I just got back from the orthopedist. He gave me a cortisone injection which I am very happy about since it will mean no main for a few weeks. He said that today it won’t hurt, but tomorrow through Sunday my shoulder will hurt a great deal. By Monday, I should be pain free for awhile!

My only concern was that I have a 60 minute PT session later to evaluate my shoulder. Can she evaluate it properly if I can’t tell her when it hurts?? I spoke to her and it turns out I can still go to my appointment.

The orthopedist (and the PT) was concerned that there is a problem with my neck. As I’ve mentioned, my shoulder pain radiates down my arm. The doctor said that my shoulder injury pain shouldn’t go past my elbows. The fact that I feel it down my entire arm could indicate a neck injury. Sometimes my fingers feel weak and tingly when I have the arm pain. Sometimes my arm hurts when my shoulder doesn’t. Also of concern is the fact that when I carry a heavy bag on my right shoulder, I feel intense pain in my LEFT shoulder from it. That is another sign of neck injury.

The doctor told me to ask PT to teach me some neck exercises for home along with shoulder exercises. I am going back to my orthopedist in a month. If I am still in pain then, he wants me to go for an MRI of my neck.

HOW DO I GET ALL THESE INJURIES??? The knee I understand. It makes sense. The shoulder makes NO sense — what I have is actually called Weightlifter’s Shoulder. People who bench press are the ones who get it. I have never bench pressed in my life! The doctor said that my shoulder is becoming arthritic. WTF! And my neck? Where did THAT come from? Well, that one might not even be the case, we will see. Sigh.

In happier news, that little puppy (and by little puppy I mean 3 years old) Santana has been the most adorable girl ever the last few days.

Here she is looking directly into the camera and winking. I think she is onto us. The second photo is her looking curious.

And here she is yawning and being smushy.

And here is that adorable baby sticking out her tongue at us and another of her in a stretchy sleep.

And lastly, here is one of Santana licking her foot and one of her peeking out with an open eye.

Yes, I need my own puppy so I can stop being obsessed with my Mallory’s! We were discussing names for my future pup. The boy and I think man names are really funny for adorable little puppies so we have been brainstorming names (even though he doesn’t want a dog at all!) After discussing it with Mallory, we decided that Carlos would be a perfect name for our pup (who will be a girl, by the way). Then our doggies can be Carlos & Santana! And cousins! How funny would that be, yelling CARLOS and a tinny little girl pup running to us!

I did not plan to write a post about this at all.

Anyway. I am excited for the three day weekend! The boy lives on the Hudson so we are excited to watch the fireworks right there since this is the first and only year they will ever be there. We will also be making a trip to his family, shopping for a TV stand, eating and RELAXING. What are you doing for the 4th of July?

Popchips New Flavor Reviews
The amazing people at popchips were nice enough to send me their two new flavors to try: Sour Cream & Onion and Cheddar.

I was really looking forward to Sour Cream & Onion since that is my favorite potato chip flavor. I have to say, I was a little disappointed. They didn’t taste much different from the Original flavor. I would have preferred a much stronger flavor to it. They were still delicious, don’t get me wrong; they just weren’t what I had hoped for. I would buy them again, but I would buy the Barbecue and Parmesan & Garlic first. If you are craving sour cream & onion but don’t want bad breath, then these are the chips for you since they simply aren’t that strong.

I can’t stand most cheddar cheese flavored snacks — Goldfish, Cheez-Its, all blech to me! But since I can’t stand most barbecue flavored chips and I LOVED popchips barbecue flavor, I sort of expected this to be the same situation. It wasn’t. One bite of Cheddar popchip and I closed up the bag (with my popchips bag clip) and brought it home to the boy. He likes them. He likes cheese flavored treats.

I do think that for people who like cheddar snacks, they will really enjoy the cheddar popchips! The flavor was VERY strong (which is why I didn’t like it) and people who enjoy that flavor should enjoy these popchips. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

And I am excited to say that popchips will be coming out with a spicy flavor soon! As a member of their tasting panel, I can tell you that I expect GOOD THINGS from this one! I won’t give anything more away, but I am looking forward to when this comes out!

