Lost 100

Fun Updates from a very hilly city

Ricearoni.  The Maltese Falcon.  Hills.  Austentatious mansions.  The Palace of Fine Arts.  The Giants & 49'ers.  Chinatown.  Fisherman's Wharf.  Cablecars.  The Slow Food Movement.  Sonoma.  Muir Woods.  Redwoods.  Yoga.  Tantra.  Alcatraz.  Sweatshirt weather year round.  Golden Gate Bridge.

Where am I?  I'm sure you guessed it after Ricearoni, which for the record I haven't seen ANY ricearoni here in SanFran!  But I have eaten at Burma Superstar, an authentic Burmese restaurant that was to-die-for AND raises money for a good cause-the liberation of Burma!  The food was amazing--the salads are mixed tableside (like guacamole in an authentic or pseudo-authentic Mexican restaurant) and have amazing raw ingredients like tea leaves and a host of seeds and nuts.  Curries, coconut rice, refresing teas, melt-off-the-bone chicken and lots of veggies.

We also ate at a slow-food urban farmers market.  The slow food movement is all about local, organic, fresh, etc.- check out www.slowfoodusa.org for more info.  I met someone from a dried kale company that literally was the yummiest new thing I've had in awhile.  I could have eaten an entire tub of dried kale in about 5 minutes.  Fresh, local and amazing.  I'm going to do my best to beg, plead, cajole them to send some to NYC (which I realize makes no sense since they are working on the local aspect--but hey, it's all about me sometimes-haha)!  If you want to check them out, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mighty-Mouth-Foods/149157505118102  or @driednotfried on Twitter.

Besides all the amazing and healthy food we've been eating we have been getting in several miles of walking/day- and we can feel it!  These hills are unlike anything I've ever seen!  Today we are setting out on bikes to check out parts of the city that are too far to walk to in a day, to bike the Golden Gate Bridge, bike around Salsalito and other areas.  Looking forward to it!

Tomorrow we head to Santa Cruz for a surfing lesson.  Yes.  I'm going surfing.  You know why?  Because I'm done letting things hold me back in life.  I am fit and and I'm going to live my life.  Sure, I'd love to have a great bikini body before I go surfing, but I want to say to any women (or men for that matter) out there, to stop letting things hold you back from LIVING.  Live out loud.  When you EMBRACE LIFE, when you love your life and yourself you'll start making changes to support that.  So go out and do something today that you never thought possible- you'll honor yourself through that action!

Yesterday I participating in an art project at the Museum of Modern Art here in San Francisco.  'You're an artist, Jennifer?'  Yes, I am.  It dawned on me as I looked at the pictures they had posted of these amazing artists who were guests of MOMSF just like me.  I am an artist.  And this is what I wrote:  My art is my words, my art is my embracing of life, my art is helping women, empowering women to love themselves, their body, their life!  Every woman is beautiful in her particular way!  And I really believe that!  When we step back and look at something through a different lense, through new eyes we can see it!  Sure, I'm no Picasso, no Matisse.  But I'm Jennifer Griola.  I matter, I have worth.  AND SO DO YOU!!!!!!

Cheers!

1/2 Marathon Training is in Full Swing!

A quick update to let you know that the 1/2 Marathon training is at full tilt!  I'm 1 month out.  I've been sidelined recently by some unexpected illnesses with my kids and myself (nothing heavy duty, just your run of the mill stomach bugs/ colds--but they can do a number on you when you're training!).  The plan right now is to run 3 days during the week and do a long run on the weekends (with cross-training/yoga/swimming on 2 other days of the week).  This past weekend was 6 miles, but I'm upping it to 8 next weekend.  9 on the 13th, 10 on the 20th, 8 on the 27th and the race is on the 3rd.  I'm also considering a 2nd Half Marathon mid-May just to keep the training going.  One of the biggest barriers I had last year was my training trailed off quickly after my 1/2...I'd like to keep it going through the spring and summer this year. 

Finally, my other big, personal news is that I have officially quit drinking coffee!  It's been 2 weeks.  I feel great and have SO much energy (I will say the withdrawal was hard on me, I was laid up on the couch for nearly 2 days with no energy--but once I got over the hump it's been a well received change).

What are you up to? 

Little Epiphanies: What if we viewed weight like a garden?

I was talking with my friend Rita the other day, Rita is a spiritual life coach who rocks, and I said to her: 'I have no idea what skinny, rich women do all day or what they think about'. And in a very real way I was being serious. I put on a few pounds since my half marathon, and while I haven't had to buy new clothes things are tight & I sometimes feel obsessed about weight gain/ not losing/ cheating. What I would give to not feel consumed by the scale...

