#BOOTLIFE??

Date: June 2, 2016

Author: astottler

Hey guys! It’s finals week and I’m working on a take home final/about to go to bed. I wanted to check in really quickly for some big news…

Look at that foot! What do you notice? 2 shoes! AHHHHH!

I went in for my 4 week check up x-ray, and ended up unexpectedly getting the boot off! I thought I had 2-4 more weeks. This is crazy exciting, and i won’t be graduating in a boot! For now, I have a brace for added support, and I’m relearning to walk, which is sort of hard, because it’s hard to trust it. Next up is Physical Therapy. In terms of what I can do, workouts are going to look the same. I’m not adding anything else in until I see the PT and get advice about that. I’m in no hurry to get back to running!

And since #fitnessblog, my workout today was Crossfit. We did 2 1k row tests, so I did 2 assault bike tests, 5 minutes for the first and 50 calories for the second. In the middle, we did handstand practice. I just used a box. I was struck by how strong my shoulder felt though. Honestly I wondered if my shoulder would ever be capable of handstands…

Since I’m here, do you guys want to see some food? Let’s see some food.

My new favorite yogurt bowl combo: plain Greek yogurt, KIND raspberry chia granola, blueberries, and mango on the side.

Since its the last week, we’ve been totally spoiled with meals. This is mushroom risotto, with veggies, brie, and crackers on the side.

Portabello mushroom sliders with roasted sweet potatoes and french fries.

Cioppino. I didn’t actually think I’d like this, but I really appreciated how it was served. I’m not a huge seafood person, but this was build your own. I selected the vegan base, and topped it mainly with veggies, and then some crab/lobster. Salad on the side. And that little cup up top? Cheesecake with homemade caramel. YUM. Definitely had a leftover of that at lunch today.

More yogurt, this time with an apricot.

AVOCADO SMASH. We were sent a survey to request meals, and my roommate and I both put this. Mashed avocado with seasonings (I think this was lime and cumin), tomato, and a poached egg. Delicious.

Another food suggestion: mashed avocado+crab+tortilla chip. That was my snack, and it was delicious. We had leftovers from those meals in the fridge, and that definitely ruined my appetite for dinner! I don’t know what it is, but when I’m around the house/not in class it’s hard for me not to snack all day. That and when I’m hardcore studying for long periods of time.

Anyways. Boot is off. Graduation is in 1.5 weeks. Ahhhhh. Far too much time has been spent having meaningful conversations and not studying, but honestly, so worth it.

Boot Takes on Murph (Memorial Day Recap)

Date: June 1, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hello! Checking back in for a Memorial Day recap.

Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor those who have served. Thank you.

When we left off, I was getting ready for my freshman dorm reunion on Saturday evening.

I had a lot of fun at the reunion, but left with sort of strange feelings.

Dinner was delicious. I was trying to be careful with my stomach so I didn’t eat a lot, but would totally go back to the catering restaurant at a later date.

Make your own tacos! Mine with chicken and veggie filling.

It was great catching up with people. I actually saw the end of the Warriors game with a table of guys who were streaming it. I did find myself mostly talking to the people I’m still in touch with though.I guess there’s a reason we’ve stayed in touch! I actually think I’m still pretty close to all my good friends from freshman year.

freshman reunion

I left a bit early to hang out with another friend, and I feel like I missed out on a bit of fun, as everyone migrated back to visit our freshman dorm. I think it’s probably for the best because walking clear across campus in a boot wouldn’t have been a good idea, but I missed hanged out with those people.

After spending the evening being careful with my stomach, I actually had a really, really bad flare Saturday night after I got back. Our chef made GF chocolate cake, and my friend made me GFG snickerdoodle cupcakes, and I just had too much, and the fat in them sent me into a bad flare. On the one hand, I do feel like my stomach has healed a ton. But this is a reminder I have to be careful. Now, pretty much every flare or mini flare I have, there’s a clear cause, and in this case it was the fat in the cake/frosting. I had a pretty rough night. I had to stay up far later than planned because I was too nauseated to get in bed. Finally after a second dose of stomach meds, I started feeling better. Luckily, I woke up feeling much better, although tired.

