SuperSized, SuperCheesy, it was Superbowl Sunday!!

Saturday morning, I thought about posting ideas & recommendations for healthy Superbowl party treats.  Obviously that did not happen.  I realized that I actually don’t make very many “healthy” Superbowl treats.  Although, if I needed inspiration, my favorite diet guru of late, Bethenny Frankel, and the Hungry-Girl have some good recipes. (or at least some that look promising….I haven’t actually made them yet.)  I tend to make very unhealthy Superbowl treats, because I don’t really cook that often and, when I do make something for a party or a large group, I want people to enjoy it, so I make the best tasting (if unhealthier) version of a dish.  (I’ll make the low-fat/no-fat versions for myself, because I don’t mind if it tastes blander or less creamy etc.  I’m more forgiving.)  Also, I had to work on Sunday morning, so I didn’t have much time for a culinary experiment yesterday before the big game.

I attended a great Superbowl party (with very few Steelers fans--woo-hoo!) I did not cook or bring anything, aside from frothy beverages. But the spread was fantastic---cheese, beer, cheese, cheese, and more cheese.  Apparently, we were channeling the spirit of Wisconsin quite well!  I knocked back more cheese & beer than I care to think about this morning.  Brie, melty queso dip, some sort of cream cheesey delight, cupcakes with cream cheese frosting….it was all delicious!  Although, regrettably my stomach & my scale were both quite angry with me this morning.  There was a small—and I mean small—plate of veggies and hummus out.  But when you are at a party with 20 people, taking all 12 red peppers slices is a bit of a faux pas, right? 

Anyway, I tend to view Superbowl as one of those once-a-year-indlugence holidays, like Thanksgiving.  I let my diet slide a bit.  I mean, it's not an ALL day affair, it's dinnertime--one appetizer laden 3 hour game.  I ate light/healthy during the day--even though I desperately wanted a treat since I was stuck at my office on a Sunday. (boo, hiss!)  Also, I knew that my tastebuds were in a very "salty mood" yesterday...so, I stuck mainly with the chips and cheese, instead of trying a bit of everything. (Although I did try a cupcake to be polite.)

I’m back on the wagon (the Health Wagon) today.  I managed to squeeze in a quick but effective Ab workout this morning before work (it’s still Ab month!) and hopefully I’ll be able to leave my office in time for spinning tonight.  My foot is STILL hurting from where I landed crooked on ice last weekend, so running is probably still out. (This is worrisome…I need to get this checked out or else the National Marathon might not happen next month!  I would be so disappointed.)It's frustrating when you feel like your strength and endurance is improving and you're on the right track, only to be [potentially] derailed by an injury or something similarly beyond your control.  I hope that's not the case, but it's been a week, and it has not improved.  :(

....Bright Side:

Ab Month Plank: 1:23:08 (+14.53 seconds longer than Friday!)

Ice is not my homeboy.

Last Saturday I ran the Snapple High Cloud Half Marathon. The course is usually a nice soft and flat gravel trail in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park.  However, due to several days of "wintery mix" prior to the race, instead of a comfortable gravel trail, we ran the race on about 2-4 inches of snow, ice and slush.  The snow and slush, while obviously wet and difficult to run in wasn't that bad, but the ice was really terrible.  Alternating between sheets of slick surfaces and jagged crags, it forced you to constantly keep your eyes glued to the ground at all times.  Around the last quarter of the race, when I could feel myself getting tired, I accidentally slammed my left foot down--hard--on a frozen jagged ice mound.  My foot landed at a funny angle and, because I was tired, I was probably landing harder than usual.  I felt a sharp pain on the outer top of my foot.  It hurt a lot, but it was one of those race-day things that you just accept and keep moving. 

Conveniently, for the next 48-72 hours following the race, I got really sick.  I slept for almost two days straight and barely put any weight on my foot at all.  But Wednesday, feeling much better and anxious to get moving, I tried to go for a run on the treadmill.  It seemed fine until about 3 miles in, and then it started to hurt more and more.  It's not swollen, but since then, the spot has been increasingly painful.  Also, since I was 1-2 miles a day to & form my office, and the icy crags on the ground haven't gone anywhere (if anything, they've gotten worse with the melting and re-freezing) I keep misstepping in the same way.  I probably usually land that way but never with enough force to cause pain or damage--until last weekend.  

