Still here

Yesterday I went to the gym and did the full routine, plus a set of leg extensions as well. It is definitely getting easier to manage the weight on my upper body -- I'm starting to get back what I had earlier in the spring.

My eating yesterday was more of the same. Usual breakfast, macaroni for lunch, snacks of almonds, a half banana and a serving of pretzels, and for dinner we had dal, an Indian dish from Mary's social studies book -- curry and lentils and rice and tomatoes. It was pretty good though not very satisfying in the long term. I think it would have been great with some chicken. After dinner I had a handful of M&Ms (I was in desperate need of some chocolate) and a caramel, and then a several chips with cheese/salsa dip. I had milk to drink with each meal and I stayed out of the alcohol!

I was still having mild breathing troubles yesterday but they seem to be gone today. Whew!

Holding Steady

I have not adjusted anything this week, so it is no surprise that I am just holding firm. I did not go to the gym last night. I was so exhausted. I am thinking of going tonight, but I have to decide if it will be right after work or later this evening. I'll have to check out the classes and then decide on a plan. I am just really beat this week. I start my "new" position at JMT next Monday where I'll be a project manager in training, so my last day at DPW is tomorrow. I am sad about not being in the city anymore, but I need a change of pace. I hope it all goes well.

Celebrating with caffeine

Yesterday Daniel learned that he's getting an NSF grant, a tough one to land -- he had about given up hope when other started hearing weeks ago and he hadn't yet. So we celebrated with a trip to Starbucks, and I ordered a Raspberry Mocha Frappuccino, a drink which I highly recommend. Except it's high in fat (it left an oily taste in my mouth because of all the whipped cream) and I totally forgot to order it decaf.

I have a caffeine sensitivity and after yesterday I'm thinking it's borderline allergy -- in high school I noticed if I had a caffeinated soda two days in a row I'd get a withdrawal headache on the third day, so I have mostly stayed away from it. I drank diet sodas or regular tea on occasion when we were first married but when I started trying to have kids I gave up all caffeine (except in chocolate -- I'm not crazy) for a while. Ever since then I've found that if I drink more than a half cup of coffee I get hyper, unable to stop talking (worse than usual), with a fast heart rate, and I'm queasy, and jittery, and I have intestinal discomfort. Well, mocha frappuccinos are supposed to be lower in caffeine than coffee by half, but I did drink the full drink and it's larger than a mug of coffee. So I probably had about a full cup worth of caffeine. And not only did I have all the above symptoms, I also had shortness of breath along the lines of the asthma attacks I used to get in high school (I can breathe fine but the breaths aren't fully satisfying -- it's very frustrating. It hasn't happened more than a half dozen times in the 18 years since). And I had a bit of vertigo whenever I changed positions. And this went on for SEVEN HOURS. Ugh. I still got hungry and ate dinner but I just couldn't shake the caffeine buzz until bedtime. And I suspect I only got to sleep because I also had a glass and a half of wine (in the hopes of counteracting the effects). In short, I am NEVER knowingly going to drink a caffeinated beverage again.

So food wasn't at all good yesterday. On top of that drink, I also had my usual breakfast, lunch of a half ham sandwich and milk to drink, snacks of almonds and a few pretzels and numerous bites of Alexander and Cecilia's Starbucks cookies, and a banana and some raisins. For dinner I had sauerbraten meatballs -- three meatballs and a medium serving of noodles -- as well as cucumber slices and steamed green beans (the vegetables are from our garden!). After dinner we had tortilla chips and cheese dip (Daniel was celebrating still), but I kept my portion quite small (still queasy) and I had the wine.

I had no exercise except for 20 seconds of running around the outside of the house as part of a school game of Mary's. But my weight was 146.0 today.

I looked up caffeine sensitivity and allergies last night and there's just not a lot of information out there. 20% of the population is sensitive, and they say the less often you drink the worse it's likely to be when you do. But they talk about jitters and don't really get into breathing difficulties and dizziness. And if it's just a sensitivity I should drink a little bit with some regularity to diminish the sensitivity. But with allergies the effects are cumulative, leading to diagnoses of depression, manic depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, and other types of psychosis (most of which go away when you give up caffeine long-term) -- but those were generally noted in people who are daily coffee drinkers and don't know they're poisoning themselves. I have been aware of my caffeine troubles for more than 20 years so I've never had a build-up, but I have had occasional panic attacks (but not since the first few years of grad school, except when I was pregnant with Cecilia) -- they went away about the time I gave up caffeine entirely! But that could be coincidence. And I've had mild bouts of depression, but they run in the family. I don't much want to build up a tolerance to caffeine because of the dependency and headaches that will surely follow, and the risk of this being a true allergy is a bit scary. So I do think I need to swear off it entirely. But it's just kind of frustrating -- what happens when I order decaf and they give me caf by mistake? It has happened, and I don't want to go through this every time!

146.5

A nice drop from last week! I was 148 on Sunday night, and ... 148 on Monday morning. So I didn't have much hope when I was 148.5 last night. But, remarkably, I dropped two pounds overnight and now I'm back to where I was a month ago. Phew!

Yesterday I did 90 crunches at home, then I went to the gym and did 40 minutes on the bike and sets of 36 on the chest press and shoulder press. Once again I have no plans for exercise today -- Mary has a Girl Scout outing, inconveniently located so I'll have nothing to do but shop while she's there (so I'm going to Target and getting Alexander some shorts that fit!), and then the kids have swim lessons again, and then it's time for dinner. So maybe I'll get motivated and do SOMETHING while Cecilia naps. The aggressive exercise and mild restraint seem to be doing some good for now -- I just have to stay motivated.

The slow start seems to be doing some good -- instead of an abrupt diet I'm kind of working my way into it. The biggest change I've been making is to cut my portion sizes way back; they grew so gradually I hardly noticed, but I don't really miss them when I cut them back again. But that way I can get away with snacking more.

Yesterday I had my usual breakfast, and lunch of a half a ham sandwich (full ham, one slice of bread -- it helps that I don't even like condiments). For dinner I had a junior bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's but I shared a quarter of it with Cecilia, and I had a small fries but I didn't quite finish them. And Daniel brought me a small Frosty, which, sadly, I did finish, but I only had half of it at first and put the rest in the freezer for when I got snacky again. And throughout the day I had a quarter pear, four rounds of almonds, two caramels, and about six M&Ms. I again think I ate more than that but I can't think of the other snacks! I really was busy, though, so it couldn't have been much -- oh, a graham cracker square, at least. But I am still not getting vegetables in my diet.

158 Ho Hum

I did go to the gym last night and ran again. I will not make it there tonight because I am getting my hair cut right after work. This sheep dog look has got to go. Depending on what time I get home and where I have to work tomorrow I may squeeze in a pilates DVD. My pilates for dummies doesn't play right in my dvd player with the tv, so I may see how it does on my laptop. I am not sure if it is the dvd or the player though. It might be the dvd.

