A Not-So-Beautiful Mind.

Thoughts during my Planned-To-Be-Six-But-Turned-Into-Eight mile run on Saturday morning:

Pre Run: Shit. Why did I have that second Hendricks martini last night? Not to mention the Amstel Light?! And why didn’t I do laundry yesterday, the only socks I have are old, worn out Gap ones! Eck, let’s sweat this funk attitude and gin out…

I kid. Well…maybe on Saturdays.

Mile 0-1: Ok this isn’t horrible, and I’m so happy Frankie from Kinetic really sent me that Fast Car remix, it’s a fantastic addition to my “Ultimate Workout” playlist! (note: I am really original with my playlist names. I have one that I listen to exclusively while I do yoga. It’s called “Yoga”) 

Mile 1-2: What a lovely-lovely day (in my inner monologue’s Bane voice) – this 6 miler is going to fly by. And I have a water fountain coming up, woohoo – thank you Santa Monica, it’s as if you planned for me needing extra hydration!

Bane Cat is often on my mind.

Mile 2-3: OOO if I shoot for 8 miles I can stop and stare at the ocean halfway through! Let’s do that! I feel awesome! 

Mile 3-3.5: I get it Pharrell. You’re Happy – I’m Happy, we’re all HAPPY …I really need to remove this from my playlist for awhile.   ..It is pretty catchy though. Man, I remember when running 3 miles KILLED me. I have come a long way. Mental pat-on-the-back for you, Melissa! Can’t nothing bring me down, my level’s too high! 

Mile 4: YEAH!!! Hello Pacific, you beautiful beast! I should probably stop and take a few pictures of you. Maybe a few selfies of me in my TMNT shirt with you in the background! ..Wow. Note to self: Cut back on alcohol, your face is so swollen and your eyes are small enough to begin with. …Delete evidence and get back to your run!

Mile 4-5: Hmm. My toe hurts…oh right, I forgot I had those blisters from those stupid old flats I wore to work on Thursday. I’ll take advantage of the upcoming intersection and check out the damage.

Mile 5: Shit….my blister has two blisters. That’s going to be fun the next three miles. 

Mile 5-6: Where’s that freaking water fountain? I’ll stop and rub my feet. Man, I should have just worn some dirty socks instead of chancing it with these stretched out, thin old ones.

Mile 6-7: And now the toe on my right foot hurts too…Why did I extend this run? Grr, I’d already be finished. I’d already by airing out my poor tootsies. Ha, this is in no way a pretty run. But whatever, toe skin grows back.

This will be me next week during The Bix.

Mile 7-8: Woot woot, LAST MILE! Yayyyy, I am kicking today’s ASS! Some people aren’t even up yet and I’m just about to finish 8 miles! I’m gonna KILL IT next week at The Bix! …As long as it’s not too hot or humid. Shhh, don’t think about Iowa summers right now – just bask in your current achievement. 

Finish: Ok, take a selfie of you and the Turtle’s waving and send it to your lazy friends hehe. 

Hungover Nerd Alert!

 

 

 

 

Work It Out

I have been bit by the spin class bug. I have been going pretty consistently the last few months – started out with a Groupon – 5 classes for $25, right in my neighborhood. I used to spin at 24 hour fitness and Bally’s and it was always a great workout but this place I’ve been going….they’ve HOOKED me.

Drinking that Kool-Aid. That tasty, tasty Kool-Aid.

Let me count the ways I love Kinetic Cycling:

1) Fun music – lots of current EDM stuff I’m not familiar with, peppered with some new remixes of old songs. Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car?? Brings me back to summer road trips with my sister in Iowa and North Carolina…so good. I just zone out and PUSH when it comes on.

2) High calorie-burning workouts — after last night’s 45 minute class and a short walk with my dog I had burned 1000 calories. Just what I was looking for! (Ok, ok, there were some squats and pushups thrown in there too but still!) I had hit a sort of plateau before I started going to Kinetic 2-3 times a week. I was running, hiking, doing the stairs, and P90X3 – my muscles were getting bigger and stronger but I wasn’t leaning out. I can confidently say it’s starting to happen – friends have commented on it and I have even noticed. I suffer from a bit of body dysmorphia so for ME to notice leaner, more toned legs is a big deal. PLUS my resting heart rate has dropped to 59. BOOM!

3) The instructors!!!! I can’t gush enough about them. I have gone to 6 different instructors classes and they ALL ROCK! I have two favorites but it’s just because their energy pushes me the most – Melina and Frankie. I go to one or two of Melina’s 6am classes through the week and honestly, if it wasn’t her sunny self up there at that hour I wouldn’t go. I KNOW I’m going to be out of my sleepy brain fog by the time the warm-up’s done. And ready to kick the day’s ass by the time I walk out of there!

