Kristy's Greek Salad

If I had a "like" button for food I would be hitting it now over and over again. One of the best things about warm weather is tomatoes. I have a garden full every year,  but they won't be ripe for months. Right now I get them at the farmers market.

For dinner we had a Greek salad (and some meat). There was some left over and I told David not to toss it, it was perfect for my lunch!

The tomatoes had exuded lots of juice, the cucumbers were still crunchy, the feta fine. For lunch I took the left over salad and made it bigger! I added more tomato and cucumber, fresh chives, 2 ounces of lentils and 5 ounces of cubed up cooked chicken breast. I decided to leave out the olives this time.

I splashed a small amount of red wine vinegar on top (we make our own), several grindings of black pepper and settled in with a huge glass of ice cold water.

Now I am just waiting for the hot sun and the chance to  sit at my huge table in the backyard and do this all over again. I can make it with chicken, shrimp, beef, any lean meat.

I call it my International Greek Salad!

Monday Morning Motivation

Many times I have read that it is important to surround myself with positive energy, with people who have like goals, people who embrace the importance of health and fitness. 

It is true, many studies have been done to prove this is what makes us successful - you have heard the term before: "Birds of a feather flock together".

If your friends all sit around drinking beer and eating chips, either you will end up joining in on their activities, or you will probably end up separating yourself from the group, you just won't have the same attraction for the events that they do. This doesn't mean you cannot have friends like this, but your connection just won't be the same, you won't spend as much time together as you used to.

I met a woman at the club a while back, we talked a few times, we are similar in many ways. We both manage our food for health reasons, we are type "A", busy lives, same age, love to train, and have been doing it for years. 


We would chat on the stairmill once in a while, and I gave her my card and invited her to take a look at my blog, she might find it interesting.


I am not a private person, so what happens to me is known round the world! Stacy was reading my blog, I could tell from her comments.

A while ago as I got into my car, Stacy was driving by and popped her head out the window and said we should get together for coffee after the gym one day.

Today was that day. We sat in my backyard in the sun, sipping water talking about past trainers, loves, weight training, parents, grass fed beef, carbs, supplements, diets, passions, dislikes, wine and more training.

I had a wonderful time connecting with someone who has such an avid interest in the same things I do. I can tell we will have a lot of fun this summer, she likes to cook too!

The whole point of this story is that it takes just one person to reach out, to take the initiative to say "hi, let's do something" and people don't do that enough, we all miss out because of this. We don't take the time to connect.

After she left, I sat in the backyard eating lunch with David (another Greek salad loaded with chicken) and I remarked "I feel like I am supposed to be doing something, something is nagging at me". Then I realized, I rarely sit around and do nothing, just visit and talk, it was wonderful, Stacy gave me back relaxation that I had taken from myself.

"R" emailed and wants to sit by the pool at the club and have some wine next Sunday, (yes, my club serves wine), and that will be another great time connecting with a friend. We will leave the fathers to their own devices on fathers day!

Start something good, take the time to connect, you will be a better person for it.

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."

Zig Ziglar

Loving Life

It always takes me a while, but I settle in.

I am talking about loving my bigger "improved" self LOL!

When  you compete in any physique based sport, you tend to develop a self image that is hard to live up to. For you and those around you. When you start to look closer to "normal", you start to freak out, things jiggle where they used to be hard as a rock, clothes are tighter, you all of a sudden move slower.

And who on earth would wear black and pink and polka dots all together? 

ME!

I like myself a lot when I get bigger, like in the picture here, I think I look more athletic, more "real", but it takes me a long time to get there. My head I mean.

I never let myself get fat. No one would ever call me fat, I know that. In fact, at my "fattest" I probably am still the envy of 90% of the female population, I look that good.

I know many competitors who do allow themselves to get too fat though. They gain way too much weight. That's their deal and their demons, I am not here to fight their battles, I have my own. 

It is about now when I start to realize how selfish my dieting can seem to my family. I try not to impact them, but it cannot be helped. They have grown accustomed, although it doesn't mean they like it.