I am still looking for some sort of motivation to get myself back on track. I will let you know if I find anything...

An ok weekend...

Hi Emily!

Yes, I believe everyone else is having Disney fun while we are not.

My weekend was ok--I did not go to the gym Saturday, but I did spend most of the day cleaning so I was moving all day long. I did have breakfast at IHOP though. And dinner was pasta, but there was not much snacking or anything in between or after. Sunday I had an egg sandwich for breakfast adn then jerk chicken for dinner. Lunch was trail mix. I did go to the gym Sunday and "ran" on the elliptical again.

Today I have been snacky--breakfast was a bagel with jam, lunch was a salad from Cosi, and my snacks were a banana, fig newtons and some fat free pudding. I am headed to the gym as soon as I finish this blog entry. I have no idea what dinner will be either. Something from let's Dish I am certain...

I really need to jumpstart myself again. I am not sure how to build up my motivation though. I don't want to try a crazy diet or anything; I never do well with those. And the minute I tell myself I can't have a particular food, it is ALL I want. So that method is no good for me either. I'll have to see if my creative mind can come up with something.

Not a good weekend

Hi, Julie -- I think it's just us this week!

I did not get any exercise whatsoever this weekend -- on Saturday the world conspired against me and on Sunday I was just plain lazy. Yesterday I was really feeling blue for a good portion of the day, for no particular reason. It's the kind of mood that leaves me not wanting to exercise but which exercise would help immeasurably. I don't know what I would have done, though -- Daniel was home all day so I couldn't just work out in the middle of the living room (and it was too sticky anyway) and we had a good, solid thunderstorm in the early afternoon that left it too wet outside to do anything out there. Today I have a gym appointment, but it will be a squeeze to get the exercise in, because Mary and Alexander have swimming lessons starting immediately afterwards. I didn't even bother with an appointment for next Monday because it will be the same problem -- so I'll have to figure out something to do at home next week.

My eating yesterday had its ups and downs. I only ate one waffle and one piece of bacon for brunch, but I drank extra milk and ate half of Xander's last waffle as the day progressed. I had lunch of a piece of whole wheat bread and a strip of string cheese, then a later snack of a breadstick and a very small piece of pizza, then dinner of a small serving of fried rice. And also my usual snacks of almonds. So I got off on the right foot but then I was munchy all day -- when I have brunch I feel like I should eat only a very light lunch, but since I ate a small brunch that meant I was much hungrier in the afternoon. And the more blue I felt the more I wanted to eat sweets, so by the end of the day I'd had about four caramels and three Hershey's kisses and a dozen or so M&Ms as well. So now that I look at it, my eating yesterday was pretty much all downs, except on the bacon front. Today I'll try to do better -- if nothing else, our schedule is so packed that I won't have time to eat junk!

Maybe progress?

The scale read 147.5 this morning, which was definitely down from what I've been seeing since we got back from our trip. So it's possible the exercise and pathetic mild restraint are working. Yesterday I did 40 minutes on the bike at the gym (and I bumped it up a level) and managed to cram in 3 dozen reps on each of the chest press and shoulder press, even though I was short on time. At home I did 82 crunches (it was going to be 90 but the phone rang). Today I'm still trying to convince the kids we should go on a bike ride but so far nothing's happening on that front, because Alexander is playing with a friend.

Food yesterday: my usual breakfast, lunch of yogurt (sweetened) and two pretzel rods, snacks of almonds and a quarter pear, dessert of two caramels and eight M&Ms. For dinner I had a slice of pizza (only one, but it was loaded) and three very small cheesy breadsticks (so it added up to one slice of plain cheese, effectively), and two beers, and dessert of several handfuls of popcorn (movie night with the kids). I think that was it for the day. Dinner more than made up for my lack of calories during the rest of the day, though!

Today I've had my usual breakfast, two rounds of almonds, lunch of plain lowfat yogurt with granola, a banana, half a pear, and a caramel. So fruit seems to be well covered (for a change) so I need to focus on vegetables this afternoon, and I have some room for grains!

Failed at the self-challenge

Yesterday I didn't get any exercise after all -- I honestly don't know when I should have squeezed it in. We had school and projects going all morning and into the afternoon, and then I took the kids to the pool, and then I worked on laundry and dinner, and after dinner we got the kids ready for bed, and Cecilia has been really difficult for me at bedtime lately so it was 10 pm by the time I came downstairs.

On the other hand, being busy all day meant I didn't really snack -- I had some almonds a few times, and then I ate one marshmallow for dessert. But Daniel and I split a bottle of wine so I had about three half-glasses and a bit of cheese (but not that much -- we were almost down to the rind on the cheese anyway). I had my usual breakfast, lunch of tuna on a half pita (white, so not particularly nutritious), and chicken fried rice with vegetables for dinner (not low fat, but I didn't eat a very huge portion). I also had a fourth of a pear (only one was ripe so we shared it) and one caramel after lunch (but I have to be careful with the caramels because the kids know about them now so if I get caught eating one they get them, too).

With these pathetic attempts at dieting and at least some exercise this week I've been below 150 the past two days (I wasn't on Wednesday!). So maybe I can keep it there for next week and then start to see some downward progress as I get better at remembering I'm on a diet.

already doing a little better

I tipped the scales at 157.5 this morning. I went to the gym last night and "ran" on the elliptical. I set it to hills and then I ran intervals of walk 2 minutes, run 4 minutes for 30 minutes. I walked at around 4 mph and ran at 6 mph. It was an easier work out on my body because of using the elliptical and my heart rate stayed up the whole time. I did some resistance exercies after that but there was a training session going on so some of the machines were off limits and I have no idea how to use some of the ones that weren't. I meet with the trainer 7/2 so I'll learn about them all then.

Me TOO!

I am doing the same thinking. I need to buckle down. I have this belief (not unfounded) in my head that it doesn't matter what I eat or how much I exercise I am just going to either NOT lose weight, OR gain weight. BUT - 18 months ago when we first started I DID lose weight. And when I did the freaky diets I DO lose weight. And - I am perfectly willing to admit that more exercise has not meant less weight, because that is perfectly true, but I have to admit that I feel better (except my knees!) when I am exercising regularly.

Anyway - I have a plan. Again. I am going to Disney! When I am done with that I am CRACKING DOWN on my eating. I am going to plan SPECIFIC menus for each day - and I am going to stick to them! I am going BACK to the rule of no food in my bedroom - and I am going to COMMITT to this!

Yesterday I went to the gym, but I didn't do boxing. I was worried about my knee. So I did 32 minutes on the treadmill - Alpine Pass and then a resistance workout. Katie and I finished about the same time. She said that the boxing was low impact on the knee - which means I could have done it - but I didn't know that in advance.

