Only 5 posts? Seriously?

I know I can't claim any credit for the other 5 posts this month, either. I haven't checked in in weeks because I am (a) not watching what I eat AT ALL, (b) gaining weight, (c) barely exercising, and (d) unable to care about any of these. WHY can I not muster any enthusiasm for self-maintenance? Pathetic.

I think my weight was 143.0 this morning. It has gone as high as 144 and no lower than 142.5 in the last several weeks -- surprisingly consistent, actually. It would probably be worse if Daniel and I weren't keeping up our nightly walks (though not over the last week -- he was overseas until yesterday).

I need a kick in the butt!

Be Prepared... Good idea!

Now, had I followed that handy, dandy scouting motto I wouldn't be in the predicament I am. Unlike April I didn't pre-emptively plan on shrinking my caboose to fit into a plane seat. See - I knew full well I had no travel plans on the horizon. In fact - I planned a stay-cation for early July. BUT - had I started with the butt reduction I might have been in a better position for the LONG flight to Spain next month. Instead I am obsessively measuring my butt to see if I can squeeze it into a 17.25" seat (doubtful).

Pretty consistantly I come back from vacations weighing LESS than I did when I left (with the exception of the cruise Sarah and I went on - I was at the bottom of my lose 12 pounds/gain 20 cycle - which I hadn't yet identified...). I think that is because when I travel I eat WAY more regularly (even if more!). I am generally more active too - duh!

So - Spain in July - July 15-24 to be precise. I intend to drink sangria and eat paella without remorse!!

THEN - Come August 1st I am starting my own personal Game-On Diet challenge!

Stess and Excitement!

Between Stress with work (Open Enrollment) and Excitement/Anxiety over traveling, I'm holding steady but not losing very much over the last 2 weeks.  I've held steady at 213.  I'm not sure whether Ireland will bring a gain, a loss or a steady maintenance of my weight.  I guess we shall see.

Regarding food while we're over there (I've never been)...our plan is to enjoy the large breakfast at the B&Bs where we'll be staying.  Then have a late lunch/early dinner then a snack (of some sort).  With all the walking we'll be doing, I'm sure I can't do TOO BAD.  It isn't like we're going to the beach where the entire trip is centered around food and Dumsers :)

Next week on Tuesday, I'll be in Galway :)

Hope everyone has a great couple of weeks...I won't be back online until probably July 1st.  We don't get back until the 29th. 

No power = no weighing

I thought about it this morning while I was in the shower -but I forgot by the time I was out. I was too busy having no power! So - when BGE sends you the bills, they really mean it when they say they will shut off your power if you don't pay. LOL! How pathetic! The only bills that aren't automatically deducted from my bank are the ones that Katie and I split. However, I am going to be changing that now... 8-)

I haven't been exercising or eating right AT ALL for the past week or so. That means my weight is probably down. I seem to do the opposite of what I am supposed to. OTOH - I have gotten a lot of knitting done and have watched most of five seasons of Doctor Who.

Here I am!

Last time I posted was May 17, and at that point I was up to 142.8, eating well, no exercise, and Connor starting back on prednisone after relapsing into his immune system weirdness.

Now it's four weeks later, I'm up to 143.8, which I consider a bit of a victory because I'm not even pretending to eat well, still not exercising, had Connor at the immunologist yesterday and his lymph nodes are still enlarged (for anyone keeping track, this started a year ago March, and actually probably started sometime before that with symptoms we couldn't see) and just for fun he's also been battling some stomach bug for a week and a half and he's been throwing up every night, so we also get to collect a stool sample because the doctor suspects it might be bacterial and not viral (which would also explain why I didn't get this since I just don't seem to get bacterial infections).

Also in the last four weeks: end of the year with Scouts and school, starting plans for the 4th of July parade float (why did I volunteer for that one?), joining the national trip group (scouts planning a trip for next summer), dealing with car issues (stranded twice in the past two weeks), dealing with appliance issues (oven broke; didn't realize how much I relied on it until it was dead), and developing a geeky obsession with Doctor Who.

None of that has anything to do with healthy living, except tangentially. Getting stranded a mile from home meant I walked two miles that day (the next time, four miles from home with scouts starting in an hour I called Katie for rescue!) so that's something, right? Geeky Doctor Who obsession leads to lots of sitting on my butt watching television, though.

But next week I'm starting a competitive healthy living program. Seriously. At work we're starting teams to "play" Game On, which seems to be based loosely on the Body for Life diet and exercise plan, with extra healthy living bits thrown in (focus on getting more sleep, reducing bad habits, starting healthy habits). You get daily points for meeting minimum standards for diet, exercise, sleep, healthy habits, and some other things. Your team's average points are tracked, and after four weeks the team with the most points wins a prearranged prize (we're all putting in money; this seems like a more sensible use of money than a football pool to me).

Where have we all been?!?

I'm too swamped to post but was wondering what is going on with everyone?!  I am doing great with running and eating right.  Ireland is in 10 days...WOW! 

Hope all is well!!!

So much for my new attitude

I didn't make good choices. I didn't even remember after the first couple of days that I need to make good choices. I made mostly bad choices - consisting of a whole lot of not eating. Mostly because we had no decent food in the house.

Friday night was our knitting club meeting - which means I ate snacks for dinner - and some gorgeous (thank you Dr. Who) gourmet ding-dongs. Yum! Saturday Katie and I did our spa day - which started at 1:30, but since it was in Bel Air we had to leave home at about noon. This means we didn't get lunch. We each had a Green Monster and coffee prior to that. Then - neither of us had any money to buy sushi - which is what we wanted for dinner - so we went home and had... Poulet? I think for dinner. Maybe fish? I can't remember. Sunday was a similar day - only minus the green monsters. We had used up the yogurt on Saturday and again - no money. All I remember is eating maybe one meal a day - and no fruits and veggies. Today Katie took the day off, so I had oatmeal at work for breakfast and left over Poulet fish for lunch - and then a salad.

I did little to no exercise all weekend. I did some yoga stretches each day - but mostly becaue my back was sore from sitting on my butt all weekend watching Dr. Who and knitting. So - THAT aspect of the weekend was really good -but health wise it was not so great... 8-)

My weight was up - not surprisingly.

Working...

Hi Ladies!!!
I weighed in today...even tho aunt flow made her appearance on Sunday and I had kinda a crazy weekend.  I did exercise but didn't consume very many veggies which is bizarre for me!  And the results??  DOWN!  I couldn't believe it.  I'm down to 216.  I am 6lbs down from where I wanted to be by June 1 but I'm OK with it!!  I'm just happy to be down. 

This is my HELL week or should I say weeks.  It is Open Enrollment for our benefits at TESSCO and as the benefit manager, that means I'm in HELL!  I'll be ready for June 13th (end of OE)...then ONLY ONE MORE WEEK TO IRELAND!  That means I only have 3 weeks from now...eek!  I'm so excited!!!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

New Attitude

Or - more precisely - a new motto. It is not unlike my old motto (Regret Nothing) however, I think it is a little more precise. I just made it up right now... "Only Good Choices." I like this one because it can apply to all aspects of life... Should I go to yoga today or Saturday - Good Choice - Today AND Saturday. Should I eat that cupcake? Good Choice "Only if you can't live without it." I am going to make more effort to examine all of my actions and make a better effort to choose the best choice.

Comparison

Holy Crap!  I just did a comparison of photos of myself (in an attempt to stay motivated).  The picture on the right is from March 1, 2011.  The picture on the left is from today, May 25, 2011 (approximately 3 months).

Yay me!!!  I'm so excited!

Barely Budging

My weight that is. I went down .4 this week from last week - which is pretty much the same as not losing anything. I still can't figure out HOW I managed to pack on 7 pounds in a week (or overnight... not weighing myself daily I don't know if it was all at once or over time.) It is frustrating.

