I'm Almost 1/3 Fat. Yikes.

I'm pleased to say that Danny's getting better each day! It wasn't a severe sickness, just a cold. The poor guy has had such a year. His body just couldn't quite shake it off.

Danny was feeling so good that we hit the gym this afternoon for 2.5 hours. I think it's a new record for us. While at the naturopath's office last week, Dr Aschtgen recorded my height, weight, and used a machine to calculate my fat percentage. My body is 28% fat. I feel like that's an awful lot. A healthy range for a woman my age is 21-29%.

I was thrilled to hear that Dr Aschtgen doesn't believe I need to lose any weight. It's one less thing to worry about. He was more interested in my body composition. If my weight drops he wants to see the fat percentage drop down too.

Although I do a solid amount of cardio, I had been seriously avoiding the weights section. I had been lying to myself, thinking that man push ups were enough. As a person who loves to run, I usually don't want to tear up my mucsles because then I'm unable to run as much. Oh well. I guess I'm going to have to get over it. I want to lose some body fat, and I've heard that the only real way to do that is by adding weights to your workout.

Staying healthy, and improving my body and mind have become a full time job. The diet, the workouts, the naps...I can't imagine people in my position who have children. I honestly can't even imagine. I'm really lucky to have a flexible work schedule (best bosses in the world), and man who is always up for the gym.

I'm still trying to figure out what this whole tumor diagnosis means. I'm trying to out smart the tumor, beating it at its own game, yet I'm trying to live my life with pleasure. Many things that I would have enjoyed in the past (red licorice, rosemary bread, Tim's vinegar potato chips, whole fruit sorbet, older than dirt cheese.....I could honestly go on for hours) are no longer a safe choice. I know that I can always eat whatever I want, and sometimes I cheat (like Green's 30th...I took a baby bite out of each of the dozen flavors of cupcakes...it was HEAVEN!), but I know cheating is to my detriment. I don't want to be self destructive. If I give up, I'm giving up on myself and everyone around me, everyone that is supporting me. So, I won't give up, I'm going to keep powering through. I'm going to make this body composition thing a game. Let's see what I can do!

Organic Chicken Soup

Taking a page out of my friend Sara's blog book, I've changed the design of my blog. I was bored with the black on black. Hope you like it!

Last night, I made an organic chicken soup, sans noodles, from scratch. I can't believe I was unable to chop and cook just a few months ago. I'm so grateful to have progressed so much! What a wonderful gift, to be able to evolve. Danny has a sore throat so I'm taking care of him. It's nice to reciprocate since Danny's always taking care of me.

Here's the ingredients:
Half of a purple cabbage (chopped)
Half of a sweet onion (chopped)
Three cloves of garlic (chopped)
Two large handfuls of Shiitake mushrooms (chopped)
Head of celery, leaves and all (chopped)
Two boneless skinless chicken breasts (chopped)

First things first, I braised the whole chicken breasts in vegetable broth. While that was cooking, I sauteed the garlic & onion in olive oil, tossing the rest of the chopped veggies into the pan shortly thereafter. I then poured the vegetable broth over the veggies letting the whole thing simmer. When the chicken was done cooking I chopped it up and tossed it into the pot with the veggies, letting it all simmer for a few more minutes. Finally, I seasoned it with a tablespoon of cracked pepper and two teaspoons of habanero powder. 

The truth is that you don't even need noodles. It turned out so good that I'm making it again tonight. I think soup might just be my new thing. All of the ingredients were organic, the meat was free-range hormone free. There was no sugar, and no bad carbs. It was guilt free and delicious. I love it!

I'm ever grateful that I have the freedom to do ordinary things, like know how to create a recipe. The body, and the brain are incredibly intricate and resilient. I'll never forget being unable to chop or follow instructions. I'll never forget being unable to take care of myself. I'm so grateful to have the capability to give back to Danny so that he gets nurtured too. It's an overwhelming feeling, knowing he can rely on me.