Similar thoughts

I am suffering from the same issues as Emily--I know I can take the actions that I need to take, but I am lacking on the whole "wanting to do it" side of things. For me, the biggest problem is a lack of routine. I had gotten into one before leaving for India, and I was doing really well with it. But ever since I came back the only routine I seem to have adopted is the eating too much and exercising too little plan. AND I joined a gym, so now I pay money to have access to exercise equipment, and that is just silly given how unmotivated I have been. But one thing I realize with regard to that is I need to get over the novelty of the gym. I mean, the classes are neat, but at the same time I do not feel the same after them as I do when I just go running. In my head I have decided I want to take a class one night a week--probably that Tuesday night spinning class, and then the other times I go I want to run & bike or run & use the weight machines. I was 159 this morning...I better not be 159 next weigh in day.

I need to think harder about this "diet" thing

Yesterday I vowed to watch what I eat, planning to stick to healthy snacks, except for planned treats. Except the Brownies had a field trip to Ben & Jerry's, so in mid-afternoon I had a sorbet on a sugar cone (and that was restraint -- I really wanted Chocolate Fudge Brownie in a waffle cone!). And in the evening after dinner I made s'mores with the kids, because the s'mores at Mary's campfire got rained out this weekend and I'd bought the makings on Sunday and just hadn't gotten around to it -- so I had a s'more, and then another s'more, because that's the whole point of them being s'mores, and then I finished Cecilia's, and then over the next hour or two I finished Alexander's second one. So I had almost four! (And Alexander's had double chocolate and double marshmallows!) I did eat better overall; I ate carrots when I wanted something munchy, and I ate fruit when I wanted sweets, though neither satisfied the craving. (But neither does a round of s'mores, for long, apparently. Sigh.)

Today I ate marginally better, but only because the offerings weren't so amazing. I still ate plain marshmallows (just two) when the kids did and I snuck a couple of caramels and about ten M&Ms. When we started all this I refused desserts and fried foods (and we had fried mac & cheese for lunch today -- good, but not worth a swoon, it turns out, so I didn't pig out) and cut way, way back on alcohol and only ate tortilla chips if I had a serving of grains left, and then only a serving. Why can't I do that again? (I know the answer -- I can but I don't really want to.) I haven't had any alcohol today or yesterday (but I really, really would like a beer tonight -- surely that's worth some brownie points), and no chips, either (but Daniel hasn't pulled them out so I haven't been tested).

I did take the kids biking yesterday, but it was only 2 1/2 miles total. Alexander had a terrible time coming down the hill (but failed to run over his own butt -- he also tried the dragging-his-feet method of braking but leapt clear at the crucial moment) and then balked in a panic before the bridge (making the risk of falling down the accompanying staircase considerably greater), and when we got to the library he and Cecilia both needed the bathroom, and the water fountain, so all told the 2 1/2 miles took us well over an hour -- not exactly great exercise. Still, it was 2 1/2 miles more biking than I would have done.

Today I went to the gym and basically repeated Monday's workout (only I bumped the VKRs up to 90, which will have to be my limit for a while, ouch!). On the way home the kids asked if we could ride the trail again, so we did that, too, and Alexander rode like a hero -- a bit slow on the hill but decidedly steady, and fast over the bridge (but right down the middle both times -- wise boy!), and no library stop, so all told the round trip was about a half hour. It was still a very slow ride by my standards but at least we kept moving, and it was on top of my regular workout so that made it even better.

Tomorrow I'm taking the kids to the pool, which is no exercise for me and tons for them, so probably they won't want a long ride afterwards. If I'm going to get any exercise it will have to be at home. Ugh. But that's my challenge to myself tomorrow -- to get SOME exercise. And to eat better, of course.

10,000 lbs

I forgot to weight myself this morning, but judging just on how I am feeling, I would estimate my weight to be 10,000 lbs. Or 160 lbs more realistically.

I'm headed to another spinning class tonight at the gym. This time I am NOT going to try to keep up with the crazy lady leading the class. I learned last time that I am just not fit enough for that...yet.

149.5

I'm not sure why I got the not-150 reprieve -- it has been 150 the last couple of days, but it's not official yet. Yesterday I went to the gym (with Daniel! Yay, Daniel!) and did 40 minutes on the bike and then 80 VKRs and then a bunch on the chest press and shoulder press. The weight I could handle was definitely down on those machines -- the price of missing exercise for most of a month. But maybe just getting to the gym earned me the half pound break.

Today I told myself I had to get to lunchtime without snacking on junk and then I could have a small treat after lunch. If I didn't get that far I had to exercise 10 minutes for each screw-up. But my only screw-up was that I ate a skittle we found when we were cleaning up -- ONE skittle. Somehow 10 minutes of sweating seems a stiff price. But I believe I'll bypass the treat after lunch.

I need to take this a few hours at a time, like the beginning of a diet. Which, in a way, this is -- though thanks to the blog it's never gotten completely away from me (that is, I've continued to feel guilty even though I've eaten badly for all but three months or so of the almost two years we've been at it). At least exercise hasn't fallen completely by the wayside at any point in that time either, last summer without a gym notwithstanding (but I did still exercise on occasion then -- I didn't have the four-month gaps I've had at other points in my life).

This afternoon I plan to go out on the bike trail with the kids. I took the training wheels off Alexander's bike on Saturday and he really did do better without them. We haven't tried hills yet -- we have to go a third of a mile to get to hills -- but I think he'll manage OK. Teaching him to balance took about a half a second -- I just put him on the bike, got him rolling, and off he went. With Mary it took the better part of an hour! And with Mary it was ages before she could start riding from a dead stop without having to psych herself up for a couple of minutes first. But once she got going she could steer pretty well -- Alexander could circle right but not left for the first two days!

137.2, no 137.4, no 137.2

Let's just call it 137.3, o.k.? The scale couldn't decide this morning. But ultimately what it gets down to is--no change from last week. No surprise.

Claire lost about a pound of hair yesterday, though, so maybe I should see if I can lose two pounds of hair to get to my "acceptable" range by Saturday! I think that might involve shaving my head, though.

No exercise yesterday (unless signing my name 78 times on home equity loan forms counts as exercise!). Food was o.k.--most of two scrambled eggs for breakfast (rejected by Claire), the remains of my PF Changs food for lunch, McDonald's grilled Asian chicken salad for dinner. Running around too much to snack on anything, which is probably why I dropped most of a pound since yesterday.