I know on a logical level that I am fundamentally a healthy person (the crazy thing not counting). I am a well adjusted person (again, not counting the crazy). I like myself, I like my stuff, I like what I do and the way I think. I like the people I surround myself with. I am a HAPPY person who can easily see how blessed my life is. The only real flaw is my weight. We were just talking about this yesterday (April and me with skinny Grace). The worst thing about being heavy - at least in the case of April and I who are both otherwise very healthy - is that we know what others think of us. We know we are being judged. We know that we are seen as lesser individuals because we are overweight. Nevermind that we are smart, attractive, interesting people. Discrimination towards fat people is a real thing. I know that it exists because I DO IT TOO!! We are conditioned by society to view fat people as lazy, sloppy or just plain stupid. Or all of the above. Mom tells me all the time that she is "concerned" about my weight because of health reasons - never mind that I am in perfect health. I have excellant cholesterol, perfect blood pressure, rarely get sick - and until recently never had allergies. I didn't even get my first gray hair until I was 37. I never had pimples when I was a teenager and my skin is still pretty nice. Katie asked me when I firsted noticed my hands were getting old - and I STILL haven't seen them get old. My doctor has NEVER mentioned being concerned about my weight. My yoga instructor keeps calling me an intermediate yogini. I am not afraid to try new physical activies (hello? clogging now!). Why do I STILL feel the need to think less of myself because I am fat.

I would be willing to bet that if any of you strapped a 100 pound body suit on YOU wouldn't be able to clog for 45 minutes straight! I'm just saying.............

140.5 -- Ha!

My weight has been increasing and leapt from 141.5 to 143.5 over the weekend. It was abrupt, but true to the spirit of my lifestyle lately. So I finally got back on track yesterday with counting calories (and trying to make sure very few of them were empty). I was just hoping for anything lower than 143.5 today, and I got an unrealistic 140.5. So I don't know what my weight REALLY should be. Probably about 142. So if I can see 140.5 next week I'll know I'm moving the right direction.

The one positive change this past week is that Daniel and I have started going for walks in the evenings after the kids are in bed. Weather permitting, of course -- we did have a pretty exciting thunderstorm one evening, so we vacuumed up water from the overfull french drain instead of going out for a walk. (We bought a pump to do this job several years ago, but now it doesn't see the need to come on anymore, after only a few uses. Sigh.) It's not a demanding or challenging walk -- we want to stay in view of the house, so we're just walking the loop in front of the school, which is totally flat. But I'm picking up 3,000 to 5,000 steps I wouldn't otherwise, so it can't hurt, especially since I'm not getting much exercise most days. And it REALLY beats sitting in front of the TV or the computers and snacking!

Yuck!

I had a HORRIBLE weekend (health wise).  My weekend, activity wise, was GREAT but in terms of food and exercise it lacked!  I am paying for it too...not only is my belly upset, I feel rotten and I gained weight!  YUCK!  I'm not very happy right now but I know I'm back on track

I'm starting my vita muffin tops again.  The dark chocolate ones are SO YUMMY and at 100calories a pop and loaded with fiber...I'll be good to go.  I will of course monster and I'm going to step up my workout beginning tonight!  Gone is the weekend and as a result, I won't be weighing in tomorrow *officially*  I don't want to document my gain in that way.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! 

A good combo

For the past several years I've worked out with weights -- barbells mostly -- while avoiding weight-lifting machines at the gym.

I wore my fat-girl pants this week and they were really loose so that's a good sign. I've been riding my bike to the store and around the neighborhood. I hope to ride a couple of times this weekend. Once to the farmers market and the other on a bike ride in DC -- a 20-miler around the city with the streets closed. Nice.

I think it's incredibly important for women to use weights and keep up our muscle strength. I saw something yesterday where it was recommended to a woman that she could lose that last 15 pounds by going beyond cardio routines and using weights.

I found a really nice set of barbells on craigslist a few years back -- got them for cheap from a couple moving abroad -- and have used them regularly.

I've gradually worked up to these weights -- start with 2 pounds then gradually move up.

Although I've followed routines in fitness books I think I've finally put together a killer workout, which can be amended. Here's what I do -- in any order. This takes me about 30 minutes or so, maybe less. But it's potent.

1. Jump rope -- 5 x 60 reps -- I'm finally getting better at this -- it was hard for awhile. I hope to expand on this and go for longer. It really gets your heart pumping.

2. On the stability ball -- 15# -- 3 sets of 12-15 reps -- biceps, shoulder press, chest press. This has been tough. I can add reps or weight as I go. The ball is great for so many things.

3. Squats, deadlifts, twists and/or butterflies -- 15# and 3 sets -- Squats should be the cornerstone of any workout. They help trim your entire body. They're something you can do in front of the TV or watching your husbands cook dinner ;-). Whew, you can feel it the next day. There are several exercises to alternate in here with squats and deadlifts. I try to do ones where I need to stand so there's a smoother transition.

4. Planks (30-60 secs), bike abs, skull crushers (triceps on the ball) and sit-ups on the ball. This is a tough set, too.

Keep up the great work everyone!

Waterproof cycling jacket/invisibility cloak

I shared this eBay listing with Amy yesterday, but thought you all might get a kick out of it too. Don't forget to read the Q&A!

Do the "skinny" Girl Rock!!!

I changed the words of the song...I'm so freakin excited.  I lost 1.5lbs last week!!!!!!!  I ran like a mad woman on Saturday with a friend (she nearly killed me) and although I've been skipping Aerobics to squish on my little baby girl *who is crawling BTW*; I've not missed a night of run/walking.  So that takes me down to 217.5.  Looking at goals, I technically have 7.5 to go to June 1st (unreasonable, I think) and 17.5 to Ireland (5 weeks from now, also unreasonable) but I'm not really that worried about it!!!  I'm just excited I keep losing. 

This is so different from EVERY other way I've ever lived my adult life.  I have always ALWAYS ALWAYS been obsessed with dieting and my weight.  I'm sure that is why I'm in the predicament I'm in now...However, this time is totally different.  I am really enjoying this new lifestyle.  I love eating well and not feeling stuffed and gross.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my green monster.  I eat everything I really love to eat, just in moderation.  I have started to really think about portion control and noticing when I'm full.  I have also added exercise to my daily routine.  I can't say that this is my favorite part but I do it b/c I feel good afterwards and I KNOW this is what is making my weight loss possible. 

Today is a good day!!!

Up this week

I was 142.8 today, which was better than I was expecting. Every day I get on the scale and expect to be back to 146. I'm eating fairly well, but getting no exercise so even when I eat perfectly, I still feel like a lazy slug.

Connor seems to be heading back into bazoinka immune system land--he took over our bed a couple of nights, then didn't sleep more than a few hours for several nights, and then added in scratching himself a lot over the weekend, then moved on to middle-of-the-night baths and fighting off getting dressed the past two mornings. We're not going to "wait and see" this time--he's going back on prednisone tomorrow morning.

I didn't forget

Ugh. I don't wanna talk about it...

I didn't forget...

I was 140.5 today. But that was, honestly, several pounds better than I was expecting, even though it was a pound up from last week. Last week's weight was the lowest it had been in several days, so it went right back up, and this week's weight was after several days of gluttony and absolutely no exercise. Not to mention car time, which usually makes matters worse. I have to assume I'm somewhat dehydrated to get a reasonable number like that. But today marks the beginning of a return to normality for me; maybe I can at least avoid gaining any more.

Whoops..forgot to weigh myself

I never forget to weigh myself but the last few days I've been in a weird zoned out mood in the morning.  I will weigh in tomorrow with my results but the last time I weighed myself was Saturday and I was down .5 lbs from last week.  Hope I lost at least another .5 :)

Revelation

Exercise and food are going along fairly smoothly -- it's nice to have the farmers market back. I've had fresh strawberries, asparagus and lettuces, including a bunch growing in pots on my deck. The strawberries are *so* good, especially when I put them in fresh yogurt obtained at the farmers market.

I've picked up my exercise again and am trying to bike around the neighborhood at the minimum in anticipation of a busy biking summer that starts in about two weeks.

So ... onto my revelation ... I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time it's hit me but this time the facts hit the target.

I was watching a documentary about David Blaine -- the guy who likes to lock himself in boxes and not eat for two months. Fun, huh? Anyway, he did a 44-day turn of only drinking water and sitting in a clear box hanging from a crane in London.

He lost 52 pounds and his waist expanded by probably 7-8 inches. He couldn't believe it. His starvation trick turned him into a tub of goo not just a bag of bones.

I know it's easy for me to sit in front of a computer all day and not think about moving until my after-work workout. So I'm trying to inject a couple of walks into my day -- it's my proven way to shed pounds and I've neglected to get them back into my schedule. I'm trying harder.

For your viewing pleasure...

This is the color of the yarn (sort of) that I ordered to make my new sweater. I ordered it on an alpaca/merino base so it will be very soft and fuzzy. However, the alpaca has a tendancy to not want to suck up as much dye as the other wools - so it will be less intense than what is here. Isn't it pretty?? 8-)

Running in the Rain...

