My Turning Point (Fitness Blog World Post)

Welcome to another Fitness Blog World post. Today all 24 or the FBW writers have been posed this question:

What was your trigger or turning point that made you choose fitness and/or a healthy lifestyle? How did that process get you where you are today? What or who has had the most influence on your fitness life?

I actually remember when it happened, and I blame it all on the Spanish. Or maybe a more accurate description is a hot summer in Barcelona.

My brother lives in Barcelona and has for years, when we visit it tends to be weeks at a time. I remember a hot July strolling around eating, drinking, talking, having a wonderful time.

I noticed how beautiful the Spanish women were. They were not overweight, they seemed to feel good in their skin. They went topless on the beach, young, old, everyone did.

You could always tell the American men, they were the overweight men staring at the topless Spanish women. And the American women? They were the ones with huge breast augmentations and a swim suit top on.

The longer I stayed the more uncomfortable I felt about my body. I wasn't huge, but I could stand to lose some weight, I think I was at about 142 pounds, and that is hefty for a woman of 5'3". I wanted to walk around feeling free, feeling good in my skin. I enjoyed my vacation, but vowed to turn myself around when I got home and I did.

Although I had been going to the gym regularly, I wasn't a fanatic like I am now, it wasn't "part of my life". I started going to the gym every single day religiously and decided to run a marathon, here I am running away. This picture was taken 10 years ago when I was 40.

I injured both my feet so took up weight training and the rest is history. I love to lift, I love to train, I love to see the changes that my body can go through in a very short period of time (both the negative and positive).

I have chronicled my past trainers at length in my blog so I won't do that again here, but each has been instrumental in helping me to get right where I am today. 

I cannot say that there is one person who has given me more than anyone else has, not one who has influenced me more than any other. Just as in life, I have had the opportunity to work with and meet so many interesting people, each has enriched my life. I feel that each came into my life at the right time, I learned and moved on.

I am very hard on myself, I expect a lot, sometimes I don't know where I even get off thinking I can expect so much, but I do and it has proven to work very well for me.  I am not someone who has ever suffered from low self esteem, I was brought up by very loving and caring parents who instilled self worth in me from day one. I was taught that I could do or be whatever I wanted, so there would be no reason for me to feel I had 'limits". When I decide I will do something, I do it and I do it well or keep trying until I cannot possibly go on. I don't feel uncomfortable stating what my goals are and feeling quite sure about them. 


My husband David will tell you he saw a drastic change in my "fitness" goals and habits when my mother died a few years ago. She was a vibrant woman who suffered through four years of chemotherapy, dying at home with her family around her.


That's when I started working with a nutritionist and started to teach myself what I needed to know to be successful, on my own. That's when I started competing in Figure too. 


Here are some interesting pictures of me only three years ago (pink suit) and now (orange top). I have nice flat abs, but not much shape to my arms or shoulders to speak of. Gosh even three years ago I was standing in front of my Sub-Zero!

And my back is wide but no definition at all. The butt sure looked good though!

Funny how we can change so much isn't it? 


David will also tell you that I am running away. I am trying to outrun death. I am afraid of becoming ill and suffering. It may be true, I am not sure. All I know, is I never stop. 

Ever

If you enjoyed this post please visit the Fitness Blog World site to check out what has influenced the other writers. Official post time is 8:00 p.m. EST, so be sure to read in the evening! You can also join our group on Facebook.

Soul Food

Today when I came home there was an envelope on the counter from the British Embassy. I knew what it was but I didn't open it, it was for my 17 year old son, Cooper.

It was his official certificate of his British Citizenship! We applied last year, it is quite a lengthy process. Now we just need to go through the entire process again to get a passport!


We spend a lot of time with our son, and I believe that is why he has grown to be a successful, caring young man.  He has great friends too who also seem to enjoy spending time here with us!


Today, his friend Adam came busting through the door with a prize in his hand. He presented it with a flourish: a package of Iberico ham from Spain.

He also had some Manchego cheese and chorizo. He and his Spanish father had visited the Spanish table in Berkeley the day before and he wanted to share this with us!

David and Cooper had LOOKED at the ham last time they were there, but it seemed way too expensive, and now here was Adam bringing it to share with us!

Here are three friends in our kitchen celebrating and having a great time. Adam, Cooper and Timothy. They have olive oil, bread, ham, cheese, and sausage.

For dinner we all had "soul food", a farm raised, organic chicken from Soul Food Farms which I had purchased from the farmers market.

I  brine it overnight in sugar, salt, water, peppercorns, clove, allspice, thyme and red pepper flakes. 

It is a Chez Panisse recipe and I always make my chicken this way. We then put it on the rotisserie and it will slowly spin over grape wood fire (from the yard out front) for almost 2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone

We had it with roasted new potatoes from our CSA delivery, artichokes and homemade aioli (garlic mayonnaise). 