Then it hit me. Smack in the middle of my not-so-sculpted tummy. What if we treated weight (and for that matter money too) a little like we do our garden. I like my hydrangeas- they are purple and blue and pink and just luscious: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about them- they are just there. They are part of my life, part of my world, but my whole world does not revolve around them. I trust they will look beautiful. Sometimes I do some weeding, sometimes I say: 'oops- weeds, need to pay a bit more attention!'. But most of the time they aren't on the radar and my mind is free. What if we needed to think LESS about it, instead of more? What if our choices were based in self love and because they support us living in the way we want, and not because if we choose the opposite we are afraid of the consequence... What if?  I like that world...

1/2 marathon expo!

My 1/2 marathon is tommorrow! So excited! And SO ready! I look great, I feel great! I can't believe I'm 'here'!

Here's a pic from the health & wellness expo that Fitness & More put on. Lots of great people & super cool products. I must admit I enjoyed the shwag & endulged my shopping diva spirit at many a booth!

Plus who doesn't want to hang at the roseland ballroom in NYC?!

Lots of unsolicited product reviews to follow in the weeks to come :-)

Am I a FAIR WEATHER FRIEND?

So, as you know, I have been training for a 1/2 Marathon at the end of the month--yeah!  Here's something I've noticed in my training...I can pretty much think up any excuse to not run if it's too rainy, too hot, too anything...

Am I, gasp, a 'fair weather friend' to running?  Can one call themselves an honest-to-God runner if they are only running when the conditions are good?  I mean, what if I wake up the morning of Sunday, April 25th & there's a torrential downpour?  Would I still run the race?  If I didn't run the race, am I a complete douchebag? 

This is the nonsense that goes through my mind as I contemplate the lessons and answers my running is bringing me.

How about you?  Do you run in all conditions? 

I did it! 15k/ 9.3 miles!!!

I really enjoyed the run today- for the first timei felt like I understood that there wasn't any competition- it was about the journey, my experience, and it was literally 'my race'.

I also realized if I could run 9.3 miles the 1/2 marathon in 4 weeks is definitely achievable!

I feel great- never got winded, rather my legs, hips & glutes are sore- nothing some yoga & pilates this week won't stretch out.

I am really happy- I remember less than 4 years ago I couldn't even run 1/4 of a mile.

If I can do it- so can you!!!!!

Duplicity...fit or fat or both?

So I know I'm suppose to be inspirational and all that, but I've gotta tell you, I'm not feeling very inspirational right now.  In an attempt to make some additional money and to increase my visibility I have begun videotaping workshops, seminars and the like & converting them to the DVD for the presenters.  Sounds like a no-brainer, right?  Find workshops I'm interested in and either barter or get paid to do something I would like to be doing anyway.

What I didn't count on was how I would somehow find a way to get some screentime.  I don't like to watch myself on video, I just don't.  So imagine my surprise as I have to thrice edit last night the piece I shot 10 days ago...I'm all over it, in the shots & then, here's the killer--we go into a yoga studio & I park my butt directly in front of the camera (to be fair, the other participants left me no choice as to spots).  I got to watch myself getting into positions and my shirt riding up and what my stomach looks like when I'm not consciously sucking it in and really the view no 360 mirror could ever provide...

Am I being hard on myself?

Maybe.  But maybe not.  I have an image of myself as fit.  I believe (or at least as of yesterday afternoon) that I am a fit person.  And honestly the facts back that up--I'm in good shape: I can run for over a hour without stopping, I swim in a masters swim class, I spin, I lift weights, I do Pilates, I do these things with ease.  But sometimes I don't.  Sometimes I plagued with injuries.  Injuries that anyone can get, sure, but really excess weight exacerbates.  I fit into a size 14 (which for me was a HUGE fete, and I realize that for some people that's a nightmare, but for someone who's a size 20-24-28-32 it's a dream and it's a dream I achieved).  Except when I don't (and then I don't really talk about it).  Sometimes I feel really 'in my body' and loving my curves and my hips...except when I don't, and I fixate on a problem 'area'.  But here's the thing, what I saw yesterday didn't show a person who appears fit.

I question whose eyes I'm viewing this body, my body, with?  Sometimes I think they are rose-colored glasses...Or can they be the harsh, judgemental glasses of woman-collective (that part of us that can sum up another woman harshly and concisely and limited, but comes way-too-easily for almost all of us)?  If I jump on the bandwagon of you aren't fit unless you look this way, and your BMI is this and your jeans are a single digit then where does that leave me--am I irrelevant?  But on the other hand do I give myself 'too much worth'- and is there such a thing? 