Last night after I put Livie to sleep (around 7:30) I decided I wanted to go for a run.  I headed out and realized that a storm was brewing.  I was pretty sure I could make it back before the rain....so out I went.  I headed out for my 2 mile run/walk.  I decided I was going to run to a timer b/c I'll cheat distance but I won't cheat a timer.  Where I'll stop running a little before the end of a distance goal...I will run straight until the timer goes off (at least I know my limitations, LOL).  So I set my timer for 10 minutes and took off at a pretty good pace.  I was thrilled at how easily I was able to do it.  After the buzzer went off I started to walk for a bit.  After about 30 seconds of walking the heavens opened up and God unleashed his furry in the form of a DOWNPOUR!  I still had about 3/4 of a mile to get home...I just started running and laughing!!!  I was drenched when I got home.  My hair was dripping and I looked like I had been in a wet t-shirt contest :)  It was pretty comical!  But I ran basically a total of 20 minutes without stopping!!!  THIS WAS A HUGE breakthrough and I have the rain to thank for it!!!

Just thought I'd share...:)

So now the clock is ticking!!

I have officially ordered the yarn for my next sweater - which means that I have to finish Sarah's sweater before that arrives. So - I better get busy on that! I don't think it should be a problem. I finished the body (front and back) up to the armhole split. I have started on the left front. That I should be able to finish tonight. Then the right front (only a few days for that). Then the back - maybe a week. The big challenge will be the sleeves and the button bands. I heard one person describing knitting sleeves to knitting kneesocks - which no one does because it takes too long. OTOH socks are done on toothpicks with thread and sleeves are done on knitting needles with yarn - so it can't be THAT bad! I will keep you posted.

In other news I had no ingredients to green monster on Saturday and didn't get to the store until Sunday (except for one abortive attempt where I got as far as the parking lot of the grocery store and realized I had no way to PAY so I went home). Anyway, after chuch yesterday I went to the grocery store and bought a BUNCH of ingredients and promptly came home and made one last night. I was REALLY missing it!! It tasted so good last night!!!

Today I ordered a new blender from Amazon. Mine has been acting suspiciously for a while now. Today it was sort of surging and smelling like burnt rubber. I don't want to be left without any way to whomp a green monster in the future (although, I could probably use the food processor... we already figured out that the immersion blender doesn't do it...).

On Saturday I went to the all time weirdest home show. It was for a company called Norwex. My good friend Patty has just signed up to become a consultant. Norwex is green cleaning products. Who would think it is a good idea to sell cleaning products through direct sales...? However, the woman said that these are used in the majority of homes in Europe and 1 in 7 homes in the Canada. It is just now starting to be sold in the US. I gotta say - you know I hate to clean - but I was very impressed. It was SO COOL! But - don't worry - you will all have a chance to see this stuff for yourself. I told Patty I would do a party for her in July (so I can earn the Mop System... hee hee). I am not kidding though. I was REALLY impressed!!! BTW - Norwex stands for Norwegian Experience - so Emily - you will need to arrange to be in town for it so you can tell us if it really is like living in Norway. Ha Ha!! Wear Cecilia's dress. LOL!

Tuesday? Really?

I don't know why I can't seem to remember to post on Tuesdays. I look at the blog on OTHER days! My weight was 139.5 this week -- just a half pound up from last week, remarkably. I realized I was eating just as much junk food without my Easter basket, by dipping into the general collection of candy. So instead I got my basket back and put a bunch of it into the family collection, which balanced things out a bit. Only I hadn't counted on Mother's Day -- spaghetti and meatballs and MORE chocolate!

I've been exercising still just the one or two days a week, but I've been so busy otherwise that I'm not just constantly eating, and my step count isn't too bad. I'm eating meatless lunches still -- I find that I'm completely hooked on hummus on toast and these organic soups we've been getting. I'm not sure that it really reduces the calorie count, but I'm liking the lighter taste of the meals. We're aiming to cook meat only once a week at most -- seafood and vegetarian the other days -- but so far we haven't settled into a routine, because of baseball nights, Easter, Mother's Day, an approaching birthday (chicken tenders for the kids' party, pizza with the family), and a night of pizza at home (which I'd been craving through Lent). And that's just in two weeks! Surely it has to calm down soon.

Slow and Steady wins the race...

I'm down .5 today (219)  To meet my June 1 goal I have to lose 9lbs in 3 weeks.  I don't think this is logical but I'll give it a go.  Food wise I've been "ok".  Nothing spectacular but I haven't been restricting myself either.  Today I made a bad lunch choice at Poulet.  I should have brought my lunch :)

My neighborhood ladies decided that we were going to start a walking club.  We walk on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Monday nights we go to the Ma Pa trail and we did 3.5 miles last night and it felt GREAT!  Wednesdays we will just walk 2 miles in the neighborhood.  I think I'm going to run either a half mile or mile in the neighborhood before I meet up with them...then walk the 2 miles.  I'm LOVING this time!  Aerobics is still on Tuesday nights but only until May 24th.  As far as this weekend goes...Friday night I went to the zoo on the first grade fieldtrip so I walked ALL DAY.  Saturday I ran/walked 2 miles.  Sunday I did nothing b/c it was mother's day :) 

I've just read an article that interviewed the authors of The Diet Survivor's Handbook: 60 Lessons in Eating, Acceptance and Self Care, Judith Matz and Ellen Frankel.  Fascinating stuff!!!  I think Mason and I are going to pick up the book tonight at Barnes and Noble.  I can totally get behind what they're talking about.  I definitely need to improve the relationship I have with food!  Has anyone read it?  I know it is in Amy's wish list...I'll let ya'll know what I think.

This is my crazy time of year...work wise with Open Enrollment so I'll probably be kind of out of the loop for a few weeks but I'll be back! :)

Holding steady

I was 142.2 again today, a testament to the fact that my normal diet keeps my weight steady. "Normal" this week included quite a bit of indulging, though--the G.S. Harry Potter overnight included a visit to Honeydukes; the Sheep and Wool festival of course included eating fair food (cotton candy--yum!); I had barbeque and ice cream (not together) for dinner on Sunday, and last night we went to Red Robin for dinner. So overall, not great eating. I guess I'm glad I didn't gain weight!

I did get some exercise, though. Kind of informally over the weekend--I took the girls to Patapsco State Park on Saturday and we went for a two mile walk, then I followed that up in the evening with a four mile walk with Davy. And this morning I got my act together to get out for a run in the morning. Ugh. I hate getting up before 5:30 in order to go torture myself! And when I say "run" I don't mean that literally--I probably didn't run more than 2/3 of the route. But I covered slightly more than three miles while the rest of my family was still asleep, so now I don't have to feel guilty all day.

One week later

So I haven't lost my five pounds of post-nasal drip yet. I did lose 1.8 of them. So that is a start. I should go back and read old blog entries for spring. I don't recall ever in my life having the post Easter weight gain that Emily talks about. I know I eat a lot ON Easter - and I know I have Easter candy for weeks following Easter - but it isn't like Halloween and Christmas, where I have the candy and eat it too, and spend the next three months avoiding going outside. Easter I have candy - and it often lingers for a long time - but I am not in hibernation mode, so I don't eat as much of it and I don't have as much time to eat it because there are other events going on.

My eating at Sheep and Wool festival was bad, but wasn't HORRIBLE. I had a Gyros on Saturday and a large limeade. Then Sunday I had a petite cheese burger and two large strawberry lemonades. I scraped together my last few dollars and borrowed two from Katie and bought some cinnamon almonds - which I ate all gone on the way home. So Sunday was worse than Saturday - but not awful considering it was festival food. OTOH, I spent about the equivalent of a week's worth of groceries on the food. Grrr. So Katie and I are back to Green Monstering with frozen spinach. Ick.

Exercise was OK last week. I took a couple of walks, did yoga (which, BTW, I was mentally deranged at - I had my migraine all last week that came and went in waves - and it was on an upswing during yoga - and I could not keep my balance for anything - and then twisted my arm weirdly doing a DWFD and it still hurts from that!). I took a nap after yoga so my headache was better by clogging - which was a lot of fun - as usual! We don't have clogging this week (conflict with the school or something) but Pam sent us the cue sheets and music for the dance we have been working on - so Katie and I will clog in our kitchen - or maybe the yoga room. Kitchen probably. We will have to do it at full speed since I can't download clog-amp on my Mac.