Just take Core Fusion regularly. Seriously. It is amazing how difficult it is, how quick it goes by, how much pain you are in during it, how great you feel after. As you might remember, I used to spin between 3 and 5 days a week for months. I was obviously burning lots of calories. Then when I stopped spinning because of a knee injury, I also stopped constant, high intensity cardio. I tried to be as active as I could, but I didn’t work out even 2/3 as much.

I don’t weight any more now than I did when I was spinning every day. In fact, I weigh a little less.

I think the knee injury was a blessing in disguise (assuming it will get better) because it forced me to stop. It forced me to stop running out of work to make it to 6:30 spin, feeling anxiety that I would be late. It forced me to stop pushing my body to its limit — and I mean limit, as I was constantly at 95% of my maximum heart rate (MHR). It forced me to take a step back and REALIZE. Realize that I don’t need to torture myself to be in good shape. Realize that I don’t need to stop all life so I can spin for 45 minutes. Realize that I don’t need to spin 4 days a week to be skinny.

And let me tell you, I am so much happier now. Do I miss spin? Yes, but I don’t miss doing it every day. I don’t miss choosing what days to make plans based on what instructor teaches that day. I would love to spin once a week — but no more. I quit my gym membership and I feel great about it. I used it primarily for spin, but I can always go as a guest to NYSC. I don’t need to revolve my life around it. I don’t plan to ever “quit” spinning for good. I plan to resume it once a week or less. This way, I can push my body hard and reap the cardiovascular benefits of such intense exercise — but not tire myself out. I used to feel dead tired every day. Now I don’t. I no longer fantasize about down comforters and fluffy pillows when I am at work. It is a good feeling!

And spinning did not change my body. Core Fusion, on the other hand, would — if I did it on a regular basis. Unfortunately I can’t afford to join, although after last night’s class Missy and I were trying to figre out what we could cut out of our budgets to fit it in! That class works every muscle group until it burns, but you can practically feel yourself transforming during it. I hate it while I am there, but I absolutely love it.

Last night Missy and I arrived at the Gansevoort for part 2 of our free 2 days there. We were pleased to see they stocked up the mouthwash cups! Unfortunately, the dressing room was a madhouse and we couldn’t even get near the lockers, much less claim one for ourselves. We changed while crushed between lots of other ladies and brought our umbrellas, shoes and bags into the classroom.

Remember yesterday I said there was no clock?  Well halfway through the class last night I noticed there WAS one! I’m not sure if it was there the day before and I just didn’t notice it, or they hadn’t put it up yet. My guess is the latter.

Class began with pushups and PLANKS. We didn’t do planks the day before so I was hopeful. But alas, there they were, in their evil form. I had a hard time with them because I was so worried about my shoulder but I did my best. Next we did the arm weights and it was much tougher than the day before. My arms were sore and tired from that, in addition to the fact that this instructor was TOUGH. When she counted out seconds, they were not real seconds. They were super long Missississississippi seconds. Ugh.

We did thighs at the barre. It burned. Very very painful and long. It felt like it was never going to end. I was suffering and in agony and then we were finished and I felt like I just became stronger! Oh, it hurt. My legs did shake, but not so bad as to stop me from participating. And then she said 5 more seconds and I pushed myself because I knew relief would be coming soon but WAIT! 5 seconds in her time is like 45 seconds in normal time! WHY DOES SHE COUNT SO SLOWLY? Who knew there are 15 seconds between the counts 1 and 2?? Ahhhhh!

We moved to the floor where we did more pushups, more planks. We worked our tushies while leaning on one knee, our hands forward on the floor, one leg up in the air. Butt exercises are extremely challenging in this position because you have to use your arms as well to support yourself. You also have to balance to stay in the correct position, so it works your core. The instructor was very into holding positions for a long time as well.

We did some core work in the middle of the room and then moved up against the wall. We pushed our hands above us into the barre and held our legs out straight, not touching the floor, and did some moves that way. It was SO hard! My abs were burning. And they burned even more when we went to the middle of the room for more pushups and planks and the C position ab work. It was not easy! I can never hold up my legs in the air while staying in the C.

Which brings me to another point about CF. I always talk in these posts about all the moves I can’t do. Not that it hurts so I don’t do it, but that I physically cannot do because of the limitations of my body. I strongly believe that regular CF classes are the only way I will gain any flexibility and be able to participate in all the exercises some day. (Yoga would too, I know, but it is very hard on my shoulder — and I simply don’t enjoy it!)