Sunday morning, I went to another farmer’s market with a couple of friends. I’ve always heard that there were kittens there, but I never actually saw them until this week. How adorable!

I got a large quantity of fruit (after 2 days of farmer’s markets, I’m totally stocked), and my friends and I stopped at one of the stands for lunch. It was a sandwich place, but you could get it as a “paleo plate” over lettuce with an egg, instead of bread, so that’s what I did! I got the avocado, which was mashed avocado and fresh mozzarella. SUPER delicious.

After the farmer’s market, I stopped at a sorority alumnae brunch to celebrate my chapter’s birthday. We had bagels and died tea, and it was nice to catch up with those who have graduated, and hear about life in the real world.

Monday, I went home to clean out my closet. Both my home Crossfit and school Crossfit were doing Murph, which is one of my favorite Crossfit workouts. I had a tough decision as to which gym I should do it at, and ultimately decided to do it at home. I was happy with that choice; it feels like summer now, it was great to see everyone, and now I’m a bit more excited for summer (aka post-grad).

Since I have a stress fracture in my foot, I had to modify. I figured I could do push ups and pull ups, so I was at least half way there! For those of your unfamiliar with Murph, it is a hero WOD typically done every memorial day. It is:

1 mile run

100 pull ups

200 push ups

300 squats

1 mile run

The pull ups, push ups, and squats can be broken up however you want, but most people do 5-10-15.

I knew I would have to sub the assault bike for the runs, but wan’t sure about the squats. I can do deadlifts because the weight is entirely on my heels, but I’ve stayed away from squats. I decided to see how it felt. If I felt like it was at all unsafe for my foot, I planned to switch to sit ups in place of squats. As it turned out, the squats were fine, I just couldn’t rush them.

This was my fourth time doing Murph. (Just for fun, here, here, and here.)

So how did it go? Let’s just start by remembering that I haven’t done a single squat in 4 weeks. Moving on.

I did 3 miles on the bike for the mile run, which took about 9 minutes. I used a band for the pull ups and did strict, but it actually felt really easy, so about halfway through (round 10 of 20) I started doing kipping no-band pull ups for 3-5 of my sets of 5. I honestly probably could/should have ditched the band for the whole workout and just done kipping pull ups the whole way, but it really surprised me that I felt as good as I did. I’ve definitely gotten stronger since hurting my foot: before, I could only string together 3 kips, and now I can do 5, even in round 20! The push ups I scaled on my knees, and they actually felt much easier than expected as well. Next year, I hope to do the workout unscaled!

For the squats, they felt hdd but less awful than they could have been.

I finished Murph in about 51:00. One of my slower times, but I have no problem with that! I was so happy I was able to do what I did. Murph is one of my favorites, as I mentioned, and was really the only exercise thing I was sad about missing out on with my foot.

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Boot takes on Murph.

Afterwards, I went home, ready for some PROTEIN. We had grilled chicken and peach salad with goat cheese, plus some baked Lays on the side while watching the Giant’s game.

After cleaning myself up, I made a recipe I’ve had bookmarked for a while, Blueberry Zucchini bread.

It came out beautifully, and was delicious! Although its 1/2c of sugar is a little higher than I’m used to, so I think it would still be great with 1/3 of a cup!

My main task/reason for going home was to clean out my closet before I dump a whole bunch of stuff from school there. I’m entering a new stage of my life, so it’s out with the old! I think I made pretty decent progress. Someone decided to be oh so helpful. In denial that she is not a lap dog.

A few nights again, my friends and I had a little Pinterest party, and I learned they had entire boards devoted to soup. Um, YES. Soup was courtesy of my friend Kate’s pin. Sweet potato, kale, and corn chowder. Served with GF avocado toast.

I love that despite having soup more or less every week, I’m still finding new and different recipes!

I watched about an hour of the Warriors game, before rushing back to campus for my last sorority initiation.

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And now it’s back to reality. Sort of. I only have classes Tuesday and Wednesday this week before finals start Friday, and only have 1 class Tuesdays. Summer is so close! Not sure how I feel about impending graduation though….