I have a new challenge for me. Katie and I are going to do a sweater knit along (we are going to do the same pattern, differnt yarns - BTW, Emily, if you want to do it too it would be a very good first sweater pattern for you - I will email the deets to you). So, my plan is to order the yarn - which will take about 6 weeks to get here (custom dyed). By that time I want to finish Sarah's sweater. I am about 6 rows from the armhole split - which means I am more than a third of the way through. I could do this in six weeks. So - the clock will start ticking as soon as I place my order... YAY!

Why did I bring jelly beans to work?

Terrible idea. But I might be close to being sick of them...they are the Sweet Tart jelly beans.

Shoot. I missed Tuesday.

I was actually on here and responding to comments and everything -- I just didn't get around to posting. Which is fitting, because even though I had all my normal Tuesday stuff going on, it did not feel like a Tuesday all day.

My weight was 139.0. I started to go up over 140 but I made Mary hide my basket, which worked a little bit -- there is still a lot of other candy around the house but I'm less inclined to be a total pig on the shared candy. Only a minor pig. So I'm not losing weight but I'm not gaining dramatically (yet). And when I got down under 139 -- my breaking point -- and my basket was out again, I shared freely. Only today I was up to the 139 again, so the basket has gone away. Since today I ate a couple of Cadbury eggs anyway, I'm not expecting a drop tomorrow. But I'm also not getting into my post-Easter free-for-all mode, at least not entirely, so when the candy dries up I might be able to keep the calorie counting going. We shall see.

I felt pretty icky last week most of the week, but after the first day it didn't seem like a dairy issue -- I think in the end that that was just coincidence. I think it was just the all-around bad eating. I do strongly suspect I'd feel better more of the time if I ate like I did during Lent more of the time. I'm finding I'm not as enamored of breakfast cereals as I was two months ago; if it didn't take 10 minutes longer I'd be back to daily oatmeal (but I'm still eating it a few days a week). But I LIKE the foods I eat most of the time! So I think I'll go on feeling icky sometimes and just trying to keep calories down, the way I always have.

I read an article on SparkPeople today that said the most effective exercise is the one you love to do. Several commenters said they simply haven't found an exercise they love. I'm kind of the same way -- I have a number of activities I like, like cycling, swimming, and tap dancing, but none that I wouldn't get tired of if I tried to do them five days a week. I like cycling about once a week if the weather is great, and I like it for commuting. I like tap dancing when it's part of a production but not really for its own sake. I like swimming about once a week. And NONE of these is practical for me on a weekly basis right now anyway, so it's not like I can rotate through them (and I'd still get bored of them because I'd know I NEED to do them). I accept that I'm not going to love any exercise that much -- of course I'd rather be reading a book or wasting time online or baking or doing something else at home -- but I do boring exercises WHILE I read a book because I need to do something for my physical well-being.

Holy Canolli!

And not in a good way. My weight was up FIVE and a half pounds since last week. AND - last week it should have been inflated because my period started that day. This just isn't right. OK - even if last week was an unnatural low - and today is an unnatural high I still want to know how I gained FIVE POUNDS in a week!?

It could be five pounds of post nasal drip - but I don't think it is. I have been dealing with allergies - but that is mostly an extreme headache (possibly a migraine and not allergies) and fatigue. I haven't been excessive with my exercise - but I have also been not that bad... Every other day if not daily. I had eaten virtually no Easter candy - until just this past weekend. OTOH, I ate almost no protein this weekend either. I have been Green Monstering every day, so I haven't been completely devoid of nutrients.

This past Friday I had another weird dizzy episode like I did back in February. This time I was at work in the middle of the day and started feeling dizzy. It is more vertigo than lightheadedness - but at the same time I don't really feel like I am going to fall down. It is more like I am stable, but the world is moving around me. Anyway - that lasted from about 1:15 to 5:30. I went home at about 2:30 because it came with an urgent need to sleep. I do know that my body will gain weight in reaction to pretty much any stress. It is very possible that THAT alone made me gain weight. I continued to feel bad off and on all weekend. I STILL feel like I can't get enough sleep and my head is being pressed in a too small headshaped steel mold. Yesterday Suzanne told me I looked unnaturally pale - even for my normal paleness. Anyway - so today I went back to my doctor for a follow-up anemeia, vitamin D blood test.

Sigh... The worst part is that when I have these weight spikes, they don't go away. I will never drop those extra five pounds.

*Sigh* Tuesdays

I think I'll have to adjust my weigh in day.  I have some mental block on Tuesdays for some reason.

We hiked about 4.5 miles Sunday in Patapsco before the drizzle started.  My arms are still sore today; I guess I must have been swinging them with extra vigor or something. We did two marked trails and then an unmarked that takes you to the base of Liberty Dam. It was a good outing overall; we finished up in about two hours. I was hoping to get out again tonight, but now I'm not sure that can happen because we have to stop by campus after work to pick up Peter's Blackberry that he left in a classroom last night. At that time of day we'll be lucky to get home by 6 pm.


I'm really sleepy today, and I even went to bed at a decent time last night. I managed to make us breakfast this morning, but lunch was just pushing it, so we have to eat out.  I wish I didn't work in the ghetto. It is really true what is written about food deserts in the city; even when you go into the market, your choices are pizza, chinese food or fried chicken. There isn't a grocery store nearby either.  At least if I go to Potbelly's I'll get in a decent walk.

Took a week off, gained a bunch of weight

After hitting my 140.4 goal, I decided to just not even think about my weight during the week after Easter, so I ate all the candy in sight (my theory is that you're going to eat it all eventually anyway, so why not get rid of it quickly?), didn't exercise at all (that one wasn't by choice, but necessity--I really need to figure out a way to fit in exercise when I don't have lunch breaks and Brian is gone for 12 hours a day), and basically acted like a gluttonous slug all week. As a result, my weight is up two pounds today from two weeks ago--142.2 this morning. Seriously, I was expecting worse so this was a nice surprise! As of today I'm back on the healthy diet bandwagon (although I think there are still some Peeps around here somewhere). I'm also back to a more normal work schedule. The last couple of months have been insane. I finally tracked all of the grants that went out--we finished 14 proposals in 6 weeks. A more normal rate is about two or three in a month. I've got two more in the next two weeks, but that's nothing--I should be able to finish those during actual work hours and not have to keep putting in time at home on weekends and during the evenings.

It's now less than six months until the Wild Goose Chase (metric century bike ride in October), which is plenty of time to train, except that I haven't done anything at all recently. I've been on my bike maybe twice this year. I miss commuting now that the weather is nice. Today would be a perfect day for bike commuting! In theory I don't really need to train--I did the 100 Miles of Nowhere a couple of years ago with no training, but my legs were toast by the end and I was averaging maybe 7 m.p.h. at the end of the ride (which I also did as a metric century because I had a 2:00 meeting that day!). I'd rather not do it that way again. Things should get easier in June when I won't have Girl Scout commitments every weekend, and the sun won't set so early (right now it's pretty much dark when Brian gets home from work), but between now and mid June I have no idea what I'm going to do to train.

I'll take it!

OK Ladies...I'll take it!!!  219.5!!  WOOT!  I'm getting there.  I have 9.5lbs to lose by June 1st!!!  This weekend was CRAZY so I wasn't sure how it was gonna work out on the demon scale but I'm pretty happy with my results. 

My exercise was unconventional this weekend.  Friday, I'm counting the maraton clean I did on my house before my Pampered Chef party.  Saturday, I'm counting the walking and walking and walking I did at QVC during Beauty Bash.  I also partook of some easter candy this weekend, but not too much and now all the good stuff is gone so I'm in the clear!

Sorry for the short post but I'm S-W-A-M-P-E-D today...Hope everyone has a GREAT Tuesday!

Back to last Tuesday's weight?!?

This is strange...I'm back down to 220.5 which is my weight from last Tuesday!  WEIRD!  I know others are used to fluctuating like this but I am not...very bizarre but I'll take it.  I still want to be down to 210 by June 1st!!! 

It is bizarre how much we rely on our cell phones...I've been without one (long story) all week and it is starting to make me a little crazy!  I thought that "unplugging" would be liberating for me (b/c I'm obsessed with my phone) but it is not liberating it is unnerving.  I probably need to see a therapist about this, LOL!

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday!

My weight today

... was 138.5, a half pound up from last week, a pound up from Easter morning, and the same as yesterday. Yesterday I didn't have trouble restraining myself until after dinner. Today I have been on the all-jellybean diet all day. (But at least the milk with breakfast sat just fine. Maybe I needed more jellybeans yesterday.) I'm about to hit the gym this afternoon. I wonder how many hours at the gym it takes to work off a gallon of jellybeans?