For dessert Adam and Cooper had a new treat that Adam just introduced Cooper to. It is a whole milk artisinal yogurt called Saint Benoit. I don't normally eat yogurt and if I do I stick to low fat, but this stuff is alike candy. 

It comes in plain, strawberry, meyer lemon and honey. I bought several today at Whole Foods, it comes in these great crocks, which have a deposit of $1.50 on them, or you can use them as cups!

The boys all say the honey is the best.

I think that we are lucky to have 16 and 17 year olds who want to hang around with us, who appreciate fine foods and the joy of sharing them at the table.

The dinner can be tailored to a "dieter". I had only one tablespoon of aioli (120 calories), chicken breast, artichoke and half a new potato. Washed down with copious amounts of water, it was wonderful sitting outside and talking with the men. 

We have yet another 7 foot table outside, so that's where we are in the summer. They all had lots of chicken, bread dipped in the aioli and talked about all the ham they will eat as they travel through Spain together next summer, on their European Union passports...

It is important to spend quality time to teach young people to appreciate the importance of good, natural whole foods and travel. These guys all appreciate the homemade mayonnaise I made them, they know they cannot get it at the store and they know I made it just for them, not myself.


Just because I shouldn't be eating it all doesn't mean they have to diet too. Be adventuresome with your foods, invite the kids to try new things, open up a world of wonder for them.

The spice of life

Ah Spain!

My younger sister recently visited our brother who lives in Barcelona, he is an interpreter there. 

Of course I had my request for her to lug back in her suitcase.

Saffron and paprika, the spices of the gods.

Both of these can be expensive here. Finer grocery stores and specialty food stores carry the best, and when it comes to spices, only the best will do.

Do not confuse  your everyday Hungarian paprika with Spanish paprika, they are completely different spices and taste nothing alike, you cannot use them interchangeably.

Above I have one kilo of Agridulce (bittersweet) and Ahumado (smoked). I use this on vegetables, potatoes, fish, chicken, you name it.

Then is a nice big box containing 10 grams of saffron threads. This is a flavor that one must never live without.  In fact, tonight I am making risotto milanese, a heady rice dish fragrant with saffron.

Coming from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, it takes 75,000 blossoms or 225,000 hand-picked stigmas to make a single pound which explains why it is the world’s most expensive spice.

According to Greek myth, handsome mortal Crocos fell in love with the beautiful nymph Smilax. But his favors were rebuffed by Smilax, and he was turned into a beautiful purple crocus flower. 

A native of the Mediterranean, saffron is now imported primarily from Spain, where Moslems had introduced it in the 8th century along with rice and sugar. Valencia coup (coupé meaning “to cut” off the yellow parts from the stigmas) saffron is generally considered the best, though Kashmir now rivals this reputation. Saffron is also cultivated in India, Turkey, China and Iran. 

My brother added the cassis as a gift, I will make a lovely sparkling wine cocktail with it. 

This came from a spice wholesaler in Barcelona. I discovered it during my first trip there many years ago. I told my brother we were off to buy saffron at the wholesaler and he said "No, no Kristy, there is no such place in all of Barcelona."  His friends all agreed, yet I insisted that I had the address, we were on a mission.

Off we went, and low and behold, arrived at an amazing spice wholesaler!

Here I am with my son, a four years ago at the same store. Those are bins of paprika behind us.

So how much did this cost? 36 Euros, or about $45.00. I am not going to factor in my sisters air flight and food, she was going anyway!

People Watching

I love to sit outside and eat, watching people walk by. Everywhere in in Spain and France they will cram as many teeny tiny tables together as they can possibly fit onto a small sidewalk space, right up to the street edge, with cars and motorbikes zooming past, fumes everywhere, the tables as so close you sometimes have to crawl over other people to get there.

The funny thing is, these are considered the most desirable spots!

Not here though. At least no where that I have been in the United States. We are not generally a very social society. Yes, we do all have friends and we socialize with them, but we are very much into our private spaces, our own, plush surroundings, where no one can come close or bother us.
  

On the other hand, in Europe, you can sit and have a drink, water if you like, order some food if you want and continue sitting, and watching. The people watching is amazing.

I like to sit outside and look at everyone. I can tell who feels confident about themselves, and who is dressed up but feels uneasy because their clothes just don't fit right.

If you are comfortable in your own skin, you should feel right at home in just about anything. If you are not, it is time to look at your diet and your exercise (or lack of).

Take the stairs not the elevator; park in the outer most space at the grocery store (keeps those pesky carts from dinging your car too); go for a walk around the block after dinner instead of watching TV; walk your dog; walk your partner; walk your neighbor! It's a great way to catch up on things.

And food, well that is a subject I can go on about for ages. Let me just say here: avoid packaged foods. Don't eat at fast food restaurants. Limit any restaurant or pre-made foods. Be beware of "low fat" or "fat free", they often have just as many calories as the full fat versions. Learn to love vegetables. Drink more water than you can imagine. Limit alcohol to special occasions.

Feel good about yourself.