Thursday, October 30, 2008

Really long time no post

It has been a long time for all of us - but I don't usually go weeks without posting.

Anyway - my weight is still holding mostly steady, inspite of the Girl Scout cookies, Boy Scout popcorn, restaurant birthday food, and Halloween candy (although I have hardly eaten any yet).

I have been doing yoga every week - but that has been about it for exercise. I like that I have seen improvement in my yoga - but I don't think the overall impact has been that great. I love it though. I have been fantasizing about my new yoga room. I can't wait to have that done. Katie and I are starting a plan of action to get the basement done, and THEN I can get the yoga room done. I am enought excited by the prospect of this new room that I am seriously considering having the professionals at Lowes or Home Depot put in the floor for me. That way it will really be done and hopefully done right...

I still haven't started my water aerobics. I keep forgetting on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I can't go this Saturday since Katie and I have the Christmas Bazaar at SHG - but maybe I will go Sunday. I know I am definitely doing the introvert, I don't know what to expect, thing with this class. Sigh.

Katie and I haven't been to Let's Dish in months - and we are really out of food in our house. It is such a struggle to figure out what is for dinner - and frequently we end up eating not so great food (i.e. processed) or not at all because of it. We need to get a plan of action back in place.

I have been craving grilled fish and steamed vegetables. Since I am supposed to be eating intuitively maybe I should pay attention to that.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Now for my next trick

I will lose 25 pounds in a week and keep it off forever. Yes, that would be magic and since that hasn't happened I will continue to plod along.

I have dramatically improved my diet again. I've been working on every aspect of it and I keep refining. It seems that when I take time to reexamine my habits I can make additional changes. Plus I keep discovering better and more wonderful organic and healthy foods.

At the same time I'm also looking at ways to trim my grocery bill. I only shop for one and that can prove a challenge because it's rarely a question of not having enough but trying not to waste food, especially salad fixings.

So all of that has definitely helped me cut the summer bulge that developed from too much beer drinking and a long vacation. Plus, my life was chaotic for almost three months and it was nearly impossible to gain a foothold.

Now I'm working on ramping up the workouts again. I still need work in this area. I'm always left with the feeling that I can do more. Oh well.

With the winter holidays approaching I know times will be tough but I am going to try to stick to a routine. We'll see.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I should have weighed in last week

Last week wound up being no worse than the previous week.  After a trip to Alabama and then Atlanta, though, my weight is up.  It was 145.0 today (144.5 yesterday and 145.5 the day before).  Ouch.  I wish I could say I were doing something about it this week, but, well, it's Halloween week, so I'm going to (a) spend the week working on a Halloween costume for Xander instead of getting exercise (though there's a lot of running back and forth between the sewing machine and the iron, so that's something), and (b) eating candy, at least as of Friday.

Maybe next year I'll get thin.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

This is brilliant!

It's a web account of two women who toured the eastern U.S. by bike (and truck eventually) during the summer after they graduated from college in 1944: http://mjgradziel.com/thelmajones/lureoftheopenroad.html

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

143.5

It was actually worse than that -- I weighed in at 144.5 first this morning.  But that was a pound gain from last night so I declared it unreasonable (how can I GAIN weight while I'm asleep) and re-weighed five minutes later.  Either way, my weight stinks right now.  I'm just too busy and tired to care much right now!  I can't wait until October and all this traveling is over.

141.6 again

Same exact weight as last week, which I wouldn't dream of complaining about since I only exercised three times and spent the weekend eating Renaissance Festival food.

Tomorrow is the day that registration opens for the Iron Girl triathlon in Columbia, and I guess I'm going to sign up so that I can't back out of it! I've been getting to the pool once a week and it's getting easier. I swam a full kilometer last week (pausing every 25 yards, though!) so I'm less worried about the swim portion. At this point I know I'm physically capable of doing all three legs of the triathlon--just not in a row. And with ten months to get ready I'm pretty sure I can work up to that.

I also spent a bit of time this weekend getting my bike ready for fall and winter riding--I finally attached the bell and fenders that I've had for a while and I attached the lights I just got. These things are bright! I'm going for a short ride tonight to test and make sure things are attached and working correctly, and if everything is o.k. I'm going to try to continue riding to work one day a week through the winter. I may wimp out on the really cold days, but I've done this before (and longer distances without such good clothes too; of course, back then I didn't have the option of a nice warm car with NPR and a cup of coffee) so I'm pretty sure I can do it again.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

This week

I totally forgot to post on Tuesday. I weighed myself - I was down from last week, back into my holding steady range - THANK GOODNESS!

I haven't been eating well. I have been eating a lot of popcorn - at work, at home, everywhere I go seems to have popcorn. There have been a couple of times that I haven't eaten at all until I get home and then I usually have a decent dinner - but not always. I am going back to keeping a food diary - not calorie counting, I gain weight when I do that - but just tracking that I AM eating, and hopefully eating something healthy.