I am down

I am back to where I was before I went up to where I ended up. So - now I am BELOW the dreaded mark. I was 248.8 today. So that is almost two pounds down from last week. I can't say I did much differently last week than I did previous weeks. I was still on my no excuses for Lent exercise plan, but, as I told April, my exercise had been half hearted. We didn't have clogging last week. OTOH, I sweat like crazy when I do exercise - which I had never done in the past. BUT - that was a change from earlier in the year. I don't know. It certainly can't be the time of the month, because I am crampy and bloated leading me to believe that my period is about to start. It can't be my food. Well, now, maybe it is. I have noticed in the past that I have an odd tendency to lose weight after I have hosted a party. I have joked before (I wanted to say quipped, but that sounded pretentious) that when I eat a diet of all junk food all the time I actually LOSE weight. I don't know. But I won't complain if I continue to lose weight.


OH! I did have Shea do a treatment for me for weight loss. I feel like that is vaguely cheating - but she and I have talked extensively about my lack of weight loss. Shea has been very much of the mind set that I need to be comfortable in the body I have since I am otherwise very healthy- but my argument is my body doesn't feel like the body I am supposed to have. Anyway, most acupuncture treatments for weight loss focus on appetite suppressing. I don't need that - having no appetite to begin with. So she did a treatment that was more focused on continuous movement - referring to the energy in your body, which is a metabolism boost. It was a very strange sensation. The points were mostly in my legs and I could feel the energy moving. It was like little licks of fire were running up and down my shins and calves under my skin. Maybe that did actually help.


Anyway - I have switched to frozen spinach in my monsters, and I am officially switching back as of today. I prefer the fresh spinach on so many levels!

BUST!

So I gained weight this week!  BOO!!!  and I was really well behaved at Easter, oh well!  I will not be deterred...I will keep on truckin.  I am adding an extra walk to my day (with my loving co-workers).  The path we use is almost exactly a mile, so this will make my daily trek a total of 3 miles.  I'm also going to limit my carbs, this always gives me a boost in the right direction.  Unfortunately I've only lost a total of 1lb this whole month.  Down, same, down, then up :( 

Goal:  I will be down to 210 by June 1st.  Hold me to this ladies (although documenting this here is enough :)) 

I still love my Monster!  I started monstering around February 1st and I've only missed 2 days.  I'm going to take my measurements on June 1st also and see what the results are.  Time to bust a move!!!  :)

Milk is evil and wrong

After a month and a half dairy-free, I cheerfully poured my cereal with skim milk for breakfast this morning and downed it. Less than a half hour later I felt horrible -- my stomach was very distressed. I made the mistake of trying to go for a 30-minute run anyway; often when I have indigestion that helps, because it kind of wakes up my system and moves everything through. Instead it got worse. My legs were fine, my lungs were fine, so I ought to have been able to run 5k beautifully well. But after about 8 minutes my entire upper digestive system was cramping up, so I kept having to stop and walk until the spasms subsided. Ugh. It took me 32 minutes to do 3 miles, when my gym pace on the treadmill (usually tougher than the road for me) is more like 29.

I think my body quit producing lactase when it realized I didn't need it. I am HOPING this is temporary -- after a day or two of trying to give it dairy products again it might re-open the production line. I like dairy too much to have to give it up permanently.

Of course I ate junk food all day yesterday, but the actual dairy content of Reese's eggs is probably fairly small. And we had a vegan friend as a dinner guest, so anywhere I would normally use butter or milk I used vegan "buttery sticks" and almond milk. And I was so busy I had no more than a nibble of cheese all evening. So this is really the first chance I've had to test this. Bleah.

I didn't try to count calories yesterday but today I am back to it. I haven't had any candy and it's already lunch time -- this would be more of a triumph if I hadn't felt so gross all morning. I am bound and determined not to have my annual post-Easter weight gain, though!

Our Internet is acting up here at work. I just wrote a fairly lengthy comment saying why negative reinforcement - the threat of punishment - works better for me than positive - the promise of reward - does for accomplishing goals. Making me accountable to someone other than myself is, I think, mandatory. That being said, April and I just came up with a plan where I have to report to her daily what exercise I did the day before. I will no longer be able to tell her that she is not the boss of me - because in this she will be.

Maybe, we will be able to eventually have me reportable to her for my food too.

I also think I will call the bariatic center at Johns Hopkins. Even if my weight loss problems are only psychological, maybe they can help me out.

Uneventful week

My weight went back up to 141 over the week but came back down to 138 today. I was definitely bloated, but I started feeling better yesterday. I'm content just to be at last week's weight -- as I said, it will take a while to move any lower (and now Easter is almost here, so lots of chocolate is coming!). At this time of year I'm just trying to keep up with everyday life.

I did have a highly active day yesterday -- I had a gym appointment and did 45 minutes on the elliptical, and then when I got home I found I needed to go to Kroger, so I walked there (I'm trying to make it a rule that if the weather is even vaguely reasonable I will not drive -- it's only a half mile!). Actually, I jogged there -- Cecilia came along and she knew we were in a hurry, so she took my hand and SHE ran the whole half mile without stopping!! I walked back, but she ran back home, at least for the first half, until we met up with Daniel and walked with him -- and it's uphill for that whole first quarter mile. I was pretty impressed. Anyway, after dinner I needed to get to Target, and then I ended up walking the whole store a couple of times in search of lighters -- normally they have the long ones by the checkout, but they only had the little ones there, so I had to hunt and only found them in the outdoor section waaayyyy at the back. 15,000+ steps for the day.

I was active on the weekend, too, with a Kroger walk and with sorting through two years of kids' clothes that were piling up in every corner of the bedrooms. I sorted them in my room, but the kids' room was where the boxes were stored, so I walked back and forth for hours. And on Sunday we also walked to a friend's house for supper, and that was a half mile each way. I love the nicer weather because going on foot or by bike is a realistic option!

This week I have a gym appointment today, but nothing more possible for the rest of the week. So I'll keep on walking to Kroger, and I'll keep watching what I eat. Exciting, I know.

Day of reckoning

Today's the day--I had to be 140.4 or less this morning or else Sarah Palin would get my money. I have to admit that I wasn't really worried. I was 140.2 on Sunday and 139.8 yesterday, so I wasn't exactly sweating this. Turns out my weight was 140.4 precisely this morning, which is both frustrating since I've been lower the past two days (serves me right--we had chicken stir fry for dinner and popcorn later, so both the extra food and the extra salt I think played into this) and kind of funny since I've been slightly above and slightly below that weight all the past week but never exactly at the target weight.

To celebrate I had a brownie for breakfast, but now I'm going back to my regularly scheduled food, at least until Sunday when Easter indulgence starts!

What a week?!?!

Last Tuesday after I posted I got a call from DJ that he was headed to the ER.  WHAT>!?!  He was fine when I'd talked to him at 7am.  He was having pain in his left side/back so severe that he couldn't drive.  Well it turned out to be a kidney stone (his first) and a whopper!  Poor guy was in the most pain I've ever witnessed.  He finally passed the stone on Saturday and named it Michael since everyone told him he now knew what it was like to be in labor.  Labor maybe, but 10 months of enormity, aches, swelling, and c-section recovery?!?!  I don't think so!!! 

As a result of his illness my routines were severely affected.  I didn't get to go to aerobics or even run on Tuesday (long story).  Then on Friday, he was in so much pain and the little ones didn't go down until after it was dark so that blasted Friday out of the water.  Not to mention without DJ to eat dinner, I wasn't motivated to cook and we ate a bunch of crap!  BLECK!  I still GMed every morning and for the most part I'm pretty sure I was under my calorie counts each day.  Sunday, life returned to normal and I was able to regain some semblance of normalcy.  We did indulge on chocolate dipped fruit (pineapple, strawberries, bananas) my mom made for us.  It was delicious and after I'd eaten almost an entire pineapple I was SICK to my stomach.  I knew when I got home the only thing that would make me feel better would be a run...so I did and it did! LOL

All that said, I was panicked to step on the demon scale this morning.  I did really well yesterday and even went an extra half mile on my run.  I was shocked...SHOCKED to discover that I'm down to 220.5!!!!!   HOLY MOLY was I excited?!?!  I almost did a little happy scale dance :)  That means I am down 3 lbs from last week where I remained the same from the week before.  I'm heartily on track to my Ireland goal. 