STOP THE MADNESS

Oh My Goosssness!! (That was how Claire said it when she was two!) My weight today was 226.4!! AN ALL NEW HIGH! This was after pretty much sweating to death last night at boxing. I am hoping it is my pre-period spike. I don't know though, the spike was on May 21st last month and my period was May 23. That would mean that if it was a consistent pattern (which it isn't) I would be getting my period tomorrow or Thursday - which would put me on a 28 day cycle - and the one thing my period WON'T do is 28 days. I will do 23 days or 42 days - but 28 is just impossible! Actually I hope it IS the pre-period spike because that would be I would be mostly done with it by the time we go to Disney on Saturday.

Anyway - I can say my eating behavior yesterday was definitely pre-menstrual. I hit the vending machine THREE TIMES yesterday. It doesn't help that since Katie is no longer working I am on my own for packing my lunch and making breakfast. I just don't do it. I brought food with me yesterday, but when I was craving sweet - I didn't want fruit, I wanted a candy bar (and later in the day cookies) and when I was craving salt, I didn't want my V-8 I wanted Pringles! Why is that!? When I am pre-menstrual I definitely want to chew solid food - with very little water content. I want CARBS!

I keep trying to give myself deadlines to improve my behavior pattern, but I fail each time. I also latch onto any excuse to postpone my behavior improvements. Right now, however, I am going to keep doing what I am doing this week - TRY to be good on vacation - and then beginning right after I get back from Disney, I want to really crack down on my eating. I have to say I am happy with my exercise right now. It IS getting easier to make myself workout. I really like Brick Bodies. I hope Katie continues her membership there too - because it is much easier to stay motivated when you have a partner. But as I said back on day one - I think it has to be a combination of good eating and good exercise. Man! I SO wish I could quit eating like I quit smoking. Or OTOH I so wish smoking wasn't bad for you. I was doing OK holding my weight at or below my starting weight (215.4) until I DID quit smoking. Since then it has been a steady climb (and not so slow) upwards. Sigh.

Boxing last night was good. My knee had been bothering me all day - more so than normal. I feared that if I went boxing, I would make it worse or not be able to finish the workout - or do such damage that walking at Disney would be pure torture. None of that seemed to happen. I decided to go anyway - figuring that if it WAS going to get worse I just wouldn't go on Wednesday and that would give me almost a week to get it better. It actually feels better today. I didn't do the squats so much - just balanced on the wiggly things. I did do the step ups - which weren't too bad... I didn't do the jumping up thing. I just streatched up instead. The only real pain I felt was when I had to kneel on my knee at the very end when we were doing "push ups". I put "push ups" in quotes - because I can't say there is anything pushy or UP about what I do. I felt better when I noticed that Katie was failing almost at the same point as I was this time. It is good to have a partner.

We have a bike trailer too!

Did the same thing as Emily--wanted to go riding as a family, but as we can't imagine how to teach Connor to ride a bike, we got a trailer. We just got the cheapest one at Target (which is also where I got my bike--a new bike at Target cost less than it would cost to get my old bike into shape for the road!). He's at the very upper weight limit for it, and WAY above the height limit, but we tried it out yesterday and it seemed to work well enough. I wouldn't go cross country with it, but it was fine around the state park. His legs are all squashed up in there, but he didn't complain. Claire, on the other hand, wiped out impressively on her first downhill at the park yesterday. She knows how to brake properly, but doesn't quite get the control it takes to anticipate braking, so by the time she realized she was going too fast she just panicked and tried to stop the old fashioned way--by dragging her feet on the ground. It didn't work very well, and she and her bike went handlebar over heels (from the tiremarks, it looks like she ran over her own butt with her bike!). She was just a bit scraped up, and scared, but she got back on her bike after the shaking stopped but wouldn't go anywhere near a hill after that!

That was the only exercise I got all weekend, and since I more than made up for it by eating everything in sight, it's no wonder I was back up above 138 today. Over the course of the weekend I had two ice cream sandwiches, a doughnut (and I would have had that second one but I'm not a huge fan of jelly doughnuts), half a bagel, two mini bags of popcorn, a candy bar, a Moon pie(!!), and a bunch of chocolate chips. That was in addition to regular meals (which really weren't so regular--I managed dinner each day, but the doughnuts and bagel were my breakfast one day and I skipped breakfast the other day, and I can't remember if I ate lunch either day. I know I didn't yesterday, but I can't remember Saturday.

I think at this point I should just give up until after vacation. I can't get to the gym today because I spent the morning at Connor's kindergarten show, and I can't go tomorrow because we have a work lunch to attend, and I have a million errands to run before leaving town, so I'm probably going to do those on my remaining lunch breaks. Maybe this week I'll just focus on eating less food, and then hope I can make it through vacation without going over 140 again!

Icky Monday!

I didn't get to the gym this weekend. I spent all day yesterday cleaning and Saturday I slept in and went to my brother's surprise birthday party in PA. Friday night I went out with work friends and had a blast.

I am going to the gym after work today. I even remembered my clothes so there is less chance for me to skip out on it. I am not sure what I will do though. I realized Thursday that some of the elliptical's show you mph like a treadmill, so I may trying "running" intervals on that instead of the treadmill if I can get a free one. I really like that the elliptical is less impact than the treadmill. I notice that my joints are less stiff the next day.

Food hasn't been that great either. I have been eating out at lunch time way too much. I am going grocery shopping tonight after the gym and I am going to rememdy that problem.

Monday, Monday...

My weight was up all weekend - but I must have a mental block about it, because I can't honestly tell you what it was. It was up though!

Anyway, my food wasn't great - but I was pretty good with exercise. Katie and I went to PF Changs in Columbia on Saturday night followed by The Friendly Inn. The food an PF Changs was INCREDIBLE! I can't wait to go back. We had enough leftovers for lunch/dinner last night too. Yesterday for Father's Day we all went to Mom and Dad's for breakfast. Katie and I picked up doughnuts and bagels coffee on the way over. It was fun. I ended up eating TWO doughnuts. I didn't really want two - but Claire took bite from one and then didn't want it. So Sarah said "Well give it to AA." THIS is why Sarah is skinny and I am MORE than skinny. 8-)

So Friday night late (like 9pm) Katie and I went to the gym. I was really tired so I ended up just doing cardio on the treadmill while Katie did resistance. We were there about 40 minutes (36 minutes on the treadmill). Then yesterday after father's day breakfast Katie and I went BACK to the gym and this time we both were on the treadmill. We set it for the Alpine Pass for 25 minutes. At about 17 minutes my treadmill stopped DEAD. Luckily I wasn't running so I didn't go flying off the front. For about 5 minutes prior to that it had been surging from about 3.5 mph to 3.9 mph when it should have been going at a steady 3.7. Anyway I finished on another machine. I REALLY liked the alpine pass. It was a nice mix of inclines and speeds. You can set you own top pace and your own top incline. I set the top pace at 3.7 but then bumped it up to 3.9, I set the top incline a 4.0 but I wish I had done it a little higher. Then we did our abs again. As I said before the workout Heather did with us the other day was too complex for us to remember - we did the pass the ball from our legs to our arms. I did two sets of 8, Katie did two sets I think of 12. Then we did the high middle crunches - which are pretty straight forward crunches alternating with your arms straight up and then between your knees. I did 30 hanging abs and Katie did crunches on the ball. We then BOTH did the abs machines for our back, abs and obliques. THEN we worked on the machines that aren't on our normal workout: inner and outer thighs and the row and I think there is one more - but I can't remember what... It was a pretty good workout. We are supposed to go to Boxing tonight - which I will go to if I get out of work on time.

