It's OK!

The weekend has arrived! My It's OK! feature was a hit last weekend so I decided to do it again this weekend. Inspired by Glamour Magazine's "It's OK..." feature where they assure us that our weird little habits are completely normal, I'm dedicating this post to assuring you it's okay to do the following this weekend:

It's okay...

• To wait until Sunday afternoon to set your clocks back this weekend.
  
• To wear the same dress you wore to work on Friday out to dinner on Saturday. Who's going to know?
  
• To make dinner reservations under the name you wish you were born with. I like to use Claudia.
• To watch my new favorite movie, "Peter And Vandy", on Netflix Watch Instantly.
• To enjoy my song of the week (my current mood):
  
  http://popup.lala.com/popup/1657606151095158134
  
  Have a great weekend!
  

Hawkin' My Wares

Good morning and happy Friday! Wow, what a week it's been. I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster this week. It's been crazy. Everything from work to regular life has been up and down. I hate weeks like this and I'm looking forward to the weekend.....I hope I make it.

I ran 4 miles this morning and still felt "off." I don't know what's going on with me, but I haven't been able to get into my workouts at all. I've let my stress affect them instead of using them to relieve stress. I'm going to take tomorrow off and hopefully Sunday will start a new week of energizing workouts for me.

I recently purchased a Polar F4 Heart Rate Monitor. Unfortunately, the strap it came with doesn't fit me and slides down my body when I workout. I emailed the company and they sent me a smaller strap, but that still doesn't fit me. I've decided to try to sell the Polar F4 on Craigslist, but wanted to list it here first. If anyone is looking for a heart rate monitor, Polar is the best. I'm going to buy another version from them that doesn't require a strap, so I have nothing against the company at all. The Polar F4 currently retails for $99.95 and I'm going to list it on Craigslist for $80. I'm offering it up to MelissaNibbles readers for $50. I've only used it three times and you'd just have to change the programming stats to your own (height and weight). If you're interested in purchasing the Polar F4, please email me at melissanibbles@gmail.com.


What do you do to re-energize your workouts when you're in a funk?

Three Things Thursday

Last night's dinner started out horribly. I had planned to make a stuffed acorn squash, but when I went to make dinner, I picked up the acorn squash and it was covered in mold! I just bought it! I was super bummed because I had been looking forward to dinner all day. I tried to look on the bright side and figured it would be the perfect opportunity to make my first gluten free pasta dish with rice noodles.



In order to have a true comparison to the whole wheat pasta I normally eat, I decided to test the rice noodles in a dish I eat all the time...mac and cheese! I didn't have to cook the rice pasta differently or anything so I just prepared my dish as usual (just stirring in a slice of cheddar cheese). I had honey mustard bbq chicken (the sauces were naturally gluten free) and steamed broccoli on the side. I liked the rice noodles. They didn't taste different from regular white pasta, but had less flavor than whole wheat pasta. The rice noodles were a tad stickier than regular pasta, but not so bad that it bothered me or made them seem like they weren't pasta. I felt like I was eating pasta, not a pasta substitute. I'll definitely try them again in another pasta recipe.

This morning I ran outside again...yay! I ran 5 miles and did a few ab exercises afterwards. This week has been weird with my running though. I'm having a hard time getting into the groove. Normally when I run, I sing along with my ipod and have a grand ole time, but lately I've just been zoning out and forcing myself to get through it. Oh well, I'll shake it off (like Mariah!) eventually.

It's Three Things Thursday! Yeah! Let's get down to business:

1. Are You Going To Have Kids? I'm not sure why, but everyone from my co-workers, friends, and even you readers in your emails have been asking me if I'm going to have kids. Why do you want to know so bad? If I have a kid, are you going to kidnap him or something? Am I supposed to give birth to the golden child? I know I'm 30 and my biological clock is ticking, but I still have a few years before the alarm sounds. I can't even find a man that likes me enough to marry me, nevermind have a kid with me. And the glamorous life of a single mom just doesn't appeal to me. If I'm going to have a kid, I'm not going at it alone and I'd want to be married because I don't want to be bonded for life with some toolbag I'll have to hunt down for his child support payments. Also, I'm not sure if I'd make a good mother. I've never had that mothering instinct, think all babies look the same, and cringe when they cry. I don't get excited when coworkers bring their babies to work and I hate going to baby showers. The only time I've ever felt my ovaries cry out is when I'm watching the news and they talk about the orphans in Haiti or about some baby found in a dumpster. I feel motherly towards those kids for some reason...odd. Anyway, that clears that up. Now stay out of my vagina people!