In addition to gaining flexibility, I am so sure that CF — along with its counterparts Physique 57, Nalini Method, The Body, etc – would change my body. (Not that I find anything wrong with my body; I’m talking in terms of toning and becoming stronger and more flexible.) I like CF much better than Physique 57. I love Nalini Method but the schedule is bare. The Body is not convenient. Core Fusion has four locations in New York City alone, in addition to one in the Hamptons and locations in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Turks & Caicos. Everything we do in the class, all small, repetitive movements mostly using our own body weight, causes so much burn that I know my muscles are transforming. Like I said, it hurts so much at the time and feels so good after. And it burns calories! I am always sweaty and pushed so hard during the classes. I think if I did this 3 times a week and no typical cardio at all I would see incredible changes. Too bad it costs so much!

After class my legs felt like jelly. I hard a tough time making down the subway stairs! But I felt my usual post-Core Fusion high and was in a great mood the rest of the evening!

Food

I have a Kombucha question. Every time I open a bottle, it explodes. Even if it is sitting on a shelf for hours. I NEVER shake them. But here is my question:

Look at these two bottles. One says shake gently and one says do not shake. What if someone read the one flavor and shook, and then bought a different flavor, assumed they had to shake it, but it was one of the “no shake” flavors?! And why would this instruction change from flavor to flavor? Because of the way the juices absorb? I don’t know! Do you?

And regardless of whether or not you shake, they ALWAYS explode anyway!

And one more question.  A nut butter question. I can never mix the oils in well enough and by the time I get to the last third of the jar, it is a hard, unappetizing, difficult to get out rock. Any advice on mixing it better? I try my best but it is never good enough!

And I am loving my curls! They are looking nothing like the old fro now that I do the Curly Girl method! They are spirally and corkscrew like. Here are some pics from today. (I’m not yet good at distributing product evenly, excuse the lack of definition in the back!)

Last night Missy and I went to the opening of Exhale Spa at the Gansevoort Hotel. They are offering free Core Fusion classes for the first two opening days. I love Core Fusion so I jumped at the opportunity to go twice for free! I never went two days in a row because I am usually so sore after one day, but I couldn’t pass up a free class.

The spa itself looked gorgeous. The locker room, on the other hand, was not up to par. Perhaps I am spoiled from the humongous locker room at the Central Park South location, but there were barely any open lockers. Missy and I got there early and were able to get lockers, but most of the people in our class had to pile their bags in the classroom. I was surprised to see that there was only one shower stall, since there are constant Core Fusion classes and a small gym where you can work out. After navigating through the other changing people, we discovered that there was no toilet paper. And then we discovered that while there was mouthwash, there were no little cups to put it in. I was disgusted that the hairbrushes were sitting in a communal bin and not in one of those sanitary brush things. Not that it will affect me, curly girls can’t brush their hair! (btw I am loving my curls from doing the curly girl routine)

Our class was taught by Fred and Elisabeth, husband and wife and creators of Core Fusion! They are the people in the DVDs if you’ve seen those. They both have incredible tight bodies and are really just the nicest people. Fred asked everyone to introduce themselves to him and he was very understanding when I told him about my injuries and my need to modify some exercises.

I was surprised to find that there were no mirrors in the room! I don’t mind at all, I just didn’t expect it. It was cool because it meant there was no “front” of the room. We faced different directions at different times depending on where Fred was standing. It is funny when I talk about Fred because for years and years I had a dance instructor named Fred. He also started a company, the dance company I used to go to! All these Freds.

At first, Fred sounded just like he does on the video! It was strange! But as class went on he sounded more like a person than like a video voice. The carpeting was really nice. Since it was the first day of the studio, Fred was still trying to figure out where to stand and all. We started with pushups, and luckily girl pushups were allowed. My favorite CF teacher insists on long form pushups only, which I am afraid is bad for my shoulder. After the pushups I expected a long and painful plank, but that did not happen! We picked up our hand weights and did exercises using them for awhile, longer than in most CF classes I have taken. I like that, I always want to do arm weights more.

When we finished the arms and the accompanying stretch, we moved to the barre for thighs. The class was PACKED and we were squished at the bar, but it was totally doable and not bad at all. Thighs burned, as always. Here is my issue with the thigh burning:

- When my thighs are burning during these moves and my legs are shaking uncontrollably, I get frustrated. I can’t get the most out of the move and I have to keep stopping. I feel embarrassed when the instructor sees and more so when I look around the room and no one else is shaking.

