale everything.
2. I can actually use this situation to my advantage – make friends with these beautiful people and get their secrets!
So, that’s what I’m doing – interviewing my group of SF friends to get their top tips for staying healthy.
We’re starting off with Anna. Anna is actually Irish, but she does a very good job of blending in with the beautiful locals. And not only does she look great, she’s also a qualified nutritionist so she speaks the truth.
Watch the video by clicking on the picture below. This was taken on Day 31 at Dolores Park. Blog entry on this tomorrow.
(Note, this is my first time making a video. I’ll get better!)
Watch Anna’s top healthy tips here
If you’re not into videos, her tips written down are:
Thanks for the healthy tips Anna, what a super star! Stay tuned for more tips from friends.
Food and Exercise
I just had a couple of those tortilla chips and guac!
The late night snack with Lysbet, Isabel and Dzuy
I’ve been working on living a cleaner, healthier lifestyle for a while now- probably around 3 months or so. Even before starting this blog, I’d been working out hard and paying more attention to my diet.
Slowly, slowly I’ve started to think I can see a change in my body – oh, are my jeans a little looser? Is that a tricep I can see? Does my face look a little thinner? Hmmm, perhaps, that’s kind of cool.
Some wise words to bear in mind!
It wasn’t until Mags told me that she thought my legs looked a lot more toned recently, that I really started to believe it. What a rush – I was ecstatic, overjoyed, over the moon, thrilled to bits! If she saw it, then it must be true. The impact those words had on me was huge – I was instantly more motivated, more confident, I felt so great about myself. My new, healthy lifestyle was working!
When I calmed down a little later I started to think about my reaction. Why hadn’t I reacted the same way when I noticed a difference myself? Was I really so reliant on other people to buoy up my self-esteem?
I came to the sad conclusion that, yes, this was absolutely the case.
Case in point – my sister Lindsey got married about 4 months ago. I was living in San Francisco and had been making a huge effort to get in shape. There was no way I was going to be the out-of-shape, single, older sister at the wedding. So I worked hard, saw some nice results and was pretty happy with myself getting on the flight to Dublin.
When I touched down I was so thrilled to see my family, obviously. But there was a small part of me that was also looking forward to hearing how great I looked, how fit and toned. And whilst I did hear this, in the midst of all the other hyper chats as we drove home, there was a part of me that didn’t think the compliment was complimentary enough.
And, tragically, I let that totally effect the way I saw myself. Maybe I hadn’t done a good enough job, I should have worked out more, I should have eaten less, I had failed.
Looking back on this I feel so sad about it. I should have been content enough with my own progress that a compliment from my family would have been the cherry on top of an already delicious cake. (A healthy, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free cake obvs).
So, this is what I’m now working on. Being my own biggest fan, complimenting myself every day on the changes I see and accepting all other compliments, or lack thereof, with grace.
I’m also trying to dish out more compliments when I notice something to be complimented. Just cos it is pretty cool to hear!
Food and exercise:
Lysbet with our left-overs outside Sunflower. I was somewhat healthy and didn’t eat the entire portion, which was enough to feed four people!
Absolute and utter exhaustion hit me like a ton of bricks on Day 27. I pretty much spent the majority of the work day like this.
I think our strategy going forward, should involve napping
Actually, that’s too cute-looking. In fact, it was more like this:
I look tired, you say?
Zombie-like exhaustion is the perfect way to describe it.
I dragged myself, from meeting to meeting, struggling to keep my swollen, tired eyes open and contributing nothing of value to the conversations, aside from the odd snarl to let people know I was still alive. How to not make friends and influence people!
In addition, I wanted to eat EVERYTHING around me. ALL of the food. I was ready to upend the entire jar of granola straight into my mouth, followed by a carton of FULL FAT milk, right there in the middle of the kitchen, not caring who saw me.
Needless to say, my body was definitely crying out for fuel just in an effort to keep itself awake and functioning.
I was never more thankful to see the back of a working day. And I was never more thankful for having a long commute home. I fell asleep as soon as I sat down on the bus!
(This actually isn’t unusual for me. I practically have a super-human ability to fall asleep anywhere and everywhere, in under 5 seconds flat. My friends Marie and Kate, who both suffer from sleep issues, hate me for it. I’m convinced they always try to wake me up on purpose when we’re on long-haul flights together. Don’t hate me cos I sleep well).