I go through this every year, but this is the first time in three years that I have been this "free" for this long and I am really starting to like it.

This weekend I attended the Santa Cruz Vintners Festival with David. What was that? Actually two old farts driving around Santa Cruz drinking wine and listening to reggae on Pandora. I ate tuna out of a can still, and then enjoyed all the nibbles at each winery too! 

I made banana bread for Cooper and carrot cake cupcakes too, I even had (half) of one.

I went to Mark and Virginia's and had some sparkling wine while Sophie showed me her new room, and Timothy sported his new haircut. 

At one point Virgina leaned over to pull a hair from the rear of my pants, a long blond one, obviously mine. I thanked her and said "Everything is getting bigger" and she laughed and said "Yes, but it's very firm!"

Ha ha you can get big and stay fit, it is a balancing act for sure.

It sounds like a normal fun weekend, but when you compete, you cannot do these things, it's been a long time.

Oh, and next weekend? It's the second half of the Festival! We are going to Nonna's in Redwood Estates.

I will stay on track, and will still require time to adjust to my new bigger improved self, all the while enjoying life.

My greatest pleasure this weekend? A wonderful Greek salad David made. We went to the farmers' market, bought ripe, juicy tomatoes and cucumbers. I picked oregano from the garden and he drizzled olive oil all over the salad.

Sheer heaven. 

A Sunday Outing

It is always so amazing to me how drastically life changes when I am not in competition mode. I realize how much time and energy I spend on the sole pursuit of my goal.

And what is the goal? It is to have the best physique, as determined by the 12 or so judges (mostly male) sitting in the orchestra pit of the auditorium, looking up at me as I pose next to other women. And what is the best physique? Well, I am really not sure, they seem to change their minds, and honestly, sometimes no one can really understand what they are awarding, often the winner isn’t who the other competitors would choose.

And to attain this physique? You cannot eat a damn thing that anyone else wants to, for three months. Basically life is gray and monotonous, it doesn’t have to be awful, but it certainly isn’t exciting.

Since I have finally accepted the fact that I won’t be competing in the near future, especially since just picking up my cat hurt my side, I have settled down into my normal life, back to enjoying simple things that many people take for granted, yet I often avoided, only because my sights were on the goal.

This past week at work has been only what I can call horrendous, no one was injured, no one died, but it has been extremely stressful, and it won’t get much better for a few weeks. Saturday was a very long day, we had 10,000 people descend on us and we had technical issues and I was supposed to maintain a sense of semblance, continue business and ensure I did what I was there to do, in the absence of a working computer system. Right.

David and Cooper stopped by about noon, they took one look at me and asked if I had eaten anything and advised me to drink water, my lips were dry and cracked, I hadn’t done either, I was way too busy.

I got home late Saturday and had a cocktail, then some sparkling wine and some wine with dinner. I set my alarm to get to the gym when they opened at 6am, I couldn’t go the day before as I had to be at work at 7am to get set up.

I awoke Saturday night at 1am with a pounding headache, I am sure it was due to lack of water, and drinking alcohol, I am not used to it and certainly not used to drinking several glasses. I was still awake at 3am. I decided to turn off the alarm, a very odd thing for me to do.

 I awoke at 6:30am and went to the gym; I walked my usual 60 minutes on the stair mill, chatting every now and again with folks. Then a long shower and an even longer steam and then home to eat.

David and I decided to wander down to the farmers market, we bought meat at Prather Ranch, they have fantastic organic pork, and incredible ground beef that is ground from one animal, so it’s not mixed together with huge vats of other beef, no chance on e-coli, and I love their meat. Even Cooper specifically asks for their ground beef, it tastes better than any he has ever had.

We picked up herbs, mizuna, fingerlings, jams from Frog Hollow Farm, mini kabocha, a plate of enchiladas for Coopers breakfast.

I asked David if we could go to Opa in Los Gatos, I still crave that Greek salad I have been dreaming about for weeks. As we drove in the sunshine, with the top down I told him I am not feeling well, emotionally, I am really bothered. I think it is work, but I am not sure. Do you ever experience that? You know something is nagging at you, eating away at you, yet you cannot put your finger on it. I think it is the stresses of my job; I need to somehow get past this.