And Frankie’s 7:30pm class on Tuesdays and Thursdays is a crazy mix of hard work / internal focus / dance party. It can’t be explained, it must be experienced. Plus if you friend him on Facebook he’ll send you your favorite song for free. (oh, did I mention that Fast Car remix???)

Ok, well that’s all I had to share today. Hope everyone is having a fantastic Friday and you do something adventurous this weekend!

Mentally checking out…now.

 

 

@Fitmooney

My IG account has changed a little recently — it’s always been focused on me getting and staying healthy – food, workouts, motivations, etc. But the past couple of weeks I have been focusing more on “tips.”

Make sure your diet is full of vibrant colors. Natural colors though, bro.

I have been interested in healthy eating since I was about 12 – shortly after I became a vegetarian I realized that that didn’t mean I could survive on cheese pizza, mac and cheese, popcorn, and potato chips… It was a sad realization but thankfully it came then rather than later.

Now, I have not always stuck to my guns – I fall of the wagon often. I’ll move to a new city and try all of the restaurants and eat and drink anything and everything I want. I’ll go out of town and live by the mantra: “Eh, I’m on vacation!” And come back with crap skin, bloat, and a full body rash. Ha, but it was fun while I did it, right? Wow…that last vacation part could be taken out of context…I’m talking about overconsumption of food and alcohol and sloth here people! Minds out of the gutter 😉

But I do know what I SHOULD be eating. 

I’m not someone who thinks whole food, plant based eating is the best for everyone, but it is the best for ME. And it’s pretty damn good on ol’Mother Earth too so I do push the lifestyle. Don’t get me started on factory farming, but if you want to buy and eat locally raised meats go for it! Those animals, on actual farms, had good lives and supposedly they’re tasty so consume away. I feel the same way about hunting – if you’re going to shoot the deer and eat it and use as much of it as possible then that’s AOK with me. We all have to die, man. I’m still going to pass because it makes my stomach all squiggly just thinking about eating meat – but you have to listen to YOUR body.

How did I get started on this….oh right INSTAGRAM. 

I’ve been posting my tasty treats and their benefits and I feel like @fitmooney has much more substance. Instead of posting a picture of my salad and saying: “I had a salad for the 80th day in a row” I’m focusing on an ingredient featured in the salad and it’s impact on my body’s health. For example, last night I had the Mediterranean Salad from Real Food Daily and I mentioned that the chickpeas in hummus are proven to lower cholesterol. 

Where am I getting these facts? Wikipedia. So make something up about mandarin oranges and it’ll be posted today. 

Kidding! From reputable websites like the Mayo Clinic and the World’s Healthiest Foods. 

Anyway, if you’re interested in veganism or just WHY you feel so fucking good after eating a peach in the summer and the anti-aging benefits of white wine then check me out! instagram.com/fitmooney

“Did you just say white wine has anti-aging properties?”

 

 

Favorite Restaurants in Town

I’m trying to stick to a whole food, plant based diet – but nobody’s perfect, right? These places help keep me on track:

1) Real Food Daily. This place….mmmm. Yum, had dinner at their Santa Monica location last night and my office ordered delivery from them on Tuesday. There are so many fantastic dishes at this place I could eat there everyday. Items you MUST try:

– The Club. Seitan, tempeh bacon, avocado, vegenaise, tomato, lettuce, on toasted sourdough. I honestly just started drooling. It is massive like a Club Sandwich should be and served with either their house or caesar salad. Even just choosing between those two is tough – their tahini house dressing is outstanding but their blue corn croutons are also the bomb. Yeah, I just used “the bomb”…

– The Mediterranean Bowl. This is what I had last night, it is a fucking smorgasbord of tasty mediterranean food. Arugula, tomato, avocado and lemon herb Za-atar dressing / Cucumber kalamata salsa / White bean basil salad / Quinoa tabour / Almond feta / served with whole wheat Za’atar flatbread. Damn. I subbed my flatbread out for their gluten free bread as I’m trying to cut back on wheat.

– The Real Food Meal. I get this for lunch A LOT. Or if I’m not feeling that hungry I’ll get the Build Your Own Basics and just opt for a few of these macrobiotic offerings. The RF Meal includes brown rice, beans, daily green, land and sea vegetables, pressed salad and your choice of dressing or sauce (the peanut dressing is so divine).

Those are just a few of their amazing offerings – I never turn down The Rueben Sandwich, Not-Chos, Kung Pao, The Burrito Bowl, or any of their yummy seasonal specials. Ooo and I just remembered they offer brunch on the weekends – The Weekender is such a feast!!! Go if you’re in LA — this place is a pleaser for vegans or ANYONE (seriously, The Club has converted many a faux-meat hater).