I don't know why, but I have noticed for the past several days or more I have gotten MUCH closer to 10000 steps. This is great for me considering that I was strugging to make 4000 before.

I have a bike trailer!

Actually I bought it before we left for Europe because that's when it went on sale -- I gave up on doing all the research and getting the perfect trailer, or on expecting someone to get one for me as a present, and just bought the cheapest one I could find. I'm simply not a good enough cyclist to need something snazzy. (I've always felt bad about how I bought my bicycle -- I went to the store with Daniel intending to do some research, but Daniel wanted the decision over and done with and the guy in the store played to this, so we bought an expensive bike that was probably way more than I needed and then I have hardly ridden it because I got pregnant six months later and have always had small children since. Now I just wish I had a $75 all-purpose bike from Target instead of a $500, eight-year-old Cannondale racer.)

Anyway, I finally put it together today and just rode around the school with Cecilia in the back so that I could get used to it. She really seemed to enjoy it, and I could hardly tell the thing was there, though this was flat ground for the most part. The hills on the Huckleberry Trail will almost certainly tax me! Alexander isn't quite up to a long ride yet but I'm going to work on it with him -- he doesn't like the idea of losing the training wheels yet but I can tell he'd probably be a lot better off without them! I suspect once Mary, Cecilia and I all take off without him he'll be sorry to be left behind, so that might motivate him to ride more confidently. Once he can ride with us I have no excuse for not going out for a ride every day that the weather's good.

I have had very little exercise otherwise this week. I missed the gym on Wednesday because Alexander was sick and I didn't make an appointment for today because Mary was leaving for her camp-out and I didn't realize the times wouldn't have conflicted. And I've been a total lazy bum at home. And I haven't been dieting, either. NEXT week. Really. Sigh.

Nothing to report

My weight on Thursday was 222.2 and today was 223.4. I don 't know how that always happens. I can't remember what Wednesday was - but I think it was 222.6. Oh! Yes, I know it was.

Wednesday Katie and I met with the trainer at Brick Bodies for our final free meeting. That kind of bugged me. I set my appointment for 9am on Wednesday - then Katie met with her later and they decided to set HER appointment at the same time. I am not sure why they decided that was a good idea - MY first question was, do we get another combined meeting then? - but CLEARLY Katie and I have VERY DIFFERENT workout needs and strengths - and motivations. We were working on our abs. Anyway - She would set us up doing something that involves supporting our bodies on our elbows or knees or toes or something and then raising up our butts or whatever. Keep in mind that Katie weighs probably 100 pounds less than me. So Katie would be doing something that there was NO WAY I could do and Heather would get annoyed with me for not being able to do it. When I would ask her what benefit there was to doing whatever it was that we were doing all she would say is "It is a more advanced exercise." I AM NOT READY for the ADVANCED EXERCISE! I can't do the BASIC STUFF. So - during the course of all of this I managed to do something to my knee (the one that didn't USED to hurt!) where I ended up with a swollen lump. Also - the workout hardly touched my abs!! The only things that hurt during or afterwards were my back (from supporting 200 plus pounds on it!) and my hamstrings (from having to push up my butt with my legs!). Additionally - while Katie was doing whatever exercise I wasn't able to do I was sitting there doing basically nothing. What was the point in that??!!! So - I am back to the original statement - Why were we paired up!!???!?!!

Additionally - the workout she had us do (even if I was able to do it) was so fricking complex, that there was no way I would ever do it again! The only thing (out of a 45 minute workout) that I remember her having us do was holding one of those exercise balls between our legs lifting it up and passing it over to our hands and then doing the same thing back down again. It LOOKED stupid, and SURELY there was a less complex way to work the same muscle groups!

The REALLY frustrating thing was that my abs are not weak! When I do the pilates video I can do most of the exercises all the way through. I CAN'T support my body weight on my arms - but I would be willing to bet most of you couldn't push up - or bench press 225 pounds either! Go ahead - try it! Put 80 pounds or so into a back pack and THEN try doing push ups or lay on your back and lift your butt or hang from a couple of poles and lift your hips - or WALK on a flipping treadmill or WHATEVER! But there are other things I CAN do. So why didn't she spend more time working on those??

So - I didn't go to boxing that night because my knee was hurting. I didn't go to the gym yesterday because it was late by the time I got home, and my knee was still hurting. I am planning on definitely going tomorrow though. No excuses.

A few dys worth of updates

Wednesday was really busy so I bailed on the gym. If I had remembered my clothes in the morning I would have been fine--but I had to stop home before going and that killed the whole idea. Once I was tired and HOME, there was no going back to the gym. Yesterday I went after work and spent 35 minutes on the elliptical and then tried out the weight machines. I am very weak in my upper body. When I meet with the trainer for one of my 3 sessions that go with my membership I am going to ask how to work on that.

Food has been ok except for a bag of tootsie roll midgees. They are gone now and I am NOT buying them again.

Sorry I didn't check in yesterday!

I was at an off-site retreat most of the day and then was too busy to really get online once I got back to the office.

My weight yesterday morning was 137.2, so that doesn't really count as a change from the previous week. I've been hovering between 137 and 138 all week--maintaining a weight I don't want to be at! I've kept up with exercise--three days at the gym, two days walking Davey, but no pilates. My food has only been so-so. No real horrible gluttony, but everyday I have a bit more than I really should (i.e. some popcorn and beer or milk and cookies in the evening; again, fine for maintaining but not for losing). At least I've figured out how to maintain a weight!

Disney is looming in a week and a half. I think that this weekend I'm going to put together snack bags for myself and the kids so that we don't overeat junk and overspend in the parks. I'm going to pack baggies with my usual snacks so I can just have them on hand each day and not have to think or prepare once we're down there. I'm sure we'll overeat daily anyway, but this might keep it in check a bit. And maybe between that and all the walking I won't gain too much weight. Yeah, right. Who has ever gone away for vacation and come back the same weight?

Scary blob woman--157

My numbers are scary too. So back to writing down every bit of food I eat. The weekend was rather gluttonous, but I had the best time at Rehobeth Beach. I'll wait until tomorrow to do the run down on today. I don't know if I rememebr everything from yesterday. Boooo too much food...I find myself quoting those Red Stripe commercials all the time now. That is REALLY bad...booooooo Red Stripe commercials....