We got into Opa, it was noisy and packed. On Sundays they have all you can drink mimosas for $12.99. The last thing on earth I want is vats of cheap sparkling wine and even cheaper orange juice, but you could see so many people were having a fabulous time with theirs!

We had a glass of sauvignon blanc and ordered the flaming cheese and pita, it is great. Then I ordered my favorite dish (not on the menu, but they do it anyway), seafood skewers (prawns and scallops grilled) on a Greek salad, dressing on the side. David decided to order the same.

This dish is completely healthy and a great dish for anyone watching their weight and concerned with eating lots of vegetables and lean protein. Only use a small amount of dressing, or as David did, none.

Another glass of wine and we paid the bill and wandered down the street. We were standing in front of Fleur de Cocoa, I had to go in.

We had a cup of coffee and a mini croissant. I picked out several chocolates to take home, three of each.

As I settled in the car, I realized that for a couple hours I had forgotten everything, I laughed, I ate, I joked, and David and I had fun talking with the rather drunk large group of people next to us. We drove home, in the warm sunshine, with the top down and the wind blowing in my hair, I rejoiced in the beautiful green of my town. 

7 Weeks

I love the arms!

I guess I need to slow down on the size here, last night David looked at me more than once and said "Your arms are huge!" It was back and biceps day Friday and they were still pumped and rather tight on Saturday, which is odd for me, I just don't get sore much any longer!

Things continue to be smooth and easy, although I have been craving a few things that I cannot have. That's to be expected, I will try my best not to whine about it where anyone can hear me though.

I am losing the fat slowly and my skin seems to be remaining fairly tight, I did go out to dinner on Saturday evening though, which is fairly unheard of this close but I was visiting my father in law and it was dinner with the family or be a pain in the butt. As it was, as soon as we arrived at his house I whipped out my food and gobbled it down, then we all went to another restaurant and I had water while they had lunch, I didn't mind. Two restaurants in one day!

At dinner I was good, we were at a Thai restaurant and I ate grilled top sirloin, steamed broccoli and a few bites of David's meat and mushroom dish. I am sure there was sodium in it that caused me to retain a bit of water, but that will leave me soon.

 

The back is looking good, and this pose it much better than last week- see how the shoulders are straight across at the top, not sloped down as much? I still need to practice though as this is the most important pose. It's all about the back, and I have the back, there is no question about it.

I only need to drop some more fat to lose the "smiley's " on my butt, some people never have those, but then some have saddlebags and I would much rather have a smiley...

Anne stooped by and gave a thumbs up, I have felt rather fatigued all weekend, probably stress as my father has his surgery scheduled for Friday at Stanford, so it will be a long week for us.

It's Sunday afternoon as I write, my quads are also sore, again very unusual for me. I will get the ol' foam roller out and try to work out the tightness.

And just what have I been craving? A Greek salad, can you believe it? It's been two weeks and the urge hasn't gone away. I almost salivate as I imagine the tangyness of the feta and the tartness of the tomato combined with the salty brine of the olives and the fruity olive oil...mmmm

The funny thing is most people think it's a diet dish! Ha, they are sure fooling themselves. But, it will be off to Opa Restaurant in Los Gatos for one in May, the week after my competition, the family will go out to dinner, I will have the flaming cheese (ouzo is poured on top and set fire), Greek salad and prawn skewers. Washed down with a glass of red wine. Opa!

Opa!

Veterans Day.  I work for the State of California, and "the Gov" requires that I take this as a holiday. David is a principal of an elementary school, so we both get the day off. Cooper attends the same school district, so that's three of us lazing around all day. Not really though....
 

I am up at 4:00 a.m. as usual, I like my routine. This allows me to spend the time I need at the gym in one visit.

It's glute day, an entire day devoted to "My Butt". It has gotten rather round, I will be posting a picture soon, it looks really, really good.
 

I trained glutes then did 20 minutes on the treadmill. Home for a good breakfast and then off for some shopping, David had a Groupon at Gap he had to spend.