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Aversion Therapy

I have been thinking about what Sarah did - committing to give money to Sarah Palin if she didn't lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks (or whatever it was). I am trying to think of something that I can do that would be enough of an aversion that I would also be willing to put on trashbags and run around the block to lose the weight. The money thing isn't enough of a motivator to me. I mean - would my $25 impact Sarah Palin at all? No. Would I miss the $25? Probably not. So - not a huge issue for me. I thought about doing something I REALLY hate - like signing up to be a lector at chuch. Public speaking fills me with terror. Even whispering to the decon while I was on stage this week that father had dropped a host on the floor left me stunned and trembling for quite some time afterwards. That would be an effective committment, but I still have this fear that I CAN'T lose weight no matter what I try - and that would be really adding insult to injury. I could do something like give away my yarns. That makes me feel a little sick inside to think about it. But the people I would give them to would be Katie or Emily - so it isn't like I would be really GIVING them away. OTOH - now that I am thinking about this... I could use that as a motivation tool. I could give one skein a week away each time I don't lose weight. I could make it receivers choice - which would mean that I would have no say in what Katie or Emily picks. They could take my favorites!! But I think there needs to be a carrot to this stick. Maybe at the end of each month I could earn some of them back somehow. I need help on the details... What do you think?

Shock therapy

No, I don't mean the kind of plugged-into-the-wall-knock-me across-the room kind ... I mean the trying-on-a-pair-of-pants-I-know-won't-fit kind to remind myself that, while I'm making early progress, I've got a long way to go on my latest fitness journey.

So I've got my benchmark pants -- I've used them before -- to determine if I'm losing weight. I prefer this method to a scale because I want to see the inches just melting off and ... I don't like scales.

This is a great way for me to motivate myself to stick with my program. I don't take it as a depressing move -- I can't get into shape overnight -- and it's a reminder that I need to keep plugging away.

Feeling good after a couple of weeks

After two weeks of focusing on fitness and food I'm seeing and feeling the results. I put on some jeans last night and they were definitely looser. Nice.

I'm taking advantage of my one-month gym membership -- I took a boxing class this week -- it had a nice division between men and women. It was fun, hard and even took me a couple of days to really feel it. I did pick up some tips for my home workout -- I actually can do lunges and burpees -- they kill but that's the idea.

I still want to try a spin class but haven't quite made it there in time.

I also did another gym tri with some cool equipment -- a bike with some tough programs, an elliptical that was on an incline (hard) and a treadmill that's incline that goes so high you have to hang on to the handles. I had seen people using it but never tried it. Very cool and a good workout.

I've been hitting the gym about 7:30 p.m. and have found that it's not very crowded and I pretty much have the hot tub, steam room and sauna all to myself, which is nice, especially considering the number of members at this club.

My food has been good -- salads, lean proteins, yogurt and good fruits and veggies - and my only *issue* is eating after the gym. I'm not getting home until about 10 p.m. and, so far, haven't been very hungry but usually need something. I've been aiming for a yogurt.

Otherwise I've gotten myself into a decent routine giving me the ability to improvise when needed.

Congress is out of session for the next two weeks meaning my schedule should be a little less hectic, providing ample opportunity get in workouts and hopefully, get into DC and to the gym.

Keep up the good work everyone!

This week in review

This week has been a fairly good week. I had lots of left over fruit and veggies from the party on Friday - so I have been good about eating them. We have been consistantly monstering and I have got to tell you that I am AMAZED at how my hair and skin have softened up. My coloring seems better too. The only thing - and I am not sure if this is related at all - but my "bonus period" this month was much heavier and lasted longer than in the past. Usually I have light spotting for about two days. This time it lasted five days and was pretty heavy. I thought that the extra iron in my diet would help that to IMPROVE - not get worse. Katie and I had our second clogging class last night. It is so much fun!! I was pouring sweat again - but I don't think it is entirely from the exercise. Ummmmm... I don't think I have anything else to report. OH! My weight was down just half a pound from the week before. Better than up...

Report from North Bay

No idea what my weight is since there's no way to tell, but I CAN say that it'll be difficult to lose weight this week. Eating here is nothing like eating at home. You get three meals a day, and that's it--no snacks in between. I'm used to three small meals and two small snacks, with lots of fruits and veggies. That's been impossible. They have fruit or vegetables available at meals, but not in the quantity I'm used to, and not prepared in a way I'm used to (mostly I'm eating raw--baby carrots, spinach, cucumbers, pepper slices, and snow peas are are my staples for snacks and meals. Here it's more like steamed green beans with butter or orange juice.). Salads are only available at lunch. No more yogurt and fruit for breakfast, either. Yesterday I got oatmeal, which was nice, but today was eggs and potatoes. Knowing I wouldn't get anything else until lunch, I just ate it. So I'm worried that I won't be losing any weight this week.

And on that note, I think I'll go take a walk before lunch (few opportunities for exercise either--it's been cold and rainy and I'm with the kids most of the time).

Moving in the right direction

So far so good on the food and workout front. I'm sticking to a tight regimen on both and I finally have a workout routine in place.

Personally, I need to have menus and fitness routines written down -- I'm a list person and I think they go hand-in-hand. Mentally the schedules provide me with a clear roadmap so I don't have to think about what's next -- I just read the schedule. It also allows me to change things up and with my work schedule that's sometimes necessary.

After just more than a week I'm noticing big differences -- my body likes routine -- my skin looks better, my hair is shinier, my nails are growing faster and are stronger along with various other hints that I'm on the right track.

I've got a good weights routine in place and am past all of the initial soreness -- in last night's workout I really pushed myself and I feel great today. I've got a couple of fitness books I use -- written by Cindy Whitmarsh -- they provide 6-week routines. I recently realized how much following her guidelines helped me trim down in the past. Even though I'm not following them to the letter this time they provide a great framework. I even got the jump rope back out -- jumping rope is tough and I break a sweat in about 5 seconds. haha

I'm not sure if I lost weight last week -- Auntie Flow arrived five days early, most likely because of my change in routine. She's so rude sometimes. Her arrival has caused the usual issues of bloat etc. I hope she leaves soon.

Happy to see everyone else is making progress. Sounds like Easter candy may affect some weight loss later in the month but just think about it -- Easter is at the end of April -- giving everyone more than two weeks to prepare for the deluge of sugar. I say push hard until then, enjoy a break then refocus your efforts!

Blah

This week has been crappy and it is only Tuesday.  I hope it turns around.

My weight is down another pound this week, and we go for our Bod Pod appointments this afternoon.  I am really hoping to see even a slight shift in my numbers.

We've been making variations on the green monster.  Peter bought us a nifty new blender that has these travel cups that hook right into it.  I learned an annoying lesson yesterday regarding the order of the ingredients in the cup. Heavy stuff in first, light stuff in last, not vice versa. I like the blender because we can just pop a lid on the cup the monster is blended in and head out the door. It halso doesn't have that tiny metal shaft for all the spinning; it seems to have more power.  He also bought a bunch of frozen fruit from BJs that makes it really easy to put smoothies together.  I was happy our BJ's carries the frozen wild blueberries too.  To me they taste better than frozen regular blueberries. A little frozen pineapple make a monster REALLY tasty.  And we found out that almond milk at BJ's is WAY cheaper than at the grocery store.  You get more than 2x the amount for 20 cents less in price.

I'm eating lunch a little early today because of our appointments; we made salads and they are super tasty.  Iceberg & romaine, carrots, mushrooms, red onion, tomato, red beets, and chick peas with some Newman's honey mustard dressing.

I'm listening to show tunes on pandora, hoping to cheer myself up.  Hopefully Colin Firth singing ABBA does the trick.  I am pretty down right now.

Official weigh-in

It was 138.0 -- so even better than yesterday. I am of course pleased by this, and I know I shouldn't be a pessimist, but I also know full well that this means my weight won't budge for two weeks now. I'd kind of rather have the half-pound-a-week sort of progress, because at least it's not a plateau and it's motivating enough to keep me at the diet and exercise (well, mostly diet -- this week I am getting three days of exercise, but they are all in a row, and Sunday hardly counts because I walked to the grocery store, which is only 0.6 miles). But the 2- or 3-pound plunge is fun when it happens, and it at least kept me motivated through yesterday.