The scale went back and forth between 157 and 156.5 this morning, so I am going with the fatter number to remind myself how easy it is to slip back into old habits. I am going to the gym tonight to just use the machines, and tomorrow night we are doing a spinning class. I hope I can walk Thursday...

Oh--I decided to stay at JMT for now instead of taking the faculty spot at CCBC. I just couldn't swallow the pay cut, and my benefits at JMT are fantastic so I couldn't justify leaving just yet. Thanks for the advice and things to think about though. I really appreciated the input!!

149.0

Ouch! Not a weight I like seeing. But still below the very scary 150 point where the nurse has to use the next major bump on the scale.

My eating and exercise have been not so great. Yesterday I did walk home from the car place and back again, so that's a mile and a half, but that was it for exercise since Friday. Tomorrow I have a gym appointment, though. I haven't exercised today. I've been trying to watch what I eat but I haven't really been counting, and I don't usually succeed unless I count food groups or calories.

Why aren't big numbers a better motivator? I should be terrified of food crossing my lips but instead I spend all day wondering what else I can eat. And it's summer, too, when we're supposed to be inclined toward lighter foods, but I still want pizza and dark beer. Sigh.

Today

I was 222.4 this morning. I thought I would be higher. I don't know why - probably because I didn't go to the gym yesterday - and my eating wasn't great. Well, at least I can honestly say I am holding steady!

I can't remember if I reported that I have made an appointment with another nutritionist. This one is a nutritionist and an herbalist. She has an office in Catonsville called the Dancing Violet. She is a graduate of Tai Sophia (seriously!) which Sarah reassures me is a legitamate organization down in Columbia (Maryland - not South America - not THOSE kinds of herbs!). I am excited. I think holistic medicine makes so much sense. Again, I don't know if she will be able to help me at all - but it is another venue to try. Tai Sophia - in addition to giving degrees in Herbal Medicine - also trains accupunturists, so maybe she can direct me to someone that way. I want to get my degree in Herbal Medicine. Don't I strike you as the kind of person who should be an herbalist?

Issues

OK - My knee is hurting. It is hurting worse now than it has since I started on my current exercise kick. I think I may have over extended on Saturday - but I didn't FEEL like I had. Katie and I went to the gym and were doing the resistance work out. Heather - the trainer - set me up on the leg press doing 35 pounds 3 sets of 8. That is a BABY workout! The last time I was using a leg press I was doing 90 pound - 3 sets of 15 - but of course that was before my knee started giving me fits. Anyway - I still felt like I could do better - so I did 40 pounds for 3 sets of 12. After the gym I met Kristy for coffee and we walked for a bit around Reisterstown - probably a total of about 1/2 a mile or so. Anyway - my knee was twinging a tiny bit yesterday - but I took a short walk after dinner (about 2000 steps). TODAY my knee is really bothering me. Again, mostly when I put downward pressure on it (steps, sitting, etc.). Katie and I are supposed to go to Boxing tonight (if I get out of work in time) but I don't know if I will make it!!

Food hasn't been great - I went grocery shopping yesterday. I had a coupon for Edy's "Loaded" icecream - so I bought it. I then ate some last night after dinner... and after my walk. Sigh.

My stomach was upset during the night - but it wasn't my usual food inspired upset stomach - and I am still feeling a little off. I think I a) am dehydrated, b) have a stomach bug c) ate too much icecream or d) all of the above. My head aches a lot too - so it could be a migraine.

My weight was 222.6 today. It was 223.4 yesterday and 223.6 on Saturday. I don't remember Friday but I also think it was 223-ish.

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

Ho ho jog, that is.

We got here late last night -- I ate a meatball sub on the road instead of any of the healthier options, because what I was really craving was pizza, and we weren't anywhere near a place where you could get a quickie slice of pizza. And I ate chips to go with it, for no good reason at all.

Today I weighed myself for the first time in two weeks, and I was at 149.5 at 6 am (when Cecilia got me up) but 148.5 an hour later (when I gave up and got up for good). Either way, I'm under 150, when I really feared I wouldn't be.

Today I'm getting all kinds of exercise -- the freezer in the basement turned itself off while we were gone (it's plugged into a faulty outlet but that's because there are NO good outlets in our basement -- who makes a 1000 square foot room, including a laundry area, with exactly three pairs of outlets? Washer, iron and sump pump take three -- plus we have a dehumidifier, a spare fridge, and this freezer, not to mention backup pump for the stupid overflowing drain, and right away we're WAY over capacity, and that would be the case even if I didn't try to use the basement for living space -- which I do, so I have an extension cord plugged into a power strip) and I came back to a freezer full of melted ice cream, rotten meat, stinky vegetables, and soggy bread (thanks to the rotten meat -- now I know bread should go on the top shelf!). So in addition to doing the laundry I planned on, I also had to spend hours scrubbing out the crud and vacuuming up the sludge on the floor, then scrubbing the floor (but we have a floor scrubber, thank goodness) and vacuuming again. When I finished that I was so gunky all over that I went ahead and mowed the lawn -- Daniel has Cecilia's stomach virus that she contracted in Germany so he couldn't get to it.

Now I still have to get cleaned up and get to the grocery store -- we have no food, because we cleaned out the fridge before we left (well, mostly) and, well, obviously now we have nothing in the basement to fix, either. It's going to take months to get the freezer full again -- if I ever get the smell out.

We will be going to Alabamaville tomorrow, if Daniel's better -- and that's a day later than we'd originally planned as it is -- and then turning around and coming home on Sunday. So Monday I'm back to a normal life. Of course, I have no gym appointments next week because I haven't been in town to call! But now I have a bike trailer (hooray!) so at least I have other exercise options.

Flip Flop

Yesterday I was 222.4 today I was 224.2. That was because last night Katie and I went to Bonefish and I told them to bring us bread. I ate most of it dipped in the creamy wine sauce that came on the mussels we ordered. I also had two mojitos. Yum! We had coconut fried shrim and bacon wrapped scallops. Really - we were THAT bad!

We also didn't go to boxing class last night. Katie was sore from over extending herself on Tuesday - and she had her trainers meeting last night. I had mine yesterday morning, but it was so light (compared to boxing) that I feel like I didn't do anything. In fact, I almost posted today that I was being bad with my exercise - totally forgetting that I did a whole body workout yesterday morning! I did miss the boxing.

My food (aside from last night's Bonefish binge) hasn't been too bad. I have noticed that I am feeling far less inclined to snack all night. That is great! I bought a box of 73% cocoa organic chocolate bars that are supposed to be very good for you. I had 1/3 of a bar last night (which is a serving size) and that was perfect! It was enough like candy to make me feel as though I had indulged - but bitter and rich enough that I didn't want to eat the whole bar.

