It's Not Easy Being Green (and Other Things That are Not Easy)

Good Morning Everyone!!  Today is going to be a good day!!  Just some quick thoughts before we head out today.

So, obviously, I'm trying to start every day on a positive step...which is a challenge for me, because I don't particularly enjoy waking up in the morning.  However, it's easy to be cheerful when you wake up, do your thing, get on the scale and see...SUCCESS...even if it's a minor change.  From when I got on the scale Monday (the day before we started in full gear) to when I got on it this morning - I've "lost" 7.8 lbs.  I put lost in quotation marks because I know that this is not really a loss in fat, but the flush of so much sodium, sugar and other processed junk from my system (to share, Kurt's loss has been +/-2 lb since he weighed himself a week ago Monday, but I bet that if he had weighed himself this last Monday, it would have been more).

So positive steps, every morning...which have become crazy and negative thoughts of giving up by bedtime.  I just want chocolate!!  Now, I made some brownies from the 100 Days of Real Food site - whole wheat flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, coconut oil and honey (about 1/2 cup) in an attempt to quell my want for sweets...but it really isn't a substitute for chocolate.  Neither is the apple or the slice of cheese that I tried last night in an attempt to stop begging Kurt for chocolate.Sugar withdrawal SUCKS!!  And now I can almost see why some say sugar should be regulated...almost.  It definitely was my drug.

And finally with the Green:

My new positive morning starter...the green smoothie.  So now for the part that makes me think that my brain is very weird and holds me back from doing some things.  I know its sweet - I've had the Odwalla Superfood, which is sweet regardless being green, and I've had this smoothie for two days now - and yet I still look at it and think "there is NO way I'm going to drink that".

So, I'm making an attempt to keep my brain out of the way when looking at recipes and am going to try hard to make/eat something and decide whether I like it instead of looking at its picture and saying...no - that looks awful.

I hope everyone enjoys their Friday and their weekend!!

My turn, my turn

I am only kidding, but I figured that I should do some of the blogging so Candace doesn't get burnt out :).

I will say that in the short time that I have been doing this,  I feel a bit more focused on the task that I am doing.  I guess it is because I am starting to flush out all the processed food residue out of my system. I imagine the real differences will start showing up in the next couple of weeks as we continue with this lifestyle change.

Today we decided to make something to replace peanut butter, Almond Butter.  It might sound disgusting to some, but after making it and enjoying the aromas from toasting the almonds proved me wrong.  The consistency is very similar the peanut butter that I am used to, but there is whole lot less oil in the finished product. I know Almonds and Peanuts have a lot of natural oils in them, and the recipe requires 2 tsp of olive oil per cup of Almonds.

All you have to do is toast raw almonds for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Let the almonds cool down for about 30 minutes. Take a cup of almonds and put them in a food processor until the almonds start to ball up. Remember to breath deep the aroma of freshly chopped toasted almonds YUM!!

This is a type of "diet" that I can get behind, great tastes and smells.  I look forward to experiementing with other foods. I will let everyone know what I think of them over the coming weeks.

Until next time!!

The Plan

The plan is...there is no plan.  When I have a diet and exercise "plan", I get bored easily.  Kurt can usually last through it a little longer than I can, but I NEED change.  So it'll require more research than I would normally do, but if that's all it is to keep it interesting, then it's a good use of my (our) time.

What we have started doing is making a conscious choice to remove a much processed food from our diet as possible.  I honestly thought it would SUCK - that the food would be awful and that it would take SO much time.  Realistically, the food isn't half bad and, sure, it takes a bit more time than I'm use to spending on making a meal (or unpackaging it for consumption) but it's time well spent now and will lessen as I get in the habit of cooking more (however, to be honest, after eating dinner tonight, which took us roughly 2 hours to prep and cook, I was worn out and took a little nap).

One thing we are looking into is Paleo - which one set of my parents have gifted us a diet guide/cookbook to help model our meals.  For those of you not familiar, it is a lifestyle based on the food accessible to humans in the Paleolithic Era - essentially things that you would have found either as a hunter or a gatherer.  My biggest hurdle with this would be both the no grains, no dairy.  Reading the reasoning behind the "diet" and looking through the cookbook, there are definitely good ideas that can be implemented and good meals that can be made. We just got the book yesterday, so we haven't done more than read the "why its good"s and look at the recipes, but we'll let you know what we think.