2. Dogs In Restaurants. I don't hate dogs and obviously I think they should eat, but I think it's rude of their owners to bring them in restaurants or coffee shops. I see it all the time! They don't seem to care if other patrons have dog allergies, if there are kids there that might be scared of dogs, or about sanitation in general. If you have a seeing eye dog or something, that's different, but what makes you so special that you have to bring your dog where ever you go? That's quite a sense of entitlement on your behalf, you selfish dog owner! Your risking the fact that the restaurant could get shut down because you brought your dog in. Leave your dogs at home!

3. Gaucho Pants. No one looks good in them. I mean, capri pants barely look good on anyone. Why anyone would want to walk around looking like a pirate is beyond me. Just terrible.

What's bothering you this week? My comment section is your shoulder to cry on.

Why Do You Exercise?

Hey y'all! Happy Humpday! I hope it's a good one for you. Thank you so much for your words of support in my quest to go gluten free. Lets hope it works :)

I started my day with a half hour of power walking outside. It was COLD! I wore a hat and gloves so I was fine, but I wasn't expecting it to be as cold as it was. I plan on doing either Core Fusion Pure Abs & Arms or my own strength training routine after work. It depends on what I'm in the mood for.

Last night's dinner was a usual suspect.


Baked sweet potato and chicken stuffed with Garlic & Herb Laughing Cow and pickles. Steamed brussels on the side for a veggie. I had originally planned to have vegetarian baked beans not chicken, but I realized after reading the label on the beans that the sauce they were in contained gluten. Oh well, dinner was still delicious, but I'm sick of the chicken stuffed with Laughing Cow and pickles. Do you believe it? I never get sick of foods, but I think I've worn this one out.

I came across this interesting article yesterday about what really motivates people to exercise. It turns out, a lot of people aren't motivated by weight loss or even their health. The author of the article found that some people workout to spend time with their significant other, to spend time with friends, and some just to get out of the house. Personally, I exercise for my health first, but it's also the only way I can relieve stress from work and life. It's also my "me" time. What motivates you to exercise?

Fibromyalgia Linked To Gluten Intolerance?

Hi everyone! I hope your start to the week is going well. My day began with a 5 mile run outside. I wasn't planning on going 5 miles, but I was lost in my thoughts and realized I had passed my original turn around point and decided to just keep going to the 5 mile turn around. It was nice to take advantage of the great weather we've been having the past few days. If you live in New England, you know that this will probably be short-lived :)

Yesterday was an insane day. Work is crazy right now and not in a good way. Oh well, everything's temporary and this situation will pass. When I got home, I didn't feel like cooking so I whipped up a lazy dinner of baked chickend and broccoli slaw "pasta".



I stuffed the chicken with Garlic & Herb Laughing Cow and mixed the slaw with a tiny bit of tomato sauce. It was tasty as usual.

If you're a new reader, you may not know that I suffer from Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on your body where slight pressure causes pain.

A MelissaNibbles reader, Candice, emailed me information she came across regarding studies that link fibromyalgia with a gluten intolerance. I was hesitant to believe the hype because it seems that a lot of people have been jumping on the "gluten free" train lately and I didn't want to be one of them. However, I respect my readers suggestions and looked over the information. What I found linking fibromyalgia to gluten sensitivity was interesting. All of the studies showed that fibromyalgia and celiac disease share many of the same symptoms (gas, bloating, acid reflux, irritability, joint pain, fatigue...). I researched further on my own and found that many other chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disorder, and diabetes have also been associated with gluten intolerance. All of these illnesses share the same symptoms as fibromyalgia, then I read in The Food Intolerant Consumer that new evidence suggests that 1 in 7 fibromyalgia sufferers are gluten sensitive. At this point, my curiosity was peaked, but I wanted the opinion of someone who would be "candid" and had experience dealing with fibromyalgia sufferers and is knowledgeable about gluten free diets. I only knew one person...The Candid RD! I knew Gina would give it to me straight and she did. She's actually working with her mom on cutting out gluten and suggested I give it a try.