I met with Dr. Haber (the endocrinologist) again yesterday. We talked more about what I went to see him for yesterday. He said he got so waylaid by my thyroid that he never got back to the original question. He wants to do another biopsy on my thyroid bump in December. He said that mine is large enough that he would like to have two negative biopsy before dismissing it. Then we talked about my weight loss/gain. He said that hormonally I am normal. He won't put me on metformin unless there is a reason to - which so far there isn't. So he said that we can LOOK for reasons... He wants me to go for a glucose tolerance test. This involves me eating a HIGH carb diet for a few days before, then drinking some sugar gunk and then having my blood tested every 30 minutes for two hours. Ugh. I don't think this will turn anything up either - but we will see. Should I fail this test - I guess fail is the right word - then he would try me on Metformin. The only other drugs that help with weight loss are for people who overeat - which I just don't do. Sigh.

Scared to weigh myself!

I've been eating just horribly this week! Every night it's something fattening for dinner--fish and chips on Sunday, ravioli and garlic bread on Monday, pizza and cake on Tuesday (at a family social at Connor's school), then last night Brian made chicken pot pies but also made pasta salad and fried cheese! I ended up eating just the cheese and salad, and some fresh peas from the garden (uncooked--very yummy), but that was because I was still full from eating at Claire's Fun Day picnic--lots of snacky food like chips and cheese curls. At least I didn't have any of the cake there.

And so far I've only been to the gym once this week. Yesterday I was at Fun Day during my usual break time, so I'm hoping to get to the gym today and again tomorrow so I can get in those three days of exercise, and if I do pilates every day from here through Sunday I'll be o.k. on exercise this week. And if I just stop eating, I might actually lose weight! Sheesh. I hate it when I'm being stupid and know I'm being stupid.

Yesterday morning I really didn't weigh myself. Oh, I forgot to mention that after the pizza and cake I came home and had beer and popcorn, so the next morning I just didn't want to know what I weighed. Today I did weigh myself and I was up to 137.6 again. Bad. Unless a miracle occurs, I won't be at "bathing suit weight" (132) for Disney. It's my own fault.

Looking for opinions...

CCBC called yesterday and made me an offer--it is a pay cut, but only a few hundred dollars a month, not the $1200 I was expecting based on the advertisement. And they bumped me up an entire title, from Instructor, which is where new teachers come in at, to Assistant Professor, and the salary is in the 2nd quartile of that title, not the first. It is a County position as well…

On top of this, JMT offered me a different position yesterday as well--prior to the call from CCBC. My boss wanted to know if I would be interested in being a project manager for our GIS contracts instead of an Analyst.

So what do you think? What would you do if you were me? What questions might you have? I need advice big time. This is a pretty scary decision.

Down a tiny bit today

154.5. I did not make it to the gym last night, and tonight is out too. Just too much going on this week. Next week will return to more normal I think. I ate too much yesterday, but enjoyed every bite. Breakfast was capn crunch, lunch was half of my fajita leftover (just the guts, no totilla) and a cookie, dinner was steak with mushrooms and onions, steamed shrimp, corn on the cob and cheesy bread. And I think I had an after work snack but I can't remember what it would have been. I was running around like crazy after work yesterday. Michele's baby is just adorable--looks a lot like Rosemary with really full cheeks. I still can't believe Michele had a 9 1/2 lb baby...Rosemary and Jeremy were barely 6 lbs each! She is having some complications though--as of last night she still wasn't stable with her bp, pulse, etc. And the doctors were worried about clots. I haven't talked to her yet today. I am going to call over lunch since I don't think I'll be able to stop by today.

I've been drinking more water and less soda lately, but I do have to disguise it with the Crystal Light lemonade mix. Still has to be better than umpteen Diet Dr Peppers each day. I am getting ready to go out and grab lunch. It has been FOREVER since I have worked in Sparks all day. I am not sure what to do with my self :)

Ugh, up again

I was 137.4 today. That doesn't surprise me, though, since I only got to the gym once last week and Encampment wasn't the usual non-stop activity interspersed with inedible meals that it normally is. There were a lot of break times scheduled during the day, so we weren't always on the go, and our troop was cooking, which meant that we were centrally located (thus less walking) and that the food was better overall. Plus there were a LOT of goodies--ice cream social on Friday, cake for dessert on Saturday, Sunday brunch with french toast and sausage and eggs. Very yummy overall, and I ate too much. Yesterday I went to the gym, but overate last night (ravioli, garlic bread, broccoli with cheese sauce, ice cream sandwich. I was doing fine up until dinner!). So very little exercise + too much food = weight gain. I'm also clearly retaining water, although I don't know why. Wrong time of the month, but my rings won't come off for anything.

I'm having blogspot (first typed "blogslop"--I like that better!) problems again--posts aren't showing up when I log on, and then suddenly two or three days' worth of posts will show up all at once. What's up with that? Very irritating.

155

Is that up or down? I have no idea. I will have to look back at the posts. Amy--do you still keep your spreadsheets? Just curious.

I went to the gym last night and spent 35 minutes on the elliptical. I had a thousand things to do so I felt guilty spending any more time than that. I don't think I can make it tonight. I HAVE to clean (I am living in filth now, not just clutter) and Michele had her 3rd baby this morning at 3:53 am (Rory Elizabeth, 9lbs 8 oz HUGE) so I am going to St Joe's right after work to visit them. I might find time to go...We'll see. If I don't go I will do a pilates DVD after I vacuum the carpet!

Food yesterday was ok. bagel with butter for breakfast, chicken salad sandwich for lunch with a banana and a molasses cookie, and dinner was veggie & chicken fajitas. I have the leftovers for lunch today.

Weigh in day

Today I was 222.6. This is good since I was at 224 yesterday - however, there is no doubt in my mind that I am stuck. I have just under three weeks until we leave for Disney - so I think I should use this time to do something dramatic - but I am not sure what.

Exercise - I left work early yesterday and Katie and I made it to Boxing last night. That is such fun exercise. I think in part because it is a good tension release - but also because you are working in 40-90 second segments. Since I get bored so easily, it is perfect for me. Last nights class was very full - so in addition to doing the squats with the weighted ball and the over under thing with the weighted ball, we had to do shadow boxing with a bungie cord, shuffles with a bungie, jumping up and into a tire (I could jump up from the center and balance - but jumping back down was very hard for me...) balancing on those gel looking panels that wiggle around. That was hard - but kind of fun. And finally we had to kneel on a mat and grap the handles of a little off center wheel and roll out and back. That was pretty easy - it was a balance thing I think. I didn't land on my face which was good. So we did the whole gambit of these things. It was fun. I was sweating more last night that I had in the past - but not hurting as much. My gloves worked fine - but they were kind of hard to get on when my hands were sweaty. We didn't do abs last night since we ran over our time as it was. My shoes are shot. I kept getting caught on the floor when I would shuffle. I am planning on getting new ones this morning.