I am trying to convince myself that when Easter arrives I do NOT have to eat every piece of chocolate and every jellybean as quickly as possible. I do not have to graze on 1000 calories of sugar (and fat, in the case of chocolate) each day. Because all this work just to lose 7 pounds should not be discarded in two weeks. But I also know I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to sugar unless I give it up entirely. And I'm not willing to have an Easter basket full of yarn and knitting notions or something like that -- I WANT jellybeans and chocolate, dammit! My weight chart for every year shows an up-swing after Easter, worse than any other holiday. Probably because of the denial right before -- I can resist overeating on Halloween candy (at least somewhat better than Easter) because it's only a month after my birthday, when I usually get some very gourmet chocolate, and with gourmet chocolate I'm usually willing to space it out, just a piece here or there, which gets me in a good habit.

Officially, my plan is to indulge like crazy on Easter, but then try to get right back into restraint the day after, having just a little candy after meals, within my calorie limits. Maybe I'll allow myself an extra 100 calories a day to give some extra candy room without going overboard. We'll see if I can manage!

Bloat

Bleck...I am not happy.  I am exactly the same as last week.  I guess it is good I didn't gain but I'm ticked!  I know it is because of my little visitor which will be over shortly but it is still annoying!

I hate being a woman sometimes.

On the other hand, I am doing great still with C25k and the nice weather is making my little work out much more enjoyable.  I have aerobics tonight, woot!  I'm really proud of my progress in the world of working out alone.  I NEVER exercised until recently.  I mean, I exercised when I was in sports/dancing when I was a kid, but never solely for the purpose of fitness.  I work out EVERY day for 30 minutes minimum.  I have only missed one day in 2 months and that was because I had a VERY HEAVY flow that day and I knew running would be a disaster!  I've got to find a flatter path though...right now anyway.  I will work hills into my workout but I really want to build up my distance endurance first.  I have to run up like 3 big hills on my current path but I like it b/c it is exactly 2 miles.  I don't like to run down hills either (hurts my knees).  I'll continue to search for a flat path in my neighborhood...

I hope everyone has a better Tuesday than I :) 

Holy cow, can I weigh in early, too?

Because my weight this morning was the lowest I've seen in almost 3 years! I was thinking it was just the lowest since before Christmas, but then I looked more closely and saw that I hadn't seen 138.5 all year last year... or the year before that. July of 2008 was the last time, and then I was on the way up. Woo hoo!

AND this weekend I was measuring myself to order some jeans and I found out that my waist-to-hip ratio is not bad right now -- 0.79 when it was 0.81 before. So I'm not just losing pounds; I'm losing inches.

Vistor

It's that time again...Auntie Flow is visiting and I'm sure she will have a negative impact on my weigh in on Tuesday.  Plus stress...Friday was a horrible day for me between work and life all I could do at the end of the day is laugh and buy a lottery ticket (which was a loser btw).  I'm feeling auntie with cramps and fatigue.  Sometimes I REALLY hate being a woman!  I had a horrible eating weekend with eating at restaurants 3 times during the weekend, much more than normal for me.  I did have a very productive weekend so that is a positive.  I C25ked all weekend and GMed so I'm still pretty well on track :)  I didn't weigh myself b/c I didn't want to be depressed so we'll just see what the demon scale says Tuesday morning.

I'll check in Tuesday :)

Not here on Tuesday

Since I'll be overseeing a bunch of middle schoolers this week, I thought it would be practical and expedient to report my weekly weight early so that I can stay on track and not lose a week in my quest to get down to 140.4 by April 19 (or 21 or whatever the day was--I need to go back and look). This is ENTIRELY because I'm being sensible and honest, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that my weight this morning was 140.6. Nothing at all. Really.

Get along there old lady ...

Yeah, I'm talking about me, the one who's trying to feel less old ladyish by working out until I need a walker to get home. Sound like a good plan? We'll see.

I joined a gym near the Capitol for a month -- *groupon* -- and it's a nice pretty gym in a circa 1930s building. So last night I exercised on a treadmill and a bike that were out in the hallway. I had flashbacks to my elementary school years when I was sent out of the classroom for being disruptive. Yep. Had there been treadmills of torture out in those hallways I might've behaved. Oh probably not. Good idea though for our obesity problem ... punishment by treadmill.

But I digress ... it's a cool gym -- the running room is in the "kindergarten" -- and the equipment is spread out on three floors with most of the school infrastructure still in place -- chalkboards included. A bonus -- there's a parking lot so no fighting for street parking.

I really can't afford to join though -- it's $105 a month. Ouch.

Anyway, I decided last night to do a gym triathlon -- pick three pieces of equipment and do them back to back. I was going to do 10 minutes each but ended up doing 20 -- treadmill, bike and elliptical. So I got in a solid hour and felt/feel great. What's interesting is when I first started working out again about 4 years ago I couldn't have done what I did last night. That said, I'm not in good shape and my intention is to change that and fast.

I also enjoyed a very nice hot tub and steam -- I had the locker room all to myself at 10 p.m. -- enjoyable.

I hope to take advantage of all the equipment and some of the classes during the month.

In addition, I've been doing squats and weights routines and I've gotten through the initial pain of those damn squats and dead lifts. So that just means I've got to keep finding new thresholds.

So feeling pretty good after the first week and hope to pick up the exercise and keep going with good food. I'm already feeling more energetic. What's funny is though is that sometimes I'm content to be lazy because it seems easier. Yet, it's really detrimental mentally and physically.

Figures

As of today, I'm back down to 142, so I'm guessing the gain earlier this week was water retention. I went down the same way I went up-back to 143.4 yesterday and 142 today.

Exercise in the coming weeks will be interesting. Already I'm dealing with not being able to get to the gym since I'm doing the Connor run each afternoon, so I'm back to doing pilates at night and walking the dog every other day. It's not as good as running, but at least it's something. I'll try to get in a couple of good outdoor workouts on weekends, but that's going to be difficult between now and the end of the school year with so many Girl Scout activities going on. Next week I'm at North Bay (outdoor environmental education center) with Claire, and I don't know what my exercise options will be. Heck, I don't even know what my JOB is supposed to be there! I'm going as a chaperone but they haven't told us what that entails. I *think* we'll have free time during the day while the kids are in "class" but I don't know for sure. If that's the case, I can presumably get in one workout a day, but we'll see how that goes. I also have to spend some time working while there since I've got two major grants due that we're trying to get in that week to avoid working over spring break. And then the next week is spring break. Last year I was able to get a lot of exercise done over that week, but last year my break didn't coincide with the kids' break, so I was child-free all week. Not happening this year, so I'll have to work around Brian's schedule to get in any exercise.

Monster Update

I made our monsters today with a fresh banana instead of a frozen one, and WOW.  The flavor was so much better!  It wasn't bad before, but it was REALLY GOOD with the soft banana.

Green Lite Bites

I am so happy that Roni is back from her little Maternity Hiatus...she is amazing!  Let me back up...I am currently obsessed with a blog called Green Lite Bites.  Roni is the author and she is funny, creative, and a great food photographer (although I'm not an expert...I just want to eat every picture, LOL).  I hope you enjoy her ideas!

Lenten Fail

I ate meat today. I had Suzanne pick up one of the European sandwiches from Wegman's - which is tomato, lettuce, fresh mozzerella AND procuitto. Sigh. I ate it anyway. I honestly HAD forgotten about the meat (both giving it up and its presence on the sandwich) and when faced with it, the choice was to remove it or to eat it. I couldn't help it - I ate it NOT because I was craving the meat, but because that is the most expensive part of the sandwich and I couldn't bear throwing it away. I forgot to mention my weight in my last post. I was down two pounds this week. (Two seems to be the magic number today!) However, since I was up three pounds previously, that still puts me one pound up and .8 in the red zone. So YAY it is down! BOO! I am still fat! 8-)

Hummus

So, unlike the rest of you nutcases (and we had an amazing turn-out this morning! I don't remember the last Tuesday I checked in at lunchtime and was the LAST!), I have not been consuming the green monster. It contains dairy, and my ground rules included no dairy substitutes, either (so no almond milk or milk-free margarine or n'er-g-eggs or however you spell that), so I will have to delay that pleasure until the end of the month. However, since Sarah's suggestion, I have been LOVING the hummus. Today I had it on a piece of potato-rosemary bread (which I know is not whole grain, but I don't want it to go to waste, and it is SO yummy). Very good.