2) Euphoria Loves Rawvolution. A raw vegan cafe that is passionate about providing nourishing food using Earth conscious methods. They compost their food scraps, use biodegradable to-go containers,  and use non-toxic cleaning supplies. But enough about their cool business practices – lets get to the food!

– Nachos. These are crazy good. I have seriously considered licking the plate… Walnut taco meat, guacamole, salsa, seed cheese, cashew mayo, blue corn chips.

– Pesto Tomato Sliders. So seemingly simple. So delicious – tomatoes and walnut pesto.

– Big Matt With Cheese. Order this. Order THIS – onion bread, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, ketchup, mustard. You will never want a meat burger again. (That’s what my carnivorous friend says anyway!)

– California Crunch Roll. I had never had Caulihemp Rice before – it’s a perfect base alternative to regular rice. Nori roll, caulihemp rice, avocado, mushrooms, walnut taco meat, sprouts, paprika sauce, jalapeño powder.

Please save room for dessert when you go as well – you’ll thank me later.

3) Cafe Gratitude. These guys support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly products. I have only tried a couple of their meals because I am a creature of habit and when I find something I love I can not deviate. It also comes from growing up in Iowa as a vegetarian – there were usually only 1 or 2 options for me so my brain shuts down when I have a whole freaking menu.

– Transformed. These are two corn tacos made with sautéed baby squash, pinto beans, pico de gallo, salsa verde, raw cacao mole, and a side of wild rice bean salad and jalapeño asado.

– Whole. A macrobiotic bowl with yams, adzuki beans, kale, kim chee, sea palm, black sesame seed gomasio, terrace almonds, garlic tahini sauce and either brown rice or quinoa.

There are so many other fantastic vegan/raw/vegetarian restaurants in LA but those are my favorite on the Westside. Sage, Seed Kitchen, Native Foods Cafe, Shojin, etc are so tasty, I just don’t frequent them – it’s mostly a location thing! Speaking of location — my favorite neighborhood, vegan friendly restaurant is Le Pain Quotidien — Go there if you want tasty pastries, brunch, salads, soups, tartines, coffee, tea.

Is it lunch yet?

RFD’s Club sandwich with a house salad

 

 

 

Honey Moon on Friday the 13th. aka: best night ever

I’m strangely excited to see this Honey, or Strawberry, Moon. I’m not expecting it to be life changing or anything but I bet it’ll look like this, exactly:

The bank looks a little different than my local beach but I’m expecting owls, dolphins, scarecrows, cats, and couples to show themselves. Santa Monica beach is gonna be crazy. It is a full moon on Friday the 13th after all 😉

Moving on — I’m excited to do a Suja Juice cleanse this weekend! They were supposed to deliver to my work today but shipped to my billing address/home instead and that’s a little disappointing because no one will be there until 6 or so. So they’ve been just sitting outside my door since 10am, tempting people to take them. Delicious juices, no one can deny you. 

Thankfully they have the best customer service and they’re sending me another shipment tomorrow. 

I’ll let you know how it goes – I’m looking forward to a little cleanse before I head to the Beachbody Summit on Thursday! I love to try new things, and if you put your products on sale I’m very likely to take advantage 🙂

Ok and this last one I found while searching for “It was on sale” memes and it’s too funny not to post….

Hahaha!

Also on sale was Les Mills Combat during the Beachbody Summer Sale last weekend — definitely got that and I’ll be starting the program on Monday June 23rd. Very pumped for that too!

Have a great weekend and I hope you get to enjoy the Honey Moon tonight

 

Thankful Friday!

Ok, so instead of a TGIF post I’m going to post something I’m Thankful for – Or somethingS, I never know how my mind may wander.

Today I’d like to thank Groupon for introducing me to new workouts/gyms/etc! I’ve been going to Kinetic Cycling for about 2 months and was first introduced to the place by a “5 classes for $25” deal back in March.

 

I love getting up early (I usually hit the 6:00am class) and spinning my ass off and then feeling energized the rest of the day. The instructors at Kinetic are so good at keeping us motivated and distracted from their vigorous workout by engaging with us and playing dance-party music. Ha, I nearly feel like I kick off my day with a rave three times a week.

I’ve gotten so into it that I completely forgot that I ALSO have Groupons for 5 Pop Physique and 10 Cardio Barre classes! But I am definitely someone who gets bored by the same old workout so I know I’ll be trying those out before they expire at the end of July and August 🙂

Have you checked out Groupon to see if there’s anything by you?

 

Thursday already? Let’s get weird.

3rd installment of Thinking Out Loud, the brainchild of the blog Running With Spoons. If you haven’t read Amanda’s blog, you should – it’s one of my favorites, her journey is inspiring and she’s funny. That’s really all it takes to make me happy. Inspire me and make me laugh 😉 But she also has great recipes and good advice, those things also make me happy!