It was lunch time, so we grabbed Cooper and headed off to a Greek restaurant in town called Opa! Check out their link, it is seductive! If you never experienced a sensual feeling related to food and eating, this site will change that for sure! Turn on your speakers....you will want to visit Opa!, or take a trip to Greece.
 
Opa is a Greek Word that may be used as an ‘Exclamation’, or ‘Utterance’, or ‘Declaration’, or ‘Affirmation’ or a lovingly gentle way of telling you to ‘Stop’ ... depending on the situational context.

It is a word or pronouncement of celebration; the celebration of life itself. It is another way of expressing joy and gratitude to God, Life, and others, for bringing us into the state of ultimate wisdom; that all that really matters is health, family, and friends. It is a humorous affirmation that you’re the best; that you’re where you’re supposed to be; and that you need to stop and celebrate…

It is the Greeks’ way of stating they have come to a level of serene exuberance able to enjoy life as children. … In a state where having been fed, and having quenched our thirst, and having enjoyed the pleasure of uniting with others, we have filled with hope and confidence that life abounds with all that we need, … and that food will always be there, … and so, we break the plates, … because tomorrow there will be more.…

And we light a fire and dance around it as a symbol of the warmth that surrounds us. … and … We break the plates as a way of saying thank you to those that helped us reach a state of celebrating our life, … as a way of saying thank you to the music that brought peace to the world, … and we break them to honor the one that’s dancing, as we kneel in front of them and look up to them exclaiming : Oooopa !!! …

And we throw the napkins in the air as a reminder that we are as free as the birds; ‘sky is the limit’ … so ‘Let go, Be Greek, Fear nothing and join in the celebration’. It is a way of saying “don’t worry” … no matter what has happened you are still alive, … “don’t be harsh on yourself,” there’s another minute and another day ahead of you to right what’s wrong, … and we are here together to make sure of this.

So, as an example when someone accidentally drops and breaks something, no matter how valuable, we yell: Oooooopa !!! … kind of “It’s ok,” … everything can be mended if your mind is healthy and still open to music, dance, mezedes, and wine !!

Somebody dropped something, or broke something : Opa!

Someone is assisting someone to back up the car, ...and just about when the driver is about to hit something : Opa (ie : Stop !)

Somebody is dancing and another is breaking plates as they exclaim : Opa !!

A group is drinking and as a form of Cheers : Opa !

Opa! is a fun restaurant, they have pita sandwiches, plates, salads, great wonderful Greek food. I am always interested in eating healthy though.  I try to stick to my lean protein, lots of fresh vegetables and some good quality carbs.

We started with some skordalia. This is in no way healthy nor fit for a plan to lose bodyfat, but I am not a fanatic and I am not prepping for a competition, so I had some and boy was it good! Three small pieces of crisp pita with the skordalia and I was quite satisfied.

As an entree I chose the seafood souvlaki, which was marinated, skewered shrimp and scallops, grilled.... it was served with a choice of fries or rice pilaf. Now rice would be the better choice, but it is white rice so...I asked.

Could I substitute Greek salad for the rice?

Yes!

You can see it above and it was outstanding! A huge Greek salad with two fat, plump skewers of shrimp and scallops grilled and laid on top.

I will go back and I will order this same dish. The only change is that I will ask for half the oil. A true Greek salad has only olive oil on it, no vinegar as it gets the tartness from the tomatoes. This was a great salad, just a little too much oil for me. At least it is olive oil which is a healthy fat.
 

A glass of wine and fun times with the family. Next time we will order the cheese appetizer, the cheese is brought to the table on a metal patter, then they flambe it right in front of you, putting the flame out with a squeeze of lemon. I am not sure how it tastes, but It  looks fun!

 In fact, they have happy hour Monday through Friday 3:30 to 6:00 where all appetizers are half off and there are drink specials too.

I am back to work on Friday, but the boys are off another day. I bet they will sleep till 9:00 (David) and 10:00 (Cooper).

So when you think about your life, and everything you have to be thankful for hopefully the word Opa! comes to mind and brings a smile to your face.