The resource we have started implementing is a website that I was directed to from my cousin, who in my opinion has WAY more knowledge and information to give about food and exercise than any of the trainers or nutritionists I've seen in the past.  The site is http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ and so far we are really enjoying it.

The funniest thing (not funny - haha, but funny - coincidence) between 100 Days of Real Food, Paleo and an audiobook I'm trying to listen to is there has been one key model that has been consistent about shopping for food - shop the perimeter of the store except oil and spices (and flour for 100 Days).  I haven't heard (let me rephrase - don't remember hearing) this once in any of the other "diet" research I've done in the past, and yet I've already run into it 3 times this week (that's the funny part - you are allowed to laugh here).

My biggest challenge so far - the cooking.  It might even be worse than the processed sugar withdrawal that I am currently going through.  I love to bake - cooking is ok.  I try to keep upbeat throughout the whole process, but by the end I'm longing for it to be done...especially today.

Today we decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner - http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/14/recipe-chicken-enchiladas/ - I'll add the recipe to the recipe section in the next couple days.

It calls for whole grain corn tortillas (which she has a recipe for), but I didn't feel like picking up some masa harina and I forgot to get it when we were shopping the other day, so we decided to go for whole wheat tortillas - which we made from scratch, and honestly are really much better than I expected them to be...but were a little more work than I originally imagined.  From there is really was just normal cooking dinner prep, but its prep that I am not used to in the least bit, so by the end, I was almost too exhausted to eat dinner.  But it turned out really good...there are a few changes I would make, but all in all, a nice filling dinner.

We've also made a few things for snacks in the mornings to go with out smoothies...one is the Breakfast Casserole Bites (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/01/11/recipe-breakfast-casserole-bites/) which are REALLY REALLY good!!

And the other was granola bars (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/04/04/recipe-granola-bars-cereal/).

Now here's the problem I run into...and I really need to get over it quickly if I'm going to succeed at this...the granola bars have this very seedy smell to them which makes me want to throw them all the garbage, but flavor-wise...it's not bad.  I think the one thing I wouldn't put back into it is the pumpkin seeds...I really think that's where some of the smell comes from, plus I think its the one flavor in there that doesn't belong.

All it all...we - and by we I mean me, because Kurt's never really had a problem with it, are trying to cook a little bit everyday, because it gets us in the habit of doing it and because some of this stuff can be prepared in advance...for instance, the casserole recipe makes two dishes (the one pictured I put in the freezer).

I'll start utilizing the recipe section that I added to the page as well as my feelings on the dish or how I might have changed it.  If any of you have any recipes that you would like to share, it just cannot contain anything processed and preferably no sugar (but I can substitute with honey or agave nectar).

Again, thanks everyone the support - I greatly appreciated all the likes and the comments on my fb link.  I know that we've fallen off the wagon many times and we appreciate that you all support us every time we get back on.

Goodnight,

It's never too late...

It's been a long time...and we were politely demanded upon that we start actively blogging again, so that is what we'll do.  I can go on and on about the excuses as to why we haven't kept up with this blog...but realistically, all they are is excuses.

When we decided to take on our new business, we said we wanted a work life balance. Yeah...unless you know what you are in store for, you can say whatever you want, but it doesn't mean anything.  It can though...you just have to be the one in control.

With one year behind us, we know what we are up against this summer (summer is our busy season), but we choose to be in control of our balance and choose to re-evaluate our priorities and stick to them.

This of course includes our health.  We've let our health...really for lack of a better word - deteriorate since I originally started this job...and even more so when we took on the business.  Let me tell you, dragging 30-50 lbs of photography equipment through houses and up and down stairs, up and down hills, over large estates of property is HELL when you also carry so much body weight too.

Since I know most of the people who follow this blog, most of you know that I just turned 30 and Kurt is going to be 40 in a couple of years.  We don't want to be heavy anymore.  The bottom line is that we won't enjoy what short lives we'll end up having.  Morbid, yes, but also a reality.

It's going to take us a little bit to get this blog rolling back into the same fashion it was before, but it will.  We are TIRED of giving up on things.  We are always looking for help and guidance too...as the original point of this blog was not only be accountable to ourselves, but to others (its the people pleaser in us - hehe). Even if that help is a reminder - "I haven't seen a post in a couple of days." - we don't care...bring it on!! :)

We've already begun to implement a better diet, which mostly means that we started cooking at home more regularly then going out, but I'll discuss that at another time - maybe later today...we'll see.