Also, if you’re wondering whether or not you should do 300 squats after not doing them in a month, the answer is a solid no. I’m in a world of pain! Last night (Monday), I wasn’t feeling too bad, but throughout Tuesday I’m growing progressively more and more immobile. My quads are just LIT UP right now. Stairs are the mortal enemy. Both up and down. Between that and the boot, it’s rough walking! My arms/shoulders actually aren’t crazy sore, though the soreness is starting to come in a little stronger. Nothing compared to legs though. I basically don’t want to move at all. For a while.

(Want to see the aftermath of past memorial day Murphs? Here and here.)

Have you ever done Murph? What’s the hardest part for you?

#Transformation Tuesday: Ups and Downs

Date: May 31, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Here we are, back for another edition of #TransformationTuesday.

#TTedit

When we left off, I was leaving for a summer in DC. DC was wonderful. We all know how I fell in love with the city. I also fell in love with the fitness community. I joined a running group, found a great Crossfit box, had a blast with November Project, and trained for another half marathon. (I’m currently having major DC nostalgia so finding pictures from this is bringing it all back!)

I cooked for myself, and was able to make healthier meals. Between that and running, I dropped about 10 lbs.

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TTDCFOOD

I returned from DC sad to go, but feeling happy and fitter.

So if you’re keeping track, we’re probably +15ish from entering college, but pretty fit.

That fall, I felt like I was finally finding balance. It was easier for me to stay sane and eat healthy foods, but I still had the desire to go try and get back to “the project” and cut out sugar/processed foods. When I did that, I felt great, but at the same time, I felt like I was always on the edge of failing and going back to eating lots of junk food.

During the holidays, I gained a few pounds, like one does. It didn’t completely tear me up, but I felt like I was slowing down in my workouts. I just assumed the higher weight was where I would always be.

At the same time, I still didn’t feel like myself.

Come January, I briefly started to get healthier. I was busy with classes I enjoyed, and had a decent social life along with that, so food was less of a focus and it got easier to eat healthier. At the same time, I also got really sick. This was the start of a long journey with what I now know to be gastroparesis, but also probably some type of ulcer type of deal. I felt dizzy and nauseated a lot of the time. I didn’t understand it, and felt helpless because I felt like it was linked to what I was eating but I didn’t know how to control it.

Between eating healthier before being sick and being sick, I lost the weight I had gained over the holidays and despite feeling sick all the time, I did feel better with my body.

About halfway through spring quarter, s*** sort of hit the fan. My body was going crazy with the illness, I had such a feeling of helplessness, and I had some additional life stressors. Suddenly, my eating was out of control. I would eat rice cake after rice cake; I couldn’t stop from overeating at the dining hall; I ate large amounts of homemade granola bars (oats+earth balance+maple syrup or brown rice syrup. It’s actually crazy delicious, FYI).

I managed to gain 10 lbs in 4 weeks, putting gem at my all time heaviest.

(But how adorable is baby Chloe???)

(Note that this is entirely an excuse for baby Chloe.)

I was so desperate, I even met with a nutritionist for some guidance. I actually didn’t stick with her advice for more than a few weeks, but in retrospect her advice was probably the worst thing for my then-undiagnosed stomach condition, which she couldn’t have known.

The summer was a bit of a grind with my job. I loved it, but it was a difficult adjustment getting used to working irregular hours and long days. I gained a few more pounds, putting me at my highest weight ever, and well into an overweight BMI.

Over the course of 3 years, I was now 30 pounds heavier than when I entered college. That summer, my eating wasn’t as crazy out of control as the last month of spring, but I was probably chronically overeating, enough to put on a few pounds.

Right before IDEAWorld in July, things started to shift. I started eating a little healthier, and had a blast at IDEA. Plus 3 workouts a day didn’t hurt! I felt like myself again at that conference. The exercise, the passion for fitness. By the end of the summer, I had lost about 5 of those pounds.

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And we’ll leave off there. Next week, the big changes will come, starting with a trip to Hawaii, and taking us through to today.

Feels Like Summer

Date: May 28, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

After a particularly cold and wet spring, with temperatures climbing to the 80s, it feels like summer!

And if we’re being honest…it feels really hard to keep pushing through with classes!

