Running, blog stats and random stuff

Posted on August 1, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I’ve had a pretty exciting week from a personal perspective. I set two personal records running in the past 3 days. The first was my fastest run at 8:26 avg. min/km or 13:34 avg. min/mile. This is a full 1 minute per mile LESS than before I had my surgery in May! The second was that I ran more miles in July than any previous month! Below is my RunKeeper stats…

The brick color is walking, the green is running and the purple is hiking.

I’ve either walked, ran or hiked 544 kilometers since March. That’s 338 miles 🙂 Woot!

Another awesome thing that happened this week is that at some point I reached 50,000 hits on my blog! And I’ve logged nearly 3500 comments! It makes me so happy that so many people have stopped by. I started regularly writing this blog in August to share my journey with family and friends and it has become so much more and that makes my heart swell with happiness!

And that leads to the awesomest things that have happened this week. Actually it happened today… 4 people that I personally know, all of us on 4 different continents, contacted me today (yesterday for some of you) to tell me they are starting the Dukan because they want to be healthier and they’ve seen my success. All 4 have read my blog and I only knew that one of them was. I wish all 4 of you luck!!! I know you will succeed because I know all of you put your mind to something and accomplish it! 4 amazing women… starting on this journey… Good luck and remember that I’m here if you need anything!

I’ll finish by saying that August brings in the last month of summer. It also signals that I have 51 days left in China. I can’t believe I’ve been here nearly a year already! I get one more trip to Guangzhou where I get to hang with my Int’l crew down there, Rose, Jenny, Liza and Dianna. And get to mentor a friend from the Middle East, Aisha! And then back to Hangzhou to finish out my contract… I’m going to miss my ViviMokaLaka so much! She’s the one that brought me here in the first place. I’m going to try to take as many photos as possible in the next 7 weeks.

But I miss home and my kids and my grandkids and my mom and my family and my friends and the beautiful sunrise over the Roosevelt Bridge first thing in the morning. And there’s no place like home. I’ve had a fun 4 years living abroad 🙂 But on to new projects and fixing up my AirStream!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

Ciao!

Dukan – Recipe – Steak Stir Fry

Posted on August 1, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I had some veggies in the fridge that needed to be eaten so I threw this little dinner together!

STEAK STIR FRY (sorry, I live in China, have a teeny kitchen and a wok, stir fry is what it is!)
Serves 2

1 pound steak (500 grams) – cut in chunks, strips, however you like it!
1/2 large onion – chopped
1/2 carrot- sliced thinnish
1/2 red pepper – chopped
Asparagus- chopped
2 Tbs Coconut Oil (see the * from yesterday’s post)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Put 1 Tbs of coconut oil in pan. Put in onions and carrots, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and cook on medium low for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Put your steak on top, add the rest of the coconut oil and stir. Put on the lid and simmer for 6 minutes. Stir occasionally. Take lid off and stir fry the red pepper and asparagus in with the rest of it… Stir fry for 3 minutes. Put lid on for 2 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Sautee those carrots and onions gently!

Throw that meat in there!

Add in the rest of the veggies!

ENJOY!

Ciao!

MTV Debuts August 1, 1981!

Posted on August 1, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I was 9 months pregnant with Nicholas and remember it well… We had Perry Cable back then and they advertised the start of this crazy music channel… Too bad it barely has any music on it anymore 😦
What is your favorite MTV memory??

Craig Hill

On August 1st 1981, MTV: Music Television went on the air for the first time ever, with the words (spoken by one of MTV’s creators, John Lack): “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.” The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to air on the new cable television channel, which initially was available only to households in parts of New Jersey.

MTV went on to revolutionise the music industry and become an influential source of pop culture and entertainment in the United States and other parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, which all have MTV-branded channels.

In MTV’s early days, its programming consisted of basic music videos that were introduced by VJs (video jockeys) and provided for free by record companies. As the record industry recognised MTV’s value as a promotional vehicle, money was invested in making creative, cutting-edge videos.