I do have to say thank you to our family and friends who are always reminding us to take care of ourselves (some more bluntly than others, but we still love you anyways).

Until later,

This may be the only way...

Hello world...we are still here!!

The last year has been disappointing.  Almost exactly a year ago, I started working again, and that led the the downfall of all I had been doing.  Kurt tried hard for a while, but lost the motivation himself. 

Now that we are doing this business on our own, we thought we could dictate our schedule...but we seem to really be having difficulty with that.  I don't know if its because we find it difficult to schedule it onto our calendar as an "appointment", when really we know that if someone wanted us to shoot at that time, we could move things around, or if we are just looking for an excuse to by lazy.  Or maybe both.

But it's really challenging, to go from being (for lack of a better term) a bump on a log to being active.  I am constantly desperate for the easy way.  

The biggest thing about really getting back to this is tied between two thoughts: 1) we were shooting on Friday in Caughlin Ranch and had to walk this trail to shoot the back of the house...and the trip back up to the road was a 11% grade that couldn't have been more than 1/16th of a mile...and we were dying, out of breath, ready to fall over (I was carrying 20lbs of equipment, but that shouldn't be an excuse), and 2) we spend...not a lot, but more than we could, to go to a gym we actually do enjoy once we get there...and it's a waste when we don't go.

Another huge problem, besides motivation - because that will always be a problem for me - is that we rarely prepare a meal at home and when we do, it is something cheap, cheerful and bad for us.  We need to make a habit of grocery shopping and meal planning again.  This is where the lazy catches up with me again.

So anyway, that is just a bit of what has been going on lately.  I don't anticipate that we'll be blogging everyday, but we will definitely update once or twice a week.  We are going into the busy season, so I guess there isn't a better time to start including our healthier lifestyle into our schedule.

Until later,

Yes we are still on the web.

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the big lapse between posts, Kurt has gotten lazy about posting and Candace is so darn busy from her job that she simply doesn't have time to post.

Anyways, I have still been biking to school about 3 times a week and going to the gym every now and again. Its not as fun to go the gym without anyone to go with me. I find this kind of strange since I have always gone to gym by myself and I want to go the gym 3 days a weeks and bike 2-3 days a week. I know it sounds rather intense but I really enjoying being in shape and now that I am getting older (not old, older) I realize how important in it is for my heart health to be active.

Candace lost her motivation to work out for a couple of weeks, her crazy schedule at work has sapped all her motivation that she had going into this project. She is still eating well most of the time though. So not all is lost, in fact this last Sunday we went to the gym for the first time in a couple of weeks. She did quite well, considering how long it was since she went to the gym. We both did 30 minutes on the Elliptical machine and lifted weights for 25 minutes. Of course both of lifted to much and I was barely able to move my arms Monday and Tuesday. I am going to the gym tonight to do the same thing, except I will be lifting alot less weight.

Candace wanted to go the gym several times this week but she is working 12-14 hours days all this week and doesn't have the energy or time to go the gym. Funny thing though, her bosses wife asked Candace if she has been going to the gym lately and when she said no she offered Candace use of the Elliptical machine that they own. So Candace plans on taking 30-45 minutes off work and work out at work.

That is all for now, I will try to be better about posting more often I know I know I've said it before, but I really will try to post more often.

Until later,

Kurt

A Little Bit Every Day

Yea!! I had today off!!  Maybe I'll actually get another day off this week too (I hoping for Wednesday).  We'll see.  I never know until I get back to work.

So I've been feeling bad (as you guys are aware) that I haven't been super active lately...so today I tried.  We went on a short ride today.  It would have been longer, but we woke up late and it was getting pretty warm outside.  We rode 4 miles in about an hour...not great, but considering I haven't really been on a bike in...I don't know how long...not awful.  Its nothing to what Kurt does...his 17 miles in 1.25 hrs with a ±600 foot elevation change (±1000 feet of climbing) but its at least something. He hates having to wait for me...but 1. I'm slower so deal with it and 2. he's on a road bike and I'm on a comfort bike...so again deal with it.

Tomorrow should be a relatively short day of work for me (and by that I mean 8 hours) so we are going to try to make it to the gym tomorrow night and then get up early for another bike ride on Wednesday (maybe a little longer.)

I'm am really feeling the need to be active again...and now that I'm getting better at my job (meaning it doesn't take me as long to edit photos as it did when I started)...I should be able to start working some more reasonable hours...and get back to what is really important.

Anyway...that's all for now.  We'll talk again later.