Whilst Day 27 was a tough one, it ended in the nicest possible way – with the offer of a home-cooked meal from Venessa. Venessa is the ‘house-mom’ and an amazing cook! In under 30 minutes she can whip up a feast fit for a herd of ravenous zombies. So, rather than cave into the exhaustion and order a take-out, which is what I think would have happened if left to my own devices, I sat down to freshly baked Irish soda bread, quinoa and roasted veg and homemade beans. I was never more happy or thankful.
I’ve been mulling over the reasons why I was so exhausted on this day.
It could have been the fact that I stayed up slightly later than usual watching TOWIE – a trashy reality TV show set in Essex in England. Totes amazeballs. Even Lysbet, a pure Cali girl, thinks it’s well funny.
But, now I know, for a fact, that it was all the fault of ‘that time of the month’ (these words should be said in an exaggerated stage voice, looking furtively over your shoulder to make sure nobody heard you).
I know this because:
When I stopped to think about it, it all made sense – the granola obsession, bad skin, blah blah blah. I’ve basically been PMS-ing my way through the entire week.
I should obviously have copped on to this sooner – the whole thing happens like clockwork, obvs. But, funnily enough, I haven’t paid close enough attention until writing this blog.
The good thing is I can take action for the next time. The two things I always hear recommended for bad PMS are Omega 3s (EPA/DHA) and Evening Primrose oil. I buy the Minami Nutrition brand of Omega 3s as I’ve heard from personal trainers it’s high quality. Omega 3s are also apparently great for fat loss!
Needless to say I will be stocking up for next month!
Food and exercise
I was too tired to take pictures of food today. But to sum up:
I’m on a bit of a roll as regards trying out the trendy San Francisco exercise classes. It was Barry’s Bootcamp on Day 24 and now Soul Cycle on Day 26.
(I’m also trying to purge myself of my granola sins by killing myself with exercise. Healthy, right?)
I’ve been hearing a lot about Soul Cycle since moving to the US. People are obsessed with it! It really has become something of a cult. I’ve watched the soul-cyclists from afar for a while now, fascinated by them. (Is soul-cyclists the correct noun? Soulers, maybe?). The one and only San Francisco studio is in the Marina and every time I happen to pass I see crowds of ecstatic looking people at the entrance (in their LuLu Lemon of course), shouting to the heavens about how amazing the class was and how they swore they found Jesus, Mary and Joseph during that last hill climb.
In addition to the regular folks, all the celebs seem to be hopping on the Soul Cycle bandwagon as well. A friend in work said she frequently saw A-listers (Katie Holmes no less) sweating it out in the New York studio she used to go to. God, I love New York.
Needless to say my interest was definitely piqued before my friend Mags suggested we try out the Palo Alto one. Sold!
(Mags, by the way is my new training bud so she’s going to come up a lot in this blog. She’s now been upgraded from ‘my friend Mags’ to just ‘Mags.’ The same goes for ‘my roommate Lysbet’ and ‘my roommate Venessa’ FYI.)
Soul Cycle is an expensive class to take, just like Barry’s Bootcamp – $30 per go. But they do try to make it a little bit posh for you – free use of towels, free use of spin shoes, free hair ties, free deodorant and body lotion in the restrooms, free chewing gum and, this was a new one for me, free ear plugs! Can any hard core fans out there tell me what these are for? Surely the point of the thumping music is hear it and get your groove on? If it’s loud to the point where people need earplugs, why don’t they just turn it down? Actually, maybe they glow in the dark and it just looks cool to see hundreds of ear plugs rocking up and down in time to the music. God knows. I didn’t partake anyway. I’m slightly scared of ear plugs.
The set up inside the Soul Cycle studio is very much like Barry’s Bootcamp. The night-club themed exercise class is so en-vogue now. The quirk with Soul Cycle is that they use candles! The instructor sits on a raised platform, surrounded by lots and lots of flickering candles. There’s a definite altar feeling to whole to the whole thing (soul / alter, get it?). It’s all very atmospheric and lovely.
At least it was until I dropped my water bottle in the middle of the class and couldn’t find it again because it was so dark.
