Some bits...
I have a free hour before I need to pretty up for work so I thought I would throw some thoughts out there.
I recently purchased two pairs of board shorts for practice, and one for competition, and I need to give you all short chronicle of the hilarity that ensues when shopping for women's apparel.
I walked into Hanger 94 in La Mesa (here in SD County), which is an outdoor/ski/surf/etc warehouse store. The perfect place to find WOMEN'S apparel right?
I walked over to their women's department. I kid you not, they had , FIVE, five, pairs of board shorts. Because...? why? why only five? And one pair in my size. Despite the fact I am down to a lean machine 135-138, the size 8 board shorts were as usual, tooooo tight in the hips and butt, and literally 3-4 inches too big in the waist. To add insult to injury, even if they fit perefctly, these shorts were teeeeny tiny short, like I would be laughed off the mat teeny tiny. The whole experience was so annoying and I thought, okay I know I have a big Mexican butt (Thank you, mom's side of the family), but come on! These shorts were cut for a 12 year old boy! I would pay a hefty ransom to learn the names of the pattern designers that think a woman's body is shaped like a square.
So off I went to the men's department expecting my frustation to deepen into a vast gully. I chose several pairs between 28 and 30, and several different brands, Volcom, Quicksilver, and Reef, I think. Low and behold, the men's board shorts not only fit better than the women's, they fit really well! The Volcom shorts came in a resounding first place with a small waist, a flattering, comfortable, and roomy cut in the hips. I also purchased a pair of Quicksilver shorts for competing, which also had the same awesome cut.
I was astounded. These men's shorts fit my extremely womanly woman's body like a glove. They were cut with a waist, hips, and cut well, so I did not look like a balloon. I left the store shaking my head. Why are the men's shorts cut for a woman, and the women's shorts cut for a boy? What the heck??
As for diet, I touched on the adventures in cutting a couple of posts ago. Here are some eating guidelines that worked well:
1. Portion. I cannot stress this enough. Keep your measuring spoons and cups on your kitchen counter and use them. If you take your lunch to work, invest in sturdy, microwavable containers in small sizes, so you can portion your food ahead of time. Divide your meals into portions that will fit into a 2 cup container.
2. Processed foods, just say NO. This requires some effort if you have a busy life and are used to pre-packaged food, but the preservatives, excessive salt, and sugar in pre-made food is the scale's enemy. Which brings me to the next item up for bids...
3. Be creative. Bake a sweet potatoe and mash it in a food processor with half of one avocado. Add a little bit of ground beef, tuna, chicken, or scrambled egg scoop the mixture into Romaine or Kale leaves. (This is actually enough for two meals). Chop 10 stalks of celery with one can of tuna, add one tablespoon of Olive oil and sprinkle it with "Spike" or any low sodium sprinkles. One of the weirder things I do with food is add chopped broccoli to just about anything. I hate broccoli, but it's so healthy. Sometimes I will make a meat spaghetti sauce, and substitute broccoli for one half of the meat portion.
4. Wheat and Sugar, just say NO. Or at least be vigilant about your intake. I was running around drinking coconut water and dumping EmergenC packets into my water without a care, and it wasn't until I put the ixnay on these items that I was able to cut those last few pounds. Some folks can eat wheat like a fiend and be perfectly fine (like my pasta inhaling husband), but wheat treats my body like a darn beach vacation, content to sit around and hold onto to weight and water for eternity.
Aaaand that wraps it up for now, gotta jet to work!
Dag
I recently purchased two pairs of board shorts for practice, and one for competition, and I need to give you all short chronicle of the hilarity that ensues when shopping for women's apparel.
I walked into Hanger 94 in La Mesa (here in SD County), which is an outdoor/ski/surf/etc warehouse store. The perfect place to find WOMEN'S apparel right?
I walked over to their women's department. I kid you not, they had , FIVE, five, pairs of board shorts. Because...? why? why only five? And one pair in my size. Despite the fact I am down to a lean machine 135-138, the size 8 board shorts were as usual, tooooo tight in the hips and butt, and literally 3-4 inches too big in the waist. To add insult to injury, even if they fit perefctly, these shorts were teeeeny tiny short, like I would be laughed off the mat teeny tiny. The whole experience was so annoying and I thought, okay I know I have a big Mexican butt (Thank you, mom's side of the family), but come on! These shorts were cut for a 12 year old boy! I would pay a hefty ransom to learn the names of the pattern designers that think a woman's body is shaped like a square.