Onto the random:

1) Something I find annoying about doctor’s offices: If you don’t cancel 24hrs before your appointment they’ll charge you a fee ($50 is what I’ve been told by a couple). BUT if they say “I’ll call you with your results on Monday” and you NEVER HEAR FROM THEM AGAIN, it’s cool. Also cool, “I’ll call you tomorrow or Monday to schedule your surgery” and then, when you haven’t heard anything by Tuesday and so you reach out to inquire and they say, “Oh sorry about that, let me check and I’ll call you later today” and then you still haven’t heard back from them by Thursday at, let’s say,RIGHT NOW, it’s still ok. I feel like they should discount my surgery $50. Because that amount will make a dent…

2) I’m heading downtown for dinner on Saturday and I’m excited. I know I don’t live THAT FAR but, with so many options available here, living in Los Angeles can get you stuck in your own neighborhood. I work in Santa Monica so I’ll usually just go out from the office and I live in Brentwood so I don’t often make it out of the Westside unless there’s a specific event. Sad, huh? This “specific event” is that a friend from North Carolina just moved to town so my roommate and I are going to meet him for dinner at Industriel and then may wander to Seven Grand Whiskey Bar  because I love that place AND he lives right across the street.

 

3) Where do you want to travel to next? I am itching for a road trip. I have wanderlust like a gypsy, it’s bonkers. I am heading to Vegas, Oxnard, Iowa, Vegas again, and Ft Lauderdale in the next few months but I want to go somewhere NEWWWWW. I want to go hike some crazy gorgeous canyon in AZ or head up and camp out in a forest in the Pacific Northwest. I really would love to travel abroad but I don’t have the funds for it right now so I’m just looking at easy-to-get-to places right now.

 

And here are some random facts. Today’s will be food facts:

1) Ripe cranberries will bounce like rubber balls. Oh I am definitely going to try this.

2) Oklahoma’s state vegetable is the watermelon. I feel like we just got served two facts there…Watermelon is a vegetable? http://www.watermelon.org/Fruit-or-Vegetable.aspx Huh, seems it’s both a fruit AND a vegetable!

3) There is an amusement park in Tokyo that offers raw horse flesh-flavored ice cream. Oh my. That is disgusting! But I also want to talk to someone who has eaten it…. “WHY would you order that? WTF does it taste like????? Did horses haunt your dreams the weeks following?”

 

 

 

June Gloom

Happy June 2nd – it’s actually not overcast here in SoCal at the moment so that’s lovely. The only gloomy thing is my bank account. A few weeks ago I was joking with my chiropractor that I needed to have surgery so I could hit my deductible and get 55% of my costs covered and we laughed! I’m not saying we manifested that but…now I’m having surgery. And my car broke down last night. Remember when I said my mechanic didn’t hear the rattling noise it was occasionally making? Well, the battery and engine lights don’t need to be heard. Nor does the lack of power steering or acceleration…

I feel like the beginning of a country song.

I’ll be ok, that’s why I have a savings account.

Anyway: It’s a new month and that means I have new goals! My May goals were very nearly met so I need to keep pushing myself 🙂

I started this 30 day squat challenge again today

and I’m doing a 30 for 30 sit-up challenge. 30 sit-ups every day for 30 days. Easy peasy!

That’s in addition to my continuing half (to full!) marathon training 🙂 I’d also like to read a book a week and start playing my uke again. It’s just sitting in the corner, gathering dust and glaring at me.

I hope you’re having an excellent Monday.

 

What are your goals for June? Are they work, fitness, leisure, love related?

 

TGIF TGIF TGIF! And a chat about surgery…

Happy Friday to you! 

Have you ever had surgery? I had one four years ago, it was “emergency” surgery and I was freaked OUT. I’ve given blood a handful of times but still hate needles and having tubes coming out of me just drove me bonkers. I was less nervous about going under and the procedure than I was about the needle bouncing around in my hand. Also didn’t help that the nurse missed my vein the first time and the fluid inflated my hand, ha. 

But yesterday I consulted with a surgeon referred to me by my general practitioner and he was funny but matter of fact, I didn’t feel like he was pushing me one way or another, and his office actually recommended a less expensive route for me. Which I really appreciate because my deductible is very high and I haven’t touched any of it. He explained I don’t have a hernia – it’s one of two other things, and while I still need a laparoscopic surgery to fix either – I can skip the CAT scan if I’d like to save a step. Loved that. I don’t need to spend more money on something to tell the guy to cut me open when he’s going to have to do that regardless. 

I feel like the more shit that happens to me the less stressed I get about the next. First broken bone – terrified (granted I was 4 or 5 ha), Second – eh. First sprained ankle -FUCK! Second (3rd, 4th, 5th) – it’s cool, grab me an ice pack! Another laparoscopy? Sure, let’s do it! 

Well, you know, until they come at me with those needles…