The staff were very helpful in getting the bikes set up correctly, which is so important. If you do a spin class and you’re not sitting properly on your bike, you can kill your back. Not fun!
The class itself was a mixture of spinning (obvs), crunches, weight work and dancing – all on the bike! I think it probably takes a while to get the coordination right. In addition, you don’t have any gauge for what the resistance levels are. The instructor just tells you to turn to the right or left, and you can be very liberal with your turn or very reserved. I think I was quite reserved – my resistance was definitely not up high enough. My thighs didn’t burn as much as they usually do in a spin class. I’m going to have to work on it.
The ‘soulful’ part of the class came at the end, with some yoga-class-esque affirmations telling you to embrace your failures, let go of the past and simply live in the moment. Considering I had another granola slip up today I was comforted by this and finished up the class feeling at one with my myself.
All in all, a positive experience, and I think I’ll try it again. I’m determined to get the spin/dance/crunch combo right. I was so out of sync with the other soul-cyclists (?!?) it was embarrassing.
Also, while I didn’t see any Hollywood celebs in the class, I’m thinking there could have been some secret tech celebs in attendance. I just wouldn’t know what they look like! In which case I should probably make more of an effort with my outfit the next time.
Food and Exercise:
No joke. It has.
There’s Mags’ foot!
I love trying new exercise classes- I’m a bit of a junkie in fact.
There's a party on my feet
Lucky for me, there are so many on offer in San Francisco!
I’ve tried TRX, crossfit, spinning, barre, boxercise, boot camp, reformer pilates, hip hop (which is deserving of its own blog post- watch this space) and a whole load of other classes designed to sculpt, tone, pump, pummel and basically kick your ass into shape.
I used to go to the gym by myself or go on a solo jog, but I stopped for three reasons:
1. I was way more likely to back out of doing exercise because there was nobody else to let down, only myself.
2. I would do the same routine every time, so I would quickly get bored and stop progressing.
3. The cross trainer was featuring way too frequently in my gym sessions. Accompanied by a magazine and maybe an episode of TOWIE. In other words, I might as well have been taking a nap.
So I switched to group exercise classes and never looked back. I love the variation, the energy, the music, the accountability, the high fives.
(Note, I would only ever high five in an American exercise class. Most Irish people are suspicious of high fives. Plus the execution of the high five is difficult for us to master and causes a lot of embarrassment. I had to practice to get it right).
One of the hottest, trendiest exercise class in the city right now is Barry’s Bootcamp. When I heard that it was the class of choice for the Victoria Secret Angels, I knew I had to sign up. So my friend Mags and I decided to head along on Day 24 to try it out.
Barry’s Bootcamp is definitely styling itself to appeal to young, hot, fit club-going, 20- 30ish working professionals. Think low lights, and loud music. Think smoothie bar and branded tanks. Think beautiful people lazing outside the building on benches, wearing LuLu Lemon, executing near perfect high-fives and sipping on protein shakes.
As soon as I rolled up in my non-designer threads (I don’t own anything by LuLu Lemon) I was ready to be intimidated. But, nice surprise, the owner (James, not Barry) greeted us warmly when we signed in, the instructor walked us through how to use the equipment and shouted words of encouragement as we went through the workout and it definitely got our sweat on, which is the most important thing!
There were a few posers with their tops off, but I quickly forgave them. And nearly fell off the treadmill in doing so.
The Barry’s Bootcamp workout is a combination of treadmill intervals and weights work on the floor. You can take it at your own speed and you have a clear idea of what progression looks like.
I am definitely sore now, writing this the day after, which is what I want.
It’s an expensive class, but Mags and I will definitely be doing it again. It’s a great way to set yourself up on a Saturday.
And the exertion totally meant I had license to eat the below, right? Not a perfect day, but I tried to healthify where possible.
Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled and bacon. Coffee with milk.
Snack: Banana with 8 almonds
Lunch: A little of the following- Meat board (I am eating way too much cured meats, fact), slice of bread, arugala salad with Parmesan and fennel, Brussels sprouts, capaonata, glass of red wine. We had all of this in Beretta in the mission. Really tasty food, and a lively atmosphere. Dog friendly as well!
