MONTHLY CHECK-IN

WEIGHT LOSS THIS MONTH: -4.5 (that means I gained 4.5 lbs this month!)
WEIGHT LOSS TO DATE: 37 lbs
DAYS COMMUTED: 7
POTENTIAL COMMUTING DAYS MISSED: 18
BREAKDOWN OF EXCUSES USED BY COMMUTE DAYS MISSED:
Daughter ill - 2 days
Stomach flu and its lingering effects - 4 days
Hiatus (working longer hours to write a paper) - 12 days

SIGH! I kind of knew it would happen. I spent most of March driving to work instead of biking, and eating take-out and junk food because I was working too hard. So I gained weight. Logical consequence.

What this month has taught me is that:
1. My weight loss to date really can be attributed to biking, because the biking has really motivated me to make other positive choices regarding my self-care. When I don't bike, I also eat worse, and that leads me back into gaining weight.
2. While I have made significant lifestyle changes in order to bike-commute this year, this month has shown me that the moment I stop biking I will immediately fall back into old habits. This means I need to focus more on changing my old habits so that whether or not I continue bike-commuting beyond August, I will not risk gaining back whatever weight I've lost and returning to my pre-bike-commuting unhealthy lifestyle.

So, how am I going to change my old habits? Well, for one thing, I've consulted with a dietitian about eating for healthy, sustainable weight loss and picked up some excellent advice from her. I'm also trying to be more mindful of what my body really needs - listening to that guiding voice within me that tells me what I need rather than what I want. Essentially, I'm trying to change my relationship with eating so it's no longer a hobby or a reward or a way to self-soothe. I know that changing this relationship isn't going to be easy, and it's not going to happen overnight, but I'm becoming a lot more interested in changing not so much what I eat, but rather how and why.

Week 31 - Day Four: Advice on How to Eat Kimchi Jigae

TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: 30 min.
WEATHER: clear, -1C, 9 km/hr wind there; partly cloudy, 8C, 18 km/hr wind (gusting to 30 km/hr wind) back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, work shirt, sweatshirt, running gloves (gloves in panniers on the way home)
NOTES:

I had kimchi jigae for lunch today, as I usually do on Thursdays now that I've recently discovered this delicious Korean stew. It's made from kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage), pork, tofu, onions, vast quantities of garlic, and SPICES - lots and lots of red-hot SPICES!! It's served with white rice on the side. And if you're down with spice and garlic, kimchi jigae will change your life. Guaranteed.

Usually I eat this when I go out for lunch on Thursdays with my co-workers. Given:
1. that I have a limited timeframe in which to eat this (during the lunch
hour, minus the time it takes to walk to and from the restaurant);
2. that it usually is the last item to arrive at the table after ordering;
and,
3. that it's so spicy it will make you sweat and cry as you eat it;
I've been in need of a kimchi jigae eating technique so that I can eat this painfully spicy dish in a short amount of time.

Today, I discovered such a technique, and I will share it with you because I love you and you deserve it. And so, without further ado . . .

HealthyBiker's Kimchi Jigae Mouth-Burn-Minimizing Eating Technique
1. Pick out the tofu and pork pieces and lay them on the side of the dish to cool off.
2. Pour some of the soup broth over the side of rice, then pick out some kimchi and lay it on top of the rice.
3. Eat the kimchi off the top of the rice.
4. Continue eating the kimchi in stages - first layer it over the rice, allowing the broth to drain off it and onto the rice below, then eat it. (even the few seconds that it's laying on top of the rice instead of in the still-bubbling soup broth will cool it considerably)
5. Eat the tofu, pork, and kimchi intermittently as they cool.
6. When most of the "goodies" (the kimchi, tofu, and pork) are eaten, pour the rest of the soup broth over the rice.
7. Eat as much of the richly broth-flavoured rice as you want and/or can handle.

Et voila! You've eaten kimchi jigae without hurting yourself! And you've done it in record time. Well done, old chap, well done.

Week 31 - Day Three: Windy, Part II

TIME THERE: 27 min.
TIME BACK: 30 min.
WEATHER: clear, 2C (-3C with windchill), 26 km/hr wind there; partly cloudy, 11C, 35 km/hr wind back
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, work shirt, sweatshirt, running gloves (gloves in panniers on the way home)
NOTES:

Oh my GOD, I hate biking in high winds!! I have to work really hard just to feel like I'm barely crawling along, and the wind burns my cheeks as it whips into my face, and it blows disgusting road dirt into my eyes so I'm constantly tearing up and squinting. GAH! I managed to avoid windy days all through the winter, so it's kind of disappointing that I'm battling it now that's it's spring and so lovely outside . . . aside from the wind, that is. Alas!