On Wednesday, we had a Senior Toast. It was a chance to see our class and drop something in the time capsule, which will buried under our class plaque in the quad and opened in 100 years. My contribution was my Giants ticket from Monday night!

At the toast, there was a chocolate fountain+liquid nitrogen to dip things in! I had a banana covered in chocolate and then frozen in liquid nitrogen.

^My God, this is a thing??

Dinner that night was also fabulous. Shrimp risotto, garlic bread (GF), and tomato and cream cheese jam.

I actually had a little bit of a rough time after that chocolate. I felt it in my heart (I’m crazy caffeine sensitive), and couldn’t fall asleep for a while.

This week was rough on my stomach, with some high fat items and the chocolate. I’ve just been craving fruits and veggies to get that out of my system!

Also: still cat sitting! Boot goings cat sitting?

Thursday evening I went to a spin class, and on the drive back I had a really strong feeling that something bad was going to happen. I was really concerned, until I realized my heart was racing from the chocolate. Chocolate sometimes gives me really bad anxiety the next day (presumably from the caffeine). I also now understand the heart attack symptom that is “an overwhelming sense of doom.”

Thursday night, the boot took on the last senior night of the year! It was crazy crowded, but I still enjoyed seeing everyone!

Friday, after class, I was looking forward to a low-key evening.

I started my morning with some Blogilates videos: I think I did Extreme Abs, and then an oblique focused one? I took the workout to a local park/grassy spot and got drenched on the dewy grass. Luckily, Friday was the first time the weather was really starting to warm up, so I decided to just embrace it!

Dinner was pretty delicious. It was steak, but since that’s not my thing I grabbed some leftover teriyaki salmon from the fridge. Our chef seriously makes the best salmon! He also made a giant GF chocolate cake, which was crazy rich or chocolately, so I was able to enjoy it without the sense of impending doom! The frosting was really light, almost whipped.

I spent the night watching my friend’s dance performance, and then having a very long conversation about alternative medicine with my roommate. As a scientist, I have to give it the side-eye, but I am trying to keep an open mind, because there still are a lot of things we don’t know or understand yet. I told her the only reason I was able to buy some of the things we were talking about is that our universe is 70% dark energy, and we have no clue what that is, so it’s theoretically possible that plays a role. #biomajor

I actually went to bed far later than planned, but was up for a morning spin class. It was nice to get my sweat on to start the day. Even nicer? I stopped by the farmer’s market on the way back and picked on lots of fresh summer produce! I’m ready to embrace it with open arms.

Lunch after spin was a nectarine+a tortilla pizza with shrimp, salad, and half a slice of cake.

The main event of the day was the last Stanford baseball game of the season! I’ve really enjoyed going to games this year, and I’m sad to see the season ending.

It was a bit of a scorcher. I’m glad I decided to wear a hat! There was no shade or breeze for most of the game, and I just sat there roasting and sweating.

As for the game, it was 0-0 until the 6th or 7th, and they drew the first blood was a 1-0 lead. We took the lead in the 7th, with back to back home runs, and held on to win 3-1.

My gosh, I love baseball.

After the game, I wasn’t ready to shower for an event tonight because I didn’t want start sweating once I was clean, so my roommate and I went out for a little drive, with the top down. It was the perfect day for it! We blasted music and enjoyed the scenery. One of my favorite things to listen to is a set of medleys by Anthem Lights. They have best of 2015, 2012, etc. The best of 2013 brings back all the freshman year feels. Jeez!

And with that, I’m actually off to a freshman dorm reunion tonight! Crazy how fast these 4 years have passed.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Just a Normal Blog Post+Boot Goes to the Giants Game

Date: May 25, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hello! I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve done a normal day-to-day blog post, not a weekend recap, #transformationtuesday, or WIAW.

I currently have an hour before I need to leave for spin. I was SO tired today (progressive lack of sleep), so I left my last class halfway through to take a nap (the lecture is recorded so I just have to make that up) before teaching spin. When I got back, both my roommates were napping as well. I was woken up 2x in 20 minutes by my roommate’s alarm before I gave up. I needed that sleep! I left class early for that sleep! Argh. I hate snooze. I’m always up before my roommates, but I know one of them is a big snoozer. If I was still asleep, that would drive me crazy, to be woken up multiple times every morning by someone else’s alarm!

