20 Health Questions

Aloha from the broken record (aka yours truly) that keeps getting crushed with work, and is in a perpetual state of catch-up with all of your blogs.  But today I finally have some time to blog so I am taking full advantage!

The lovely Irina posted this fun health questions survey last week.  Here are my responses!

1.  What did you eat for breakfast?

Today I had a slice of whole-wheat bread slathered with hummus and a big glass of diluted orange juice.  Other typical weekday breakfasts items for me include cereal, yogurt, and bananas.  On weekends when I have more time, I love to prepare omelettes, souffles, pancakes, or my own variations of eggs benedict.  Have I ever mentioned that I love to cook but that I love to eat even more?!?

2.  How much water do you drink per day?

Sadly, I am much better about staying hydrated on the weekends than I am during the workweek.  During the weekends I'm very good about drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day.  On weekdays it's probably more around 4-6 glasses because I am usually running from meeting to meeting or desperately trying to meet some kind of reporting deadline.  Many days I barely have time to swallow my lunch.  (I've actually thought about bringing in lunch foods that require minimal chewing, just to aid in the efficient consumption of lunch.  Terrible, I know.)


Yummy, yummy!!!
(Not really when it comes to lunch foods, but you get the point)

3.  What is your current favorite workout?

Don't really have one at the moment.  I do love running but haven't done much recently due to injury.  These days I've been doing a lot of biking, physical therapy exercises, and strength-training.  I enjoy all of these things (well, maybe not the physical therapy exercises) but wouldn't say that I love them.  I'm in a little bit of a workout rut right now so I'd love to try something new, but not sure what yet.

4.  How many calories do you eat per day?

The short answer is...

I don't count calories, but I have a very healthy appetite in combination with both a sweet tooth and a salt tooth.  Whatever the amount is, though, I'm sure it's higher than it should be right now.

5.  What are your favorite healthy snacks?

I'm an equal-opportunity snack eater.  I don't discriminate between snacks.  I eat them all.

In all seriousness, though, my favorites are peanut butter with either bananas or apples, yogurt with either nuts or cereal mixed in, or toast/crackers with hummus or cheese.  Some would say cheese isn't healthy but I love it too much to care.  Cheese is nonnegotiable for me.

6.  What do you usually eat for lunch?

Usually leftovers from the previous night's dinner, whatever it was.  I'm probably one of the few people out there that really like having leftovers.  It's so easy to just pack it up and bring it in to the office the next day.

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train?

My triceps.  I see results and improvement very quickly!  And I am all about instant (or quick) gratification.

8.  What is your least favorite body part to strength train?

My core/abs.  I hate, hate, hate, hate HATE doing core work.  I have already accepted the fact that I will NEVER have washboard abs.  EVER.

9.  What are your "bad" food cravings?

I think I crave pretty much all "bad" foods at some point or other.  I am an equal-opportunity "bad" food craver, too!

But probably the most frequent is Chicago-style deep dish spinach and mushroom pizza.  Although some (me) would also argue that it's not really that unhealthy.  But that's a debate for another time.

Yummy yummy!
(Look at all those vitamins!)

And speaking of vitamins...

10.  Do you take vitamins or supplements?

I try to take a daily multi-vitamin but I go in spurts.  Some weeks I'm really good about taking them and others I am not.  This week I have not been good about it.

11.  How often do you eat out?

I do prefer to cook as opposed to dining out, since restaurants can be expensive and the food is not usually prepared in the most healthful of methods.  Plus I like being able to tailor my food to my own personal taste.  But dining out is very much a function of how busy I am and/or how much time I have to cook.  In general, though, I would say I dine out typically once or twice a week. 

12.  Do you eat fast food?

Only if I am really desperate or have no other options.  (Sadly, I've done plenty of business travel to very unglamorous locations where fast food really was literally the only option.)

13.  Who is your biggest supporter?

I am very blessed to have the most amazing friends and family known to humankind, all of who are exceptionally supportive of me.  But Adam takes the cake.  He has had to endure lifetimes of listening to me scream about all of my daily frustrations.  These frustrations can range from the obvious things like stubborn injuries, traffic jams, and Ticketmaster surcharges to the not-so-obvious things like why I can't have mint-infused chocolate and pecan gelato for brunch on Wednesdays.

Yummy yummy!
(I think the world would be a much happier place if we could all eat this every day.)

(By the way, you may think I am joking when I refer to the gelato, but I'm being completely serious.  To Adam's credit, though, he has always told me that I am an adult and I can eat whatever I want.  (See how supportive he is!?!?))

14.  Do you have a gym membership?

No.  The building that I live in has a workout room, plus I have plenty of home workout equipment and lots of running shoes to run the great outdoors.  While it would be nice to have access to the extensive weight-training equipment that only a gym could provide, I squeak by well enough without a gym membership.

15.  How many hours of sleep do you get per night?

7 to 8.  Sleep is a very high priority for me.  I don't function well without enough sleep.  Although, my circadian rhythms are so stable that many times I actually get less sleep on weekends than I do on the weekdays.  This is because I am so used to getting up at a certain time, that even on weekends when I'm usually up later I still wake up at the same time every morning.

16.  Do you have a "cheat" day?

No.  I cheat everyday.  (You may think I am joking when I say that but once again I'm being completely serious.)

Not to worry, though, I have already made the association between my daily eating-cheating and the fact that I'll never have washboard abs, among other things.  (See #8 and #13 above.)

17.  Do you drink alcohol?

Almost never.  I don't drink coffee, either, and only on very rare occasion do I drink tea.  And I know that I will ensue mass hysteria when I say this, but I don't like beer at all.  Sadly, I don't think I'll ever understand why so many people like such bitter stuff (both coffee and beer).  I know, I know, shoot me now.

Obviously the restriction on sugar doesn't apply to me.

18.  Do you have a workout buddy?

I run with Erin (but we haven't run together in awhile since I'm not running much altogether these days.)  I've gone running with Xaarlin.  Sometimes Adam and I will hit the workout room at the same time or go hiking together.  But otherwise, I usually work out solo.

19.  What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle?

Just feeling better overall.  I have more self-confidence, more energy, more motivation, and a more optimistic outlook on life in general.  You can't ask for much more than that.

20.  What was the last healthy thing that you did?

Bypassed the candy jar and ate an orange instead.  (Never mind that I already visited the candy jar twice earlier today, and still have to pass by it at least one more time on my way out the door...)