- When my thighs are burning and my legs are not shaking, the workout is extremely challenging and painful. I typically don’t stop during it, and I embrace the pain. It sucks, but it goes quickly and before I know it, we are done.

What I have discovered after taking a bunch of CF classes is that it depends on the specific thigh moves the instructor chooses. Because of this, I have stuck to one instructor who I absolutely adore. While her workout is super challenging, I am always able to do the thigh portion without shaking — and feel very sore the next day.

My legs were not shaking in last night’s class. Phew.

But it was very difficult. When we finished thighs and performed the requisite stretch, we moved on to the tush. We began with standing splits, and because I’ve taken this class so much and know my body, I ran to the side of the room where I made sure to notice the yoga blocks were stored. I grabbed two and used those to support myself during this move. I am not at all flexible and cannot touch the floor on my own during this move.

We moved to the barre for a series of challenging butt moves. They were similar to others I have done, but more intense. More reps, more positions, more challenge. After that stretch it was time for abs and core. There was no clock in the room which threw me off at first because I always need to know how much time has passed and how much is left, but I got used to it since the class flew by so quickly.

We sat against the wall under the barre and did the eksusises where we hold out legs in front of us and try to lift them off the floor. I suck at these. I can’t lift at all! Then everyone had to put their legs up and hold them and do stuff in that position, which I can’t do since my legs don’t straighten as a result of having no flexibility. I did what I do in ever CF class — hold a nice long stretch on each leg individually using the band. I always feel left out during this because I am just sitting there while everyone else is doing the exercise. It also upsets me that I am usually the only one in a group of many who can’t do it. Last night there was one guy in the room, and he couldn’t do it either.

Then we moved on to the floor and Fred told us to get into a forearm plank position, but quickly corrected himself and advised us to take our C positions instead. I wasn’t sure what was going on and why there were no planks, but I was NOT complaining! I hate planks and my shoulder hates them too. We then did a long, strenuous ab series in the C position. It was very hard but I am usually able to get through it. Next thing I knew, class was over and we were in savasana. I look forward to this moment in every class. I also look forward to using the band to stretch my leg to each side. It feels so good, it is the best stretch.

I really enjoyed my experience at the new Exhale, especially with Fred and Elisabeth. It was Missy’s first Core Fusion class and she loved it, which made me happy. Tonight we are going back for round 2! We will be sure to get there very early again to secure lockers.

Another thing I like about the new Exhale is their Wellbar selection. These are relatively inexpensive, short mini treatments. The Blemish Banish and Luscious Lip treatments sound great to me, and I would love to try them at some point. I wish my Central Park South location would offer that!

I plan to try my new popchips flavors this week, so stay tuned for my review! I just got the email about the upcoming NYC Restaurant Week, of which I always love to partake! I have been working on a professional website for myself, which has been very exciting. Between work and the website, I’ve been overwhelmingly busy. I basically completed the site though, so I am excited about it. I am just trying to make it through to the long weekend! I want to relax, eat good food (without overdoing it!), enjoy the sun (if it’s out) and attempt another run.

And now I leave you with a picture of Santana passed out on the couch in her dress. It is a very tough life, that of a puppy:

Quick post once again. Some updates:

1. I RAN yesterday! It was a beautiful day out and the boy was going on a run and I wanted to go too. So I went. PT told me knee sleeves won’t do anything for me, so I left them home and that felt nice. After a 20 minute elliptical warm up, we went outside for our run. I forgot to stretch. Oops. Won’t happen again.

I began by jogging down a long ramp to the trail. While the boy turned right onto the trail, I turned left because that section has separate sections for those on feet and those on wheel. I didn’t want to be vigilant about bikers weaving all around me, so I chose the other — and prettier — direction. The same place I went rollerblading. One day soon I will walk through there and take pictures of all the gorgeous architecture — structures, benches, grassy areas, loopy paths, boardwalks. It is beautiful! The boy and I have these unusual shaped benches that are the most comfortable ever. We like to go there to read and get work done.