Dinner: Jamie Oliver’s meat loaf (minus the crackers, so paleo friendly), with green salad. 2x glasses of red wine.
Dessert: Red grapes and square of dark chocolate.
*Not the actual portion size of the meat loaf
Dinner guest
As you can most likely infer from the title of this post the past few days have been rough. So rough I haven’t been able to face blogging about them. And the lack of blogging, or rather the lack of full disclosure to the masses, most likely exacerbated the issue. If I had come clean, and faced the shame on day 21, I would have probably been able to bring myself back from the brink, instead of spiraling into the darkness… The nutty, oaty, cranberry-y darkness.
So, can you guess what caused this tremendous flying leap off the wagon?
Yes, granola.
I can hear you all sigh at your screens as you read this. ‘I knew this would happen. The way she talked about granola in the last post seemed slightly manic. Hysterical almost. A lady on the edge.’
And all I can say is you were right, how very astute of you, well done. Just, the next time, make sure you intervene, k? Wrestle the box out of my hands, if needs be. (It will probably be needed.)
So, what happened exactly?
I would say that over the past 3 days I’ve actually been 75% healthy. Lots of veg, lean protein, healthy fat. Exactly what the magazines tell you.
But the other 25%? I’ll give you the showreel- granola after dinner, granola for breakfast one day, granola as an afternoon snack, pasta (!) and eating ice cream out of the carton standing at the freezer (only one spoonful but it’s kind of the defining moment of those 3 days of madness).
I think the worst thing about this period was the feeling that I was out of control, that I couldn’t say no to the badness, that the granola had complete power over me. And then of course, there were the feelings of guilt and loathing. The beating myself up and telling myself I was a terrible person with no will power, who had just failed the 100 day challenge.
Needless to say they were some dark times, food wise.
But, I am happy to say I am back on track and committed one again to my 100 Healthy Days.
What helped me? Some words of wisdom from my roommate Venessa.
‘Have you ever thought about telling yourself nothing is off-limits?’ She asked.
‘Interesting question.’ I replied. ‘Never. That would just open the flood gates. I would be having carb fests morning, noon and night.’
‘Well,’ she said, ‘think about this. If you say to yourself there is no way in hell you can have that granola, all you’ll do is obsess about it and then eat the whole box.’
I nodded emphatically.
She continued ‘If you tell yourself instead, you can have a quarter of a cup of granola today, if you’re craving it, and then you can have another quarter of a cup the next day if you still want it, you kind of remove that sense of deprivation. And also the obsession.’
You know what, what Venessa said to me just made sense! And it allowed me to get back on track, almost immediately, funnily enough. Without wanting any more granola. It’s like the desire has been neutralised.
Funny how the mind works. You always want what you can’t have.
So, the next time I have an intense craving, I’m going to remember Venessa’s words and just have a tiny bit, with the thought that it’s there for me if I want it later. And I’m just going to focus on eating food that makes me feel good. Ie healthy stuff!
I’m not saying this is the end of my struggles, but it’s food for thought, and thought for food. (Haha dork).
And I’m now back in the saddle! Roll on Day 24!
I was too ashamed to put in pics of the granola and chocolate. If I didn’t photograph it, it didn’t happen right?
Gahhhhhhhhhhhh! I fell victim to a snack attack last night. I was stunned by a plum, taken down by granola and then pummeled by chocolate. I was left sprawled and dazed on the couch, wondering what just happened.
And it all started so well!
After the previous days’ coffee fiasco and subsequent granola/burger indulgence I was so committed to having a golden day. No fruit in the morning, just one coffee, no fruit with lunch and then a light dinner.
But as soon as I had finished dinner, the minute I had put down my fork, I started to get ‘snacky’ as my roommate Lysbet described it. I wanted something more – it was almost like a raging thirst. So, I had a plum. Didn’t help. Then I had some chocolate. Made it worse. Then I had some granola with yogurt and grapes. Didn’t stop the feeling, but by then I was full so I stopped eating.
What the hell causes this? How can I so easily sabotage a day of such clean eating? I can I stop the snack attacks? If anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know.
I have a new theory on this. I take back all I said about coffee (I’m sorry, my love, I didn’t mean it. It’s not you, it’s me) and instead I’m actually going to blame the lack of carbs.