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Dukan – Recipe – Curried Stir Fry – Pure Protein Meal

Posted on July 31, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I’ve had a lot of requests for recipe ideas lately. Tonight I made a beef steak curry stir-fry. I make really quick & easy meals because I’m limited on what I can do in my little Chinese kitchen.

BEEF STEAK CURRY STIR-FRY

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. Coconut Oil*
5 cloves garlic, smashed, chopped, diced, however you like it
1 large red onion, chopped (I like mine chunky)
Ginger, about the size of your thumb, chopped or diced
16 oz (550 grams) beef steak, cut into 1″ pieces
2 Tbs. curry powder, more if you like!
1/4 tsp Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredients

Place coconut oil in wok or frying pan on medium and toss in onion. Put 1 Tbs. of curry and the cumin on the onions and stir for 1 minute. Add the meat and stir for 30 seconds then add the rest of the curry, stir and turn down to med-low for 5 minutes, cover. Then add the garlic and ginger. Stir every once in a while for 3-4 more minutes.
Serve.

See… easy peasy 🙂

*Coconut oil is NOT part of the Dukan Diet. No oils are. However, I used olive oil and coconut oil nearly daily throughout my 10 month weight loss journey and still lost 111 pounds. It is up to you whether or not you want to use it. In 1 Tbs. of coconut oil you will find: 0 Protein, 0 Carbohydrates, 13.5 mg Fat… worth it, in my humble opinion! As with anything, use in moderation.

Enjoy!

Site to check out: Cooking Traditional Foods… she has great recipes and ideas on her site for eating healthy!

Letting Go

Posted on July 31, 2012 by flamidwyfe

More wise words from Marc and Angel.

The past can steal your present if you let it. – You can spend hours, days, weeks, months, or even years sitting alone in a dark room, over-analyzing a situation from the past, trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve or should’ve happened. Or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and walk out the front door into the sunlight to get some fresh air.

Wise words, but OH SO HARD to do. There are many, many things that I have easily let go of… toxic friends, toxic work relationships, toxic people in general, but the one thing I am still having a hard time letting go of is the resentment I have from leaving Abu Dhabi last year due to working with a sociopath. Beating myself up for quitting a perfectly good job at a wonderful hospital (and turning down a promotion!) to try something different, start a maternity unit that was going to offer water birth for the first time in the Middle East. I ended up working with someone who was truly sociopathic in her behavior. Scary at times, to be honest. Many of the upper level management, like myself, have left the job because of her.

So why can’t I get past it… almost a year later? I did some work with my friend Julia Murchison, the most amazing massage therapist in the world. She was doing myofascial massage and we were chatting away. While we were chatting away she began working on an area of my abdomen. I suddenly burst into tears. I was quite confused about all of the emotions that I was having at the moment, for no apparent reason (at least to me). She asked me what I was thinking about right at that moment and I was thinking about how much I missed working in Abu Dhabi… the place she was working on represents resentment and that is exactly how I was feeling at the time.

I don’t know how long I’ll hold on to this anger about leaving. I really loved it there. I loved the culture, the people, the life style and my friends. I learned SO much from the midwives that I worked with at the Corniche Hospital… I was the only American… my mates were from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, Pakistan and more. It was rich with culture, religion and birthing differently than I was use to. I miss it and I miss my friends that became like family.

I am going home, to Florida, in September. I am excited about it. I can’t wait to be back with my family and friends, but I will always have this little side of me that says, “What if”, about Abu Dhabi… my home away from home. I guess Julia has a LOT of work to do on me! 😀

I’m off to put on my “big girl panties” and get on with my day. I don’t regret leaving the pieces on the floor and walking away from the job I switched to. I am working towards being appreciative of the time that I did have there and the 1 year opportunity I’ve had working and living in China.

What do you have a hard time letting go of? If you’ve been successful at letting go, what is your secret?

Off to finish my work day!