Back to the run. I ran for 25 minutes! That is a very big deal for me; I tried to be a runner but would be ailed with knee pain, upper side thigh pain and chest pain. I would have even kept going except that we had  to get ready to go to dinner. I was thrilled that throughout the run I was without pain except for in the upper right part of my thigh, where I got pain all the other times I ran as well. I hope stretching will prevent that. In the last 5 minutes of my run, my knee began to hurt very badly. Not my bursitis (inside knee) but my patellafemoral pain syndrome (outside of knee). That was always more of a running/steps pain. The bursitis was a spinning pain that also affected my running. I will discuss with PT on Thursday, although my visit then is for my shoulder.

This was my third time running and it was by far the best. I  felt amazing! It was beautiful out, lots of people were all around, when I passed other runners I felt like they were fooled into thinking I was one of them. At  first my chest was constricted and it was difficult to breathe, but that passed and I just felt great! I ran and ran (I know it wasn’t that long but it felt long to me!) and felt like this is something I would be happy doing all summer long. Wow.

Of course, the pain began and got worse and by the time I was jogging back up the long ramp it was agony. But I made it to the top and stopped and couldn’t stop smiling. When I got home and looked in the mirror I loved seeing the sweat on my neck and forehead. I felt great!

2. My shoulder MRI came back and it is basically the same as the last one. I have Acromioclavicular (AC)Osteolysis. My AC joint capsule is enlarged and inflamed and filled with fluid. There is also degenerative and cystic change lining the articular surface of the joint, whatever that means. And there is bone marrow edema. This MRI, like my last shoulder one 6 months ago, says that I likely got it from trauma from repetitive weight lifting. Well, not only have I not engaged in any repetitive weight lifting, I haven’t ever actually done ANY weight lifting at all. So I have NO idea how I got this. I don’t have tendonitis as my doctor had suspected and my rotator cuff is normal as well.

They say rest and PT would help. I’ve been in pain since December though so I’m not sure what they mean by “rest” since I never did weight lifting before and I still haven’t done any after. I also never received any other kind of trauma to the shoulder, which could cause this. I literally woke up one day and felt pain.

I am not sure why this shoulder pain would radiate down my arm. PT thinks my neck might be involved but I don’t know. I am going back to the doctor on Thursday to discuss so I will see what he thinks. I only have 2 PT visits left. I plan on using them for my shoulder, although my knee is hurting from my run now! Why am I such a mess! I just want to do a pushup and run a couple miles. Is that too much to ask?

3. In better news, tonight and tomorrow night I am going to free Core Fusion at the Gansevoort with Missy. Exhale just opened a spa there and they are offering free classes as a welcome. Tonight’s instructor is the guy from the DVD which is exciting. He and his wife developed the Core Fusion program. I will tell him, and tomorrow’s instructor, about my shoulder and knee injury. The shoulder limits my participation in class because I can’t do full pushups or planks. I can do modified version half-assed though. I can’t go down far in plies because of my knees but I ALWAYS feel the burn anyway, so that is fine with me!

I wear my knee sleeve during Core Fusion even though PT told me it won’t make a difference because it reminds the instructor that I have an injury so they don’t single me out for doing something I can’t do. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can put on my shoulder, the worse injury, to remind them of the same thing. It’s okay though – I know my body and I will be careful!

The one thing that makes me sad about the new Gansevoort location is that my favorite instructor is no longer teaching at my location (central park south) on Sundays, she will be down there. Which means I will only get to take her once a week on Wednesdays, assuming I have no other plans. But the Gansevoort location means more classes to choose from!

4. Popchips sent me their new flavors to try! They are such a great company. They always write me the cutest notes too. I can’t wait to review the new flavors for you!

5. I had a lot more to say but I can’t think of it now and I have to go. Bye!

While I don’t want to eat pesticides, I also don’t want to eat insects. I had a little fright when I began to make my green juice this morning and discovered the only downside to organic produce (aside from the price):

Gross.

I know that in reality I probably consume many more bugs than I realize. And I’d rather eat bugs than eat pesticides. I just don’t want to SEE the bugs and have it in my mind that I am eating them. Blech. The celery went into the garb.

I remember Ruth Reichl saying that organic produce isn’t what it used to be in the seventies when there were insects and worms crawling in the apples. But of course we have to realize that when there aren’t pesticides, there WILL be pests. My friend Melanie found me this lovely chart. Enlighten yourselves:

Like I said, I’m OK eating insects when I don’t have to actually SEE them. Moving on.