Well, maybe it's slowing me down, but biking into the wind is also making me fitter! (yay, I found a silver lining!!) As this handy website tells me, for every 5 mph of headwind a cyclist faces, it's equivalent to ~1% uphill grade. That means that I was riding something equivalent to a 4.4% uphill grade my entire ride home, and I guess it would have been higher than that on the parts of the ride that were actually uphill! Good thing my route is mostly flat, or I might've been in trouble! Regardless, I'm looking forward to the upcoming four-day weekend to rest my weary thighs.

On another note, I was reminded again about the great things about biking this morning. I had a really friendly chat with a fellow cyclist who pulled up beside me at a red light (I asked him for advice about whether it's too early to take off my studded tires - he said I'd be fine if I switched them out now). I exchanged "good morning"s with a couple of cyclists that I passed, and was cordially thanked by a pedestrian trying to cross the street for whom I stopped to let pass (some other cars didn't, so she was forced to wait at the side of the road until I stopped for her and THEN other cars followed suit). Biking is very social in that regard. Moreso than driving by myself (obviously!), and moreso than taking public transit, where in my experience the only people who talk to me are people asking for change at the bus stop. Biking is a whole lot more pleasant mode of transportation because of it.

Week 31 - Day Two: Windy, Part I

TIME THERE: 25 min. (woot woot!)
TIME BACK: ?? (GAH! forgot to check again!)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 2C (-2C with windchill), 15 km/hr wind there; partly cloudy, 11C, 28 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, undershirt, sweatshirt, running gloves (traded out my yoga pants for my work pants on the way home to expedite being ready to go out for dinner right away)
NOTES:

I would not recommend biking into 28 km/hr headwind. I would not recommend biking into 28 km/hr headwind when running late. I would not recommend biking into 28 km/hr headwind when running late for meeting up with your coworkers for a 5:00 pm dinner reservation while wearing thigh-hugging work pants. It's stressful, and exhausting, and generally not very pleasant - especially showing up to dinner caked in dry sweat and road dust and bike grease on my pants. Well, I guess with my makeup and nice clothes still on from work, nobody really noticed - score a win for Johnson!

Tonight's saving grace was that my daughter was an absolute delight at dinner. She was adorable and sweet and didn't tantrum once at the restaurant. She asked for things politely, played peek-a-boo with my co-workers, and ate a lot of really good food (we shared a fabulous salmon teriyaki at Japanese Village - yum!). She didn't even make too huge a mess, considering I didn't bring a bib or baby wipes!! And it thrills me to no end to hear people commenting throughout the meal about how adorable, well behaved, and funny she is. Good on you, Sophia . . . you really made my day today.

Oh yeah, and the food was AWESOME!! And by the time I got there - 20 minutes late, filthy from the bike ride, physically exhausted and HUNGRY as a mo-fo - I felt like I had really earned my dinner. And, I daresay, eating good food in that kind of context is the definition of satisfying.

Week 31 - Day One: I'm BAAAAAAACK!

BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: ?? (forgot to check the time on the way home!)
WEATHER: clear, 3C, 7 km/hr wind there; clear, 15C, 11 km/hr wind back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, work shirt, running gloves, waterproof shell there; yoga pants, work shirt, sweatshirt on the way home
NOTES:

It's been three weeks since the last time I was on my bike. And let me tell you, baby - it's great to be back!

Sure, I'm feeling pretty tired right now at the end of the day, and my lungs burned from panting so hard in dry air (I'm pretty sure I tasted lung-blood in my mouth by the time I got to work this morning), and my under-bits feel like they've been punched up but good (thank you, ass-ravaging seat!). Nevertheless, I'm feeling great! With no snow or ice on the ground, I was able to take the old residential route again, and I could take turns without slowing to a crawl, and I even pedaled downhill (instead of riding my brakes and wincing with fear of an imminent fall)! It was great!

Today was the first day in - well - forever (except for one brief premature effort when there was still snow and ice all over the road) that I biked my daughter to daycare in the bike trailer. I managed to get the helmet on her without a fight, both there and back, which was quite the triumph. Of course, on the way home she kept saying "All done, all done . . . mama! Mama, all done!", as though I would hop off the bike and let her walk the rest of the way. I managed to pedal quickly and get us home before she started screaming about wanting out. So all in all, it was a success! If only the trailer wasn't so damn cumbersome to get in and out of the front door. It's an epic battle every time! And the weatherstripping around the door is completely chewed up now. BAH! But I digress . . .

Yes, I'm glad to be back on the bike indeed. It's been FAR too long.