This is what I know (or at least I thought I knew):  I have a problem with fat-advocates, I don't think they do a service to women.  Obesity is a killer, by saying weight should not be a factor in this world is misguided to say the least.  But I also have an issue with the set that tells me I don't fit in with their crowd because I'm not a size 2, or 4, or 6.  Where does that leave me...right now, quite frankly, I feel alone.  I feel like I am alone in the middle.  Am I really serving anyone anymore?  I am really even serving myself?  If I admit that I don't believe I am worthy as a size 14, have I just told an amazing group of women (and men) who follow me that are size 16+ to collectively fuck-off?  Conversely, if I don't fit the expectations of the 'Fit-is-Us' crowd, do I even belong at the table, have I essentially become a 'fat advocate'? 

How much longer can I sit at this precipice?  There's an old phrase, 'shit or get off the pot'...does this mean I need to lose the 'rest of the weight'?  Maybe it does.  I do know that the woman I saw on that video did not look as fit as I desire to be, she appeared to move more slowly getting on and off the floor than a vibrant woman should.  Damn, that woman was me.  But so is the woman in my head.  The duplicity of it all....

The girls ran across the finish line with me at the 4 mile race this morning!

Sarah & Zoe (our 3 & 2 year old daughters) ran across the finish line with me this morning!  I am hoping the photo people got the shot & I can post it soon. 

Let me tell you, it was not my best race, yet it was a wonderful, joyous morning.  My ipod broke about about a mile into the run...so I had a wonderful opportunity to practice listening to my soul, enjoying the sounds of nature and not just the beat of the music.

After the race, I was retrieving my bag and saw a familiar face...couldn't quite place it at first.  So being a complete ass, I blurted out (to a very stunned woman), 'Miggy?!'  Yes, you've got it, Miggy, the mama-half of the green team from the current season of The Biggest Loser was there.  And so was, 'Nicole?!' (much less stunned, as she is probably used to running into bozos like me--haha).  Nicole was from season 7 of The Biggest Loser, a member of the red team, along with her then fiance (now husband), Damien.  Both looked amazing and graciously asked how my run went.  I actually hope to check out Nicole's spin class in the city some time soon.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning, especially one that typically would be rought with over-eating (Super Bowl Sunday!--more on that later...I'll post of pick of the healthy stuff I'm taking to the party tonight).  I also met a very nice young woman, Kara, who has lost 85 lbs & is training for the NYC Marathon this year.  She has an awesome blog, Karathon, if you get a chance, check it out.

Two great thoughts to share:

1.  Even when things aren't exactly as you expect them to go, enjoy the journey, at the end of the run, I have to say, even with my pants falling down (yes, they were loose!) & a broken ipod & frigid temps, I enjoyed myself, found joy and peace in the practice of moving my body and drew inspiration from the other runners all around me.

2.  What an awesome example for my daughters!  They got to run across the finish line with their mama & received more cheers than even the lead runner!  I can't wait for the day that we can run together as a family--how cool!

Feeling & looking fit!

Here's the latest picture of me--down 85 lbs! My bodyfat % is actually lower than it was when I weighed less! Must be all those muscles from swimming, running, biking, & lifting!

I feel great & am so excited as I enjoy the training journey toward the 1/2 marathon on April 25th!

A little nervous about the 9 inches of snow predicted for this weekend as I am running 4 mile race in Central Park on Sunday--check back, that should prove to be an interesting update for sure!

Black & Blue Challenge--It's On!

So, recently I discovered I fit into a pair of black pants I had purchased some 18 months ago & had never fit.  Now I'm wearing them (however snug they still are) and reminding myself of the small changes I'm making.

Yesterday, I grabbed these jeans (thus the 'blue') out of my closet that my mom bought me for Christmas last year.  A little history:  When I tried them on last year I couldn't even get them over my butt.  She said, I got them cheap, don't return them, it won't be worth it.  So I held onto them.  

Fast forward to this week:  my favorite jeans (okay, really my only jeans) now have a small hole in the butt and the thigh and I'm starting to panic.  I'm not buying a pair of jeans right now, I'm just not.  So, grabbed the jeans out of the closet that my mom had got me, but were light years away from fitting.  Got them up!  Yay.  Buttoning them would prove much more of a challenge.  However, the good news is that I'm close, I'm very close.  I could see myself being in the jeans within the next 3 weeks perhaps! 

So what does that mean?

It means my black & blue challenge to myself is on!  I will be wearing those jeans in 3 weeks and these black pants that I'm wearing right now won't look like they are straight out of a 'paint the pants on the girl' store.

I may even snap a picture of myself in the pants/jeans.  [By the way, that's not me in the picture, it's a stock photo from the internet, not that there's anything wrong with the picture or the woman, just clarifying!]

Anyone else have a black & blue challenge they are up for?