SHOCK HORROR!!!!
I don’t mean bad carbs, I mean low GL carbs – brown rice, quiona, sweet potato, etc.
I did two tough exercise classes over the past two days (spinning and a personal training session) but I had no carbs after. So, maybe I didn’t recover properly.
Also, I remember a while ago becoming absolutely exhausted while I was doing a lot of resistance training. Gordon, my PTrainer at the time, suggested I need to cycle in some good carbs every few days.
So, this is my new strategy. And I hope to God it works.
Any other advice let me know! Am I the only one to fall victim to a snack attack?
The Snack Monster
So, today I kind of fell of the wagon. Not only did I have granola (and it was a large bowl, I’m not going to lie), I also got a burger with a bun for dinner. Granola and hamburger s with buns are not foods that should feature in a healthy eating plan – apart from as a treat. And today should not have been a treat day.
So annoying!!
But, the one positive I can take from this experience, is that I kind of understand why it happened , which hopefully means I can prevent it in the future.
My theory is that the two large cups of coffee I had with breakfast (as well as the strawberries) wreaked havoc on my blood sugar levels. After drinking the coffees I felt on edge and restless all day- just not satisfied. After lunch I still felt like I wanted more food, even though I wasn’t hungry. And then, when I walked past the cereal at around 3pm it was like an invisible force dragged me over to the counter, made me get out a bowl and go to town on the granola. OK, I’m being over-dramatic, but normally I can avoid the cereal no problem. I JUST NEEDED THAT GRANOLA.
And then of course I needed chocolate covered blueberries and a hamburger.
Does anyone else get like this after too much coffee?
Biggest lesson here for me is that I need to be careful with what I eat and drink in the morning- avoid too much coffee and too much fruit and make sure you’re well hydrated.
As I write this, I’m sitting on the bus on way to work on Day 20 and I know I’m de-hydrated and looking for a coffee. Fingers crossed I can get it together later!
Breakfast: Low fat natural yogurt, raspberries, red grapes, 6 pecans, cinnamon, coffee with milk
Snack: banana
Lunch: Vietnamese chicken salad (grilled chicken with cabbage, carrots, pickled onions, peanuts), kale smoothie made with almond milk and almond butter. All from Delores Park Cafe (really tasty).
Snack: Apple
Dinner: Chicken with tomato ratatouille, cherry tomatoes, red grapes
The summers in San Francisco are not the best. It’s cold and foggy and you’re more likely to be investing in a sensible Northface fleece than a cute pair of shorts. The fog is kind of cool to see though- it rolls in over the city like a wave and hovers so low you feel like you could touch it. The San Franciscans have become so acquainted with it they’ve even given it a name. Meet Karl the Fog. It’s a definitely a love-hate relationship.
Anyway, SF summers kind of suck (which is a lot for an Irish person to say) but the SF fall can be spectacular- like this weekend! It was so hot, but with a light breeze so very pleasant indeed. I love the sun!!
If you’re staying in the city there’s really only one thing to do when the weather is nice- hit up a park. And my park of choice is Dolores Park. Not only is it in my hood, but it’s the most fun in my opinion, even with half of it under construction as it is now. It’s chock-a-block with people, dogs (sometimes cats), babies, birthday parties, acrobatics, hippies doing hippy things, hippies selling hippy things (like things 😉 ) and…people kicking back and drinking.
Beers in the sun, in a park. Is there anything nicer?
Before heading over to meet my friends I tried to steel myself against the lures of Delores Park by reminding myself of my goals, blah blah blah.
But as soon as we sat down and someone mentioned getting beers my resolve began to waver and the internal battle commenced.
‘Well maybe one, tiny, light beer won’t hurt.’ ‘
‘That skinny girl over there is drinking beer, how bad could it be.’
‘Drinking in the sun burns off calories immediately.’
And so on.
It wasn’t until another friend Katie refused the offer of beer in favor of coffee that I was able to calm the inner voice and say no myself.
And the good news is I still had a good time. Parks are fun without the drinking.
But it just goes to show that while I have won a few battles on behalf of healthy eating, the war with my old habits had yet to be won.
In other news, I got a hair cut today as well. It was really needed! Thanks Henrik, magic work!
100 Days in SF 