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 80

Posted on July 30, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Daily Weight: 147 lbs
Goal Weight: 155 lbs

Spent the night last night in Shanghai and after dropping off Suz at the airport I headed back by subway to the train station and then the train back to Hangzhou.

My driver, Jerry, picked me up at the train station and took me to the Wet Market to buy meat and veggies… so much cheaper than the grocery store!

I then got home and started packing boxes for my move home in September. I packed two boxes and will ship them on Thursday… September 20th… leaving for U.S. date 🙂

Breakfast: Buffet at the Courtyard Marriott… I had a 3 egg omelet with onions, peppers and mozzarella cheese.
Lunch on the train: Beef jerky and a handful of almonds
Snack: Yogurt with Splenda and cinnamon
Dinner: Stir fried pork with onions and asparagus. Dipped that in Tamari (which is soy sauce without wheat in it) and wasabi… Oh My Was That Good!

Dinner Cooking 🙂

Dinner Plated!

Now I’m off for a 5 km run and then bed. I hope you all enjoy your Monday!

Ciao!

Dukan – Sunday Celebration Meal!

Posted on July 29, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I love Sundays because they are Celebration Meal day for me! I’m in Shanghai bringing a friend to the airport, so staying overnight.

I had a marketing event this morning where I spoke about natural birth and water birth to over 300 parents to be!

Then off to the train station with Suzanne and Steve.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, 1 ounce pepper jack cheese, 2 slices lot bacon.
Lunch: a burger with onions and nothing else
Snack: handful of almonds
Met my good friend Federica for dinner…
Dinner at greek Taverna… Nirvana? I had hummus, cucumbers, Greek fries, a Greek salad and grilled feta cheese. Finished of with a pot of Greek yogurt with a smidge of honey!

Long walk back to hotel… Crashing!
Ciao!

Dukan – A Good Day – Dukan Consolidation Day 78

Posted on July 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

11 weeks and 1 day into Dukan Consolidation Phase and doing great!
Today was my once weekly PP day, since I was unable to do it on Thursday.

Today’s Weight: 147 lb/66.8 kgs
Goal Weight: 155 lb/70.5 kgs

Back to work in Hangzhou after a trip yesterday to Shanghai. Got an early start on fine tuning a PowerPoint presentation on water birth for tomorrow (Sunday). I walked to work, as usual.

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, 3 slices of lean bacon, coffee
Morning Snack: 1 ounce of Pepper Jack cheese
Lunch: 2 tea eggs, 3 slices of lean bacon
Afternoon Snack: 1 tea egg, 1 ounce of Pepper Jack cheese
Dinner: Lomo Saltaldo… oh MY was it good!
After Dinner Snack: Fat Free greek yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal… I’m eating that now as I write this blog 🙂

Exercise Today:
Walk to work = 1 mile
Walk home for lunch = 1 mile
Walk back to work = 1 mile
Walk home from work = 1 mile
After dinner walk = 2 mile
Total = 6 miles

Water = 3+ liters of water today.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Ciao!

Parting shot… Baby Moon-Moon this afternoon… I love my babies!

Winning – Saturday Sayings

Posted on July 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve failed or if you’ve been beaten. All that matters is that you learn something, get back up, and try again. Because winning is a good feeling, but winning when nobody else thought you could is an awesome feeling.” ~ Marc and Angel Hack Life

How important is it for us to think this way in all aspects of our lives? Getting back up, brushing ourselves off and starting over is the ONLY way to succeed. I was SO fortunate to have the support from family, friends and fellow bloggers on my continuing journey of better health.

I see so many people that aren’t being encouraged, as well. I see it on Facebook pages when someone mentions that they are losing weight, eating well and exercising, their friends tell them to lie down and have a cookie. What kind of support is that? That is your fat, unhappy friends discouraging you from being better than them. Or your skinny, unhappy friends that like that you are the fat friend, it makes them feel better about themselves.

So, my friends, go out there and WIN today! Stick to that program you are on. Get in at least 30 minutes of some type of moving… even if it’s just walking… and WIN.

WIN for YOU!

Ciao!