At this point, my pain levels are only decreased when I'm sleeping, working out, or taking a bath. I can't do those things all day long and I'm willing to try anything to help deal with my fibromyalgia (except drugs). I've decided to go gluten free for a month and see what happens. I think it will be tough, but not as tough as I originally thought. I hardly eat any processed foods and I've noticed that a lot of the foods I eat now (cottage cheese, yogurt, fruits, veggies) are gluten free. I'll have to replace things like pasta and wraps with gluten free versions, but those are readily available in my grocery store. I'm pretty good about reading food labels, now I'll just have to be extra vigilant. I've bookmarked recipes and tips on dining out gluten free (a lot of restaurants offer an alternative gluten free menu if you ask!), so I'm armed and ready. If you see me eat something on here with gluten, don't be afraid to let me know as I'm still figuring the whole thing out and can use all the help I can get. This month will be challenging, but I'm excited to see if this change brings me any relief. Stay tuned!

*Thanks to Gina and Shannon who went above and beyond helping me in my research :)

Nibble DVD Review: Core Fusion Abs & Arms

After proclaiming my love for all things Core Fusion, I decided to order another dvd from the series to nibble on. Core Fusion Pure Abs & Arms. As the title says, the dvd focuses on abs and arms and comes with a free resistance band! I had never used a resistance band in my strength training and was looking forward to trying something new.

The workout is broken down into 5 ten minute sections:

• Upper Body Weights & Resistance Band
• Upper Body Resistance Band
• Abdominals
  
• Abdominals With Leg Variations
• Upper Body, Back & Hip Stretches

All of the workouts started with the traditional Core Fusion warmup of lifting your arms and legs, and a back stretch of swinging your arms side to side. I like that the warmup is in each section because if you only choose to do one or two of the workouts on a particular day, you'll still get a warmup in.

The weights portion of the upper body workout consisted of shoulder presses, upright rows, bicep curls, and tricep exercises that are KILLER. I don't know the names of them because I've only ever done them in Core Fusion, but they are tough! The resistance band portion consisted of more bicep and tricep exercises with different variations using the band. I liked using the resistance band a lot. I found it easier to use than the weights in this workout because you can control the resistance simply by using less or more of the band. You don't have to pause to change your dumbbells, you just move your hands. The resistance band was also a lot tougher than I expected...in a good way.

The first ab routine consisted of the traditional C-Curve and using the resistance band to add in some oblique exercises. I'm still using the modified version of the C-Curve (holding on to my thighs), but I let go more often so I think I'm getting better. The second ab routine with leg variations was really tough for me. Lifting my legs for every ab exercise while maintaining a C-Curve was very difficult. I was cursing at the television. I think that's a sign of a good workout though. If you're not being challenged, you're not going to see results right?

The last segment was stretching so that was my favorite. It was just different stretches using the resistance band.

Overall, I loved this workout. I prefer it over the Body Sculpt Core Fusion dvd, but only because I'm not trying to lean my lower body out right now so I don't do the lower body workouts on that dvd. Core Fusion Abs & Arms is more tailored to my current training goals. I'm definitely going to be adding Pure Abs & Arms to my workout schedule. 5 out of 5 Jersey Shore Fist Pumps!!

You can read my Core Fusion Body Sculpt Review here.

It's OK!

It's officially the weekend! I hope you do something fun and even naughty! Inspired by Glamour Magazine's "It's OK..." feature where they assure us that our weird little habits are completely normal, I'm dedicating this post to assuring you it's okay to do the following this weekend:

It's okay...

• to get a free dinner at your parents house.
• and to do all your laundry there!
• to pretend to be text-messaging to get out of talking to some rando in a bar.
• to ask that sweaty dude at the gym to wipe off the equipment when he's done.
• to have both Pizza Hut and IHOP in one day.
• to bail on plans because Labyrinth is on.
• to "mark all as read" on your Google Reader and start over.

Live it up people! I'm nursing my dry sockets and look like crap, but I'm imagining myself in more glamorous times like this:


Have a great weekend!!