 Hopefully this is not a severe or a prolonged injury.  The National Marathon is in under two months, and a training sabbatical would just not do.  Also, I need to try on and purchase new running shoes--a feat which is difficult when one foot is in pain regardless of the shoe you're running in.  Hopefully this weekend I can either rest & heal it, or miraculously feel better and have a nice long pre-superbowl run. (I'm crossing my fingers for the latter!)

Me on the Treacherous Ice

In the meantime, Ab Month is progressing. Day Two.

AB Month:
Morning Ab Workout
Plank: 1:08:55 (I've never actually timed a plank before.  I only really do them in classes at the gym & I just hold it as long as I can or until the instructor tells me I can stop. Everyday of Ab-Month, I'll try to do it for longer than the day before. 3min plank at the end of Ab-Month? Let's see!)

Did someone say National Ab-Month?!?

Here’s an exciting feature of February I learned about yesterday from Laura’s blog, Absolut(ly)Fit:  In addition to being Black History Month and Heart Health Month, it’s also....drum-roll, please..... “National” Ab Month!! Hooray! 

(Although, I must say, we’ve designated a lot of focus groups to the year’s shortest month, right?)

I love this idea and the more I think about it, the more I love it.  

Here's why:

1. I think Ab workouts are probably my favorite exercise to do.  I have a long torso, for being a shorter gal, so I struggle with carrying extra weight around my middle. (Aside from my butt, it’s always the last part of me to look toned. Even when I’m thinner, I still have some love-handley bits.) So, doing ab workouts make me feel like I’m actually making a significant change in my body’s shape.    

2. You can quickly feel and see the results.  If you’re challenging yourself, your abs will be sore the next day, and the muscles tend to appear pretty fast, especially in your upper abdominals.  It is always a great motivator to see your body actually changing for the better!  

3. Ab workouts are pretty easy to do.  You can do them almost anywhere, with little space and little to no equipment. So, if you’re traveling, short on time, or can’t get to a gym, you can still squeeze in an ab-workout.  

4. Also, you can easily adjust the difficulty to make the workout as easy or as challenging as you want. Just starting out? You can talk yourself into doing 12 crunches a day and gradually add on as you get stronger.  Or, if you're more advanced, throw some ankle-weights on and do double crunches or do sidebends with heavier weights.  There are so many variations, it’s hard to get bored.

5. Lastly, I think February is the BEST month for this. January is a bit overwhelming, at least for me.  On January 1st, after having spent the past 31+ days since Thanksgiving shamelessly gorging myself on an endless parade of heavy dinners, cocktail parties, cakes (my birthday is in December) wines, cheeses, hams, cookies, pies, casseroles, dips and similar, I, like the rest of America vow to clean up my act in the new year.  A strict detox program is enforced, or at least attempted, for the next few weeks.  The problem is, January is usually almost as busy as December.  It’s also dark, cold and sometimes very snowy or icy.  All factors which make me prefer to curl up in a snuggie with a crockpot full of macaroni and cheese and a large spoon. Not that it’s impossible to achieve our January resolutions we've set, but it’s certainly not easy.   Then, like a guiding light, comes Ab Month. A short month. A month when you finally notice that the days are getting ever so slightly longer.  And just focusing on one thing, like abdominals, makes a fitness goal seem much more manageable.  Maybe I can’t always fit in 5-6 60 minute workouts a week.  Maybe I can’t increase my running by 3 miles a week, every week.  I can do something “abbie” a few times a week—maybe every day! It’s more manageable.  It’s a smaller, more focused goal. And on a cold dark morning, it’s easier to talk myself into 15 minutes of Abs than a 4 mile run.    

There are 28 days in February.  I’m going to try to do some kind of ab-related workout on at least 75% of the days (21 days.)  It seems doable. I already did some this morning, “I Want Those Abs” from my favorite workout DVD, Tamilee Webb’s “I Want That Body.”

We will see how it goes. You never know, maybe March will be a self-proclaimed “butt month” (or something! ;)) Good luck and Happy National Ab Month!