I brought my gym bag today - so I hope to be motivated enough to go back to the gym tonight.

Food - Not so good. We had an open house yesterday at work - and so there were leftovers. I had a few chips and two bites of potato salad (with apple - it was weird!) and a piece of provalone cheese - and the YUMMIEST piece of lemon cream cake. But that was too rich and made me queasy -so I didn't eat the half of a sandwich I got until I was driving home last night. And I had a banana. That was my food for the day. Last night after working out Katie was feeling sick - and didn't have any desire for dinner. So I ordered a pizza. It was a white pizza - but the sauce was really gross. It had spinach and fresh tomatoes and grilled chicken - and I got it on a super thin crust. Whoever cut it clearly can't eyeball - because it was WAY off center. I ate three pieces of the small side - so less than a thrid of the pizza.

Blogspot in German!

I logged on today to get caught up on the blog -- we only have one Internet account at a time, so I've been checking my email from Daniel's computer a lot of the time and haven't been able to steal it long enough to do blog posts. But I discovered that everything on the site is in German, and I don't know how to change it back -- the top of the page said "Blog Durchsuchen / Blog Melden/Nächstes Blog", which was funny. It took me a while to log in (and meanwhile I lost my wireless signal).

Anyway, I've been eating extraordinarily badly and getting tons of walking in. My clothes don't fit like they used to and they weren't fitting all that well before. So I'm in for it when I get back. But I don't have a scale so it's not truly awful until next week.

Amy, you're right about Hungarian! I didn't feel nearly so strange there as I do now that I'm in Germany. In Germany everything makes more sense -- things are cleaner and better-ordered and the standard of living just seems so much higher, like better food and well-stocked stores (but Germans can't do window displays much better than Hungarians -- except they do keep the glass clean). But in Budapest I always knew there were zillions of people around who didn't speak the language, and most people who work there could at least take a stab at communicating in English. Here I bought some things in a department store, and I handed over my credit card and the clerk said something confusing in German ("something confusing" means "something other than hello, goodbye, please, thanks, or numbers"). When I got over my deer-in-headlights reaction and remembered how to say, in German, that my German sucks, we had to appeal to another customer to translate for us -- it turned out she was asking for my customer card if I had one. But I felt completely inept. I have forgotten what little German I once knew!

At least the second time I had a transaction at the department store I did much better -- I was expecting the question this time, I vaguely understood it, I answered, "Nein," and I never had to admit that I only know about twenty words in German.

In Hungary everyone did think Cecilia was the cutest thing going (and they were right!). Here it's different -- we're not in a tourist town so people are more serious and in more of a hurry. So we don't get nearly so many smiles, except from the other parents (but of course I smile at their children too) and the waiters.

Today my eating is going to be even worse than before, it seems -- I had a normal breakfast but I've had a chocolate bar for lunch, because that's all I'd bought this morning while we were out. Cecilia threw up after we got to the hotel so I had to skip lunch and the trip to the museum, the Mathematikum, which I'd really been looking forward to! Daniel is supposed to bring me something substantial later on. I fear I will also have to miss dinner out at our host's home -- I was looking forward to seeing a real house and meeting his wife, too. Phooey. I just hope we can come home tomorrow and don't have to delay our trip because of this! Poor Cecilia.

Short weekend

I hate when the weekends fly by. It is so sad.

Food was pretty bad this weekend. Just too much of it. There really wasn't one worst offender or anything.

I went to the gym Saturday morning. I biked for 35 minutes and used the elliptical for 15. I tried to keep up with a class but when the warm up was too complicated for me, I bailed. there was no way I was looking like an idiot for an entire hour.

Sunburned

I didn't eat this weekend... Hardly at all. I was on my feet all day on Saturday in the burning hot sun - sweating my butt off. I drank water like crazy... but hardly ate anything. So today I was up to 224. Sigh. I didn't weigh myself on Sunday since I was at Sarah's house. I could have used her scale - but I didn't think of it until I had been up for a while - although, I didn't eat anything that morning - and only had a little bit of water. Hummm. I should have weighed myself. Oh well.

Tonight I am hoping to get out of here early enough to make it to the gym for boxing. Katie and I have our new pink boxing gloves now. 8-)

I have no iPod. Three weeks after getting my brand new 80GB iPod it went belly up. Totally stopped dead. So, I went to the Apple store to see if the Geeks (oh! Sorry! GENIUSES) could fix it - but they couldn't. So they ordered me a replacement one. It sould be in in a few days. I think - however, dispite my iPod issues that I think I am going to get an imac. Katie and I have been talking about replacing my computer BEFORE it blows up - and I think I will go the imac route - even though they are more expensive.

Whew!

I went for my interview at 10 am today and it went extremely well. On one had I felt bad interviewing because I am 99% sure there is no way I can absorb the pay cut to take the teaching job if they offer it to me, but at the same time I wanted to come in first on the list because I am the only one that currently teaches there at CCBC and it would be embarassing to be beat out. It was extremely smooth and very interactive. My answers were absolute perfect segways into the next question on the list the panel had. It was very ironic. During my 20 minute presentation, the one panel member was taking notes on what I was talking about--not about my style or anything like that. I saw her writing down things that I said, like the difference in absolute and relative location. So, we'll see what happens.

There was no exercise to be had last night as I crammed for my interview today. There will be none tonight either, and I plan to drink after work.

I take it back

I am sore today. By last night I was very stiff and sore - but today I am EVEN MORE sore. My legs more than my arms, although last night I was noticing that my forearms were sore.

I didn't go to the gym last night. I was prepared to - and not adverse to it, however, once I got home I got distracted by my newly arrived boxing gloves... pink, of course! Then when I got to the point of planning on what I wanted to DO when I got to the gym I realized that it was legs day, but my legs were already in agony. I could have - and should have - walked on the treadmill - but by that time I had lost my motivation. Unfortunately, I have the country fair tomorrow - and a Happy Hour for Kristy tonight, so I don't see me making it to the gym before Sunday.

Anyway - today I was 223.8. I have been eating badly today. Yesterday we had Kristy's going away lunch - at California Kitchen (or Pizza or something). I had a California Club pizza - which had bacon and chicken and lettuce and tomato and avocado on it. It was like a cross between a pizza and a salad. It was very good - but that was ALL I ate yesterday. Today I had a normal healthy breakfast - but my lunch was totally not doing it for me. I ended up eating Pringles and a Twix bar. Then Kristy brought me half of chicken salad wrap. Now I am stuffed.