So off I went to the men's department expecting my frustation to deepen into a vast gully. I chose several pairs between 28 and 30, and several different brands, Volcom, Quicksilver, and Reef, I think. Low and behold, the men's board shorts not only fit better than the women's, they fit really well! The Volcom shorts came in a resounding first place with a small waist, a flattering, comfortable, and roomy cut in the hips. I also purchased a pair of Quicksilver shorts for competing, which also had the same awesome cut.
I was astounded. These men's shorts fit my extremely womanly woman's body like a glove. They were cut with a waist, hips, and cut well, so I did not look like a balloon. I left the store shaking my head. Why are the men's shorts cut for a woman, and the women's shorts cut for a boy? What the heck??
As for diet, I touched on the adventures in cutting a couple of posts ago. Here are some eating guidelines that worked well:
1. Portion. I cannot stress this enough. Keep your measuring spoons and cups on your kitchen counter and use them. If you take your lunch to work, invest in sturdy, microwavable containers in small sizes, so you can portion your food ahead of time. Divide your meals into portions that will fit into a 2 cup container.
2. Processed foods, just say NO. This requires some effort if you have a busy life and are used to pre-packaged food, but the preservatives, excessive salt, and sugar in pre-made food is the scale's enemy. Which brings me to the next item up for bids...
3. Be creative. Bake a sweet potatoe and mash it in a food processor with half of one avocado. Add a little bit of ground beef, tuna, chicken, or scrambled egg scoop the mixture into Romaine or Kale leaves. (This is actually enough for two meals). Chop 10 stalks of celery with one can of tuna, add one tablespoon of Olive oil and sprinkle it with "Spike" or any low sodium sprinkles. One of the weirder things I do with food is add chopped broccoli to just about anything. I hate broccoli, but it's so healthy. Sometimes I will make a meat spaghetti sauce, and substitute broccoli for one half of the meat portion.
4. Wheat and Sugar, just say NO. Or at least be vigilant about your intake. I was running around drinking coconut water and dumping EmergenC packets into my water without a care, and it wasn't until I put the ixnay on these items that I was able to cut those last few pounds. Some folks can eat wheat like a fiend and be perfectly fine (like my pasta inhaling husband), but wheat treats my body like a darn beach vacation, content to sit around and hold onto to weight and water for eternity.
Aaaand that wraps it up for now, gotta jet to work!
Dag
I find the same thing-- any extra carbs (sugar or starch) and my body says "PARTAY!" and then swells like a blob forever.
ReplyDelete:) :)
I' d stop eating broccoli or anything bitter. Bitter is nature's way of telling us not to eat it. There are dome not so nice anti-nutrients in broccoli.
ReplyDeleteSo, know you have a reason to not to it it.
;-)
Josh
PS. What brand of Coconut Water most add suger eather corn or cain, and taste syrupy to me.
ReplyDeleteAmy & Brian doesn't, but still has a slightly sweet taste.
Just wondering?
Josh
@Josh- Yeah, I just found the Amy and Brian brand at Sprouts, and I will probably stick to that for a pre/post work out beverage. I weighed in the day of the tournament 4 pounds under so I may overkilled my efforts a bit. During the crucial moments of the cutting phase, the coconut water was a great in between meals source of energy, the flavor satisfies and that tiny bit of natural sugar kept the light-headed spells at bay.
ReplyDeleteWhile searching for new Thanksgiving recipes I found several new sweet potato recipes to try. I'm going to have to add yours to the list.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the shorts, I have two pair of women's cut shorts that I absolutely hate. I've been told that the men's are much better for women. I guess in some ways the mma/bjj world still needs to catch up in women's products. We're making strides though.
One of the major reasons I really dislike fashion. For the last few years (decades?) it's been telling women they should aspire to look like teenage boys, rather than like women. That's not healthy, given that women are in fact women, not teenage boys.
ReplyDelete