My weight this morning was 141.0. It went truckin' on down to 140 last week but then I overate on Friday (happy hour ended early, so Daniel and I went out to dinner, and I ate salmon and veggies over angel hair -- yummy but lots of olive oil and pasta carbs, so very caloric). But, adding my calories up as honestly as I could, I still only hit about 1800 or 1900 for the day. All the other days I've been close to 1200, but that one day of 600 extra calories made me spike upwards two pounds again. At my current weight, 1200 calories should be less than a pound a week of weight loss (but exercise should bump that up a little), so I'm really right on target. But when I see a 2-pound plummet it's annoying to see an immediate 2-pound spike. I'm the same as last Tuesday, in the end. My moving average is better this week, though; it is down a pound. So unless my actual weight continues to fail to go down, I'm really not doing badly.

My exercise continues to be iffy. I go to the gym on Mondays and Tuesdays, and I usually get in a 1.5-mile walk on Fridays en route to happy hour. But that's pretty much it. If I don't go to the gym, I don't get in real exercise.

Finally ... I'm ready to get serious again

First, sorry for the email about login instructions -- I was having trouble getting onto the blog but have, obviously, figured out the issue.

I haven't posted in awhile -- it has been a long winter and I really wasn't mentally into a strict fitness regimen but now ... look out. I didn't really put on any weight over the winter but I also didn't pay much attention to my fitness level and am now putting in the work to get back into shape.

In the past few years I've changed my diet and stepped up my workouts but simply haven't been inspired recently. Not sure why, just not into it.

But I'm not 18, 25 or even 35 anymore (BOO!) and there's really no option here. I've got to make fitness a part of my every day life. I feel better when I exercise. Period.

So I'm gradually getting back into a routine -- weight work (dumb bells), squats, using the balance ball, biking, walking and maybe, if my body cooperates, some running. As the weather warms up I'll be hiking more and going on weekend-long bike trips. I may even add some swimming into the mix. Crazy.

At the moment I'm easing into it, taking care to evaluate where I am to avoid injury. In the past, I've made good progress fast then find it hard to get beyond a certain point. This time I'm determined to push hard and move beyond those physical barriers.

Foodwise I'm sticking to yogurts and fruit for breakfast -- I found some museli, which is made in Switzerland, at the store and it's loaded with good stuff. But I'm happy with plain non-fat yogurt and some toasted flax seeds and some fruit. Otherwise I focus a lot on salads and lean proteins along with beans etc.

Once all of the good veggies are in season I can eat salads daily -- especially with fresh tomatoes. I'm looking forward to my farmers market produce again.

I love that everyone is digging the green monster. I do smoothies almost daily when the farmers market is in season. It helps that I work at a market and get my produce free so that helps. I use non-fat greek yogurt in mine -- there's a local place that makes their own yogurt. I work my way through the seasonal fruits and veggies. I started adding kale last fall and liked the addition.

Sounds like everyone is doing great in general ... keep up the good work.

Rosy Cheeks - no warts

So I am still going strong on the green monsters. I can't stress enough how surprisingly good they are. I don't add the flax though. I just do yogurt, fruit, banana, and spinach. Katie and I add fiber to our orange juice in the morning - and the blueberries have tons! My nutritionist told me that flax is not actually the best source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Well - actually it IS, but humans don't digest it well, and so we are better off taking fish oil. I still use flax for some things - because I like it, but I don't add it to the GM because I do take fish oil. I also don't add protein - I prefer my protein in eggs and beans and fish... Today Katie and I replaced the blueberries with fresh pineapple! It turned a pretty bright green color. I like the taste, but I prefer the blueberries. I think in the future I will do both the blueberries and pineapple. Tomorrow we are going to try it with mango. ANYWAY - last night, before I went to the gym! - I noticed that my cheeks were unusually rosy. I figured either I have a case of rosacia OR the iron I have been consuming is showing up in my complexion. I don't think I look as pale as I have. As to exercise - I am keeping at the daily exercise. I didn't exercise Friday. I went to a party at Jenny's house, and then I went to church for first Friday. I figured the church gave me a pass on the exercise! Katie and worked hard in the garden both on Saturday and Sunday. Those of you that know what our garden normally looks like should be pretty impressed. We tore up pretty much EVERYTHING except one rhododendron, two azaleas and four tulips. We covered everything with that black garden cloth and then spread 9 bags of mulch over it all. It looks so clean! We made a (pu-tooh!) pact that we would both pull up weeds as we see them instead of letting them take over again. We plan to plant a rose bush in the front yard since it does get a lot of sun there now. So - maybe my rosy cheeks are a sunburn from this weekend. Except it was pretty overcast on Saturday... Tonight I am supposed to meet Jenny at the gym to use the pool. Ugh. Ugh mostly because of the bathing suit aspect. We plan to mostly tread water and use the resistance toys. I may start back on the water ballet this weekend too. Tomorrow night Katie and I start our clogging lessons. Hee hee!!

Really?

So last week I complained about my weight going up a bit towards the end of the week. It went down again on Saturday morning--down to 142, which seemed about right for the eating and exercise I was doing. And then it shot back up again this week! Yesterday I was 143.6 and today I was up to 144.8. Now I know perfectly well that my 1200 calories yesterday didn't cause me to gain a pound overnight, nor did my 1200 calories a day over the weekend plus multiple workouts cause me to gain a pound and a half over two days, so I know that this is a temporary blip, but nonetheless it's a PITA. Very frustrating to watch my intake so carefully (every day I'm checking my calories, fiber, protein, sodium, potassium, etc. and making sure to get 7 to 9 servings of fruit and veggies daily--in this past week I went over my calorie intake once (by 175 calories, on the apple fritter day) and my sodium intake once, but otherwise I was spot on each day) and still gain weight. I've also been exercising regularly--three trips to the gym during the work week last week, the over the weekend we had Up All Night Sports, so I had one session on the rowing machine and one session on the stationary bike that night. Then on Sunday we did our annual stream clean up (hey, there's an idea for rocky terrain, Julie!), which was two hours or so of walking the stream, climbing up the embankments, and dragging pounds and pounds of trash with us. Yesterday was the first day of Brian's new job, which means no gym sessions for me, but I got in some pilates late in the day.

OTOH, I've got a lot of factors working against me--stress, lack of sleep, and a head cold are all right up there on the list of things that can cause inflammation and water retention. The head cold in particular is probably at the root of my problems--it hit on Saturday night (the same night I stayed awake all night) and now I'm all stuffy with a sore throat and clogged ears. This isn't weight gain from water retention quite so much as it is weight gain from booger retention. ;-)

Tuesday Jabber

It's Tuesday, and I remembered it was Tuesday! Woo!  Weight was holding at 198, which I don't feel too awful about given the ridiculous eating out we did Thursday, Friday & Saturday.  Peter's brother was in town from NI, so we met up with family in Baltimore two nights and then took him to the airport Saturday and met up with NY family in Newark.  We ate at a FABULOUS Spanish restaurant in the Ironbound area of Newark. Before they handed you a menu, there were bowls of olives, plates of bread and plates of salad on the table.  It was delicious.

After one green monster last week, I managed to talk someone else into trying the recipe when I was at a bridal shower Sunday.  I'm hoping to hear back from her today to see what she thought.  I made the green monsters today for Peter & I.  My monster was much greener, and I ground the flax and oatmeal finer than he had.  It is definitely growing on me.

Food-wise we've been sticking to lean proteins, veggies and small carbs for dinner, which has been working out well. We started getting deliveries from this food service and I am really liking the meat, not to mention the fact that they carry everything inside and put it away for you.

Peter & I started our hiking training Sunday as well.  We did a 3.5 mile loop through the trails in the neighborhood.  I was going to do more yesterday, but my shins were sore so hopefully I can at least hit the treadmill tonight. I want to clear 9 miles each week for a few weeks. I need to also do some research and find some local hikes that have rocky terrain so I can practice being a mountain goat.  I want to make sure I am ready for August.

Can't Believe it!

Honestly...I can't believe that this diet/exercise regiment is being SO consistent...I have lost exactly 2lbs again this week.  My scale only calculates half lbs so it may not be exactly 2lbs but last week I was 225.5 and this week I am 223.5.  WOOT!  I am so freakin excited!!!  I can't wait to be below the dreaded 220#...it has been quite awhile since I was below that marker. 

This whole process has been great and I'm actually really enjoying this new me.  The last few times I've lost mass quantities of weight, it has been following a CRASH diet...very restrictive!  I lost 50+ lbs at least 3 times in the last 10 years and it has happened in less than 3 months.  It is hard to wait and have it happen slowly but I know that doing it this way will ensure I'm making a lifestyle change and will help it to stay off forever so I NEVER have to lose it again.  I've also NEVER exercised this