My knees have been hurting lately. I think it is because I have been clenching up my legs at night because I am too cold. Last night I put on an extra blanket and today I am better. Although, yesterday at yoga my knees were mostly OK but my wrists were really hurting! Stan gave me a wedge to put under my hands to focus my weight off of my wrist and onto the ball of my hand - which helped a lot. I am proud of myself. I still hate downdog with a fiery passion - but I have noticed that first, my shoulders aren't tensing up as much when I do it (very hard - you are bent over at the waist, with your arms above your head and flat on the floor so you are forming a triangle with your feet, butt and hands being the three points - your shoulders are supposed to be held "relaxed" and away from your ears... kind of like you are standing with your arms hanging down, but reaching up instead - Stan calls it reaching with short arms.) ANYWAY so my shoulders are not scrunched up anymore. And second, I am noticing my heels are closer to the ground. In the ideal down dog your feet are flat on the floor - but most people can't do that when they first start out - unless they have had a reason for their calves to be nice and stretchy. I still don't have a lot of strength in my arms to hold me up for very long - but in most cases I can hold it the full time in class now. You are supposed to do 1 down dog for 3 minutes - or 3 for 1 minute each. He only had us do 2 yesterday, but the second one was REALLY long - so it may have been for 2 minutes. Supposedly when you are doing yoga regularly downward facing dog is the resting position. I don't buy it. You know the funny thing about yoga is most of the positions are things we do naturally as babies. Like downdog is exactly what toddlers do when they go from crawling to standing. Same with a lot of the twists we do. And there is a pose actually CALLED happy baby (it is what you would expect - lay on your back and grab your heels and pull your knees down to your ears-ish keeping your shins perpendicular to the floor).

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Fall routine

Well I started back to an exercise and eating routine. I'm following my exercise book and so far so good. But it has only been three days. Still I have hopes because it's just easier for me to focus as cooler weather arrives. There are so many distractions in the summer like ... beer. :-)

I'm really just hoping to get back into a regular routine to trim back down again. It was obvious that I had put on a few pounds. My biggest focus is cutting down beer. That shouldn't be too hard. Otherwise I've got the right food in the house and my bike and trainer are set up at home with my weights, etc. So I'm ready to go. 

Today was my first day back in the office since Sept. 8. I have been up on Capitol Hill nearly every day since then covering the financial bailout. My earliest day was probably 9 p.m. during that stretch so it was impossible to do any kind of activity except chase lawmakers around ... although that did prove to have some benefits. 

So I'm looking forward to the rest of the month and hopefully some weight loss. 


Tuesday, October 07, 2008

141.0

My weight has been in the 140-142 range for a long time now, most of the past month, anyway.  For some of that time I was aggressively exercising and counting calories and for the past three weeks I've barely exercised and I've given up counting calories.  I guess I know how to judge how much I'm eating by now (though not counting usually means I know I'm overeating if I want to lose weight, but don't want to face up to it) so I'm not eating WAY too much, but I'm surprised that the lack of exercise (about one day a week) hasn't affected my weight or the fit of my clothing more directly.  Go figure.

I have an appointment at the gym today but not much after that, and I'm out of town each of the next three weekends, including celebrating three birthdays (if you count Mom's, which I won't be there for, but anytime I'm around for Dad's, even late, I count it as celebrating both) and two family reunions (nothing like Southern-style potluck for weight gain -- and in this case I'm counting the Angerers coming as the second reunion).  So I'm doomed for this month.  I'll try to get better at squeezing in exercise, since squeezing out calories looks unlikely!

141.6

Thank goodness, some downward movement from last week! Last Wednesday I was up to over 145, then started dropping each day until I hit a low on Saturday morning of 141.4 and it's stayed in that range since then. I'm back to my original plan (duh, it works--don't know why I ever stray except that it's no fun) of counting calories and exercising five days a week. Last week was bike riding, swimming, running, dog walking and pilates. How's that for cross training?

Friday, October 03, 2008

Cease and desist letter to gravity

Dear. Mr./Ms. Gravity, 

Although I admire your ability to keep me, my car and house from merely floating into space I have growing concern about your seemingly increased powers since I hit age 40 about two months ago. No one who had turned 40 before me mentioned an immediate change in gravity after turning the big 4-0. 

It seems that despite my work to the contrary you are winning the battle and all of those parts I've worked so hard on are sagging a bit more each day. Did I do something to offend you? I mean, I feel like I've done my part here. I've given you plenty to work with, I really truly have been what could be considered a loyal subject. But now this? 

OK, sure I'm not exercising like I should and my food hasn't been the greatest lately but do I really deserve this kind of gravitational pull? I think not. 

I mean you're forcing me to consider a trip to a certain ladies department in the store that carries items to cinch, pull and smush those nagging sagging parts. Please, no.

So meanwhile, I will renew my efforts to eat well and exercise like a fiend. Somehow, some way I will thwart you. 

I'd just ask that you please gimme a break and at least return to normal strength for the time being to give me a fighting chance.