Ok. Rant over.

Topics of today’s post: Boot Goes to the Giant’s Game, today’s happenings, make-up food pictures.

Monday night, I went to the Giant’s game with my mom!

I absolutely love SF. The Giants stadium has the best food. A few years ago, they opened up a garden area in centerfield, complete with avocado trees. Here’s a shot with the boot+avocado tree:

Plus, they have tons of gourmet and veggie filled options, including GF flatbread.

I got the cauliflower flatbread (insanely delicious. Truffle=life.) And my mom and I split a salad.

I thought a ballgame would be the biggest boot challenge thus far, but it was totally fine. I took the elevator for the biggest set of stairs, and apparently the boot moves well on really hard cement ground.

Most importantly, my mom and I shared a Ghiradelli hot fudge sundae.

This is everything.

The game was a pitcher’s duel. Our pitcher pitched 9 shutout innings, and we won with a walk-off error/bloop/it wasn’t pretty with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. We actually left an inning early to avoid the crowds leaving, so we missed it. Amazing night though!

Back to today. Since I haven’t done a lot of day to day blogging, my foot friendly workouts have also been left off the blog.

Wednesdays are my gym workout days. Enjoy my totally technical descriptions of exercises and machines. Today, I did seated cable rows (4 sets of 10 at 70-85#) alternated with seated dumbbell presses, using 25# dumbbells.

Then, I did some leg machines. One that I really like is the one where you’re sitting down and you press your legs in. I did 5ish sets of that around 170#, alternated with some of the machine that looks similar but you press your legs apart.

Then I did a few BOSU ab moves. Crunches on the BOSU, and then side crunches.

It’s amazing how I’ve managed to actually get stronger and am regularly sore with this injury. My core has gotten pretty strong as well. Yesterday afternoon, I did a couple of Blogilates videos—Abs on Fire and Brutal Booty. I’m sore from that second one—definitely not a normal movement for me!

Post workout breakfast was 2% plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and raspberry chia KIND granola, plus a mango.

Sadly, my stomach didn’t appreciate the fat content of the crab cakes last night and I dealt with a mini flare afterwards. I woke up feeling fine but not in the mood for fats!

Also, I’ve been craving more plants lately. I’m not sure if it’s the warmer weather, but fruits and veggies have been far more appealing than dairy or meat as of late, so I’m rolling with it!

I had to shift my schedule 30 minutes earlier today to take care of my sister’s sweet cat while she’s out of town. He’s on meds (he’s been dealing with upper respiratory stuff since she adopted him months ago), so I have to go over 2x a day.

I know, we’re so cute.

I ran to my morning class after that. Then lunch! Continuing the plant based trend. We had a lot of leftover salad from Monday night, and it held up really well! I had that with some leftover roasted sweet potatoes from last night’s dinner.

This afternoon also marked the grand finale of my squirrel project! I presented my project in class today. I still have to do a final research paper on it, but this was the bulk of the preparation!

After another hour of class, here we are! Now that we’ve gotten that all squared away, here are some catch up meals.

BBQ chicken, baked potato, roasted corn, green beans. I really like baked potatoes, but I kept missing the dinners where we would have them!

Breakfast: fruit+yogurt with sunbutter and reduced sugar blueberry jam from Trader Joe’s. I’m a big fan of it!

Another mostly plant based meal from last week. Sweet potatoes, fruit, salad, and some rice and beans.

I’m not a huge pasta person, so sometimes if I can swing it, I throw my pasta sauce+cheese over lettuce. Plus a GF brownie in the back there!

Lunch of sweet potatoes and roasted veggies. I’m pretty sure I had something else with this. Seeing a theme here?

And here we are, all caught up! I have a bit of a long night ahead of me. After teaching spin, I have to sprint back, eat, and clean myself up to be presentable (all in 30 minutes) for a senior toast. My school also does a time capsule every year, which get’s buried under a plaque for our class in the quad, so that’s happening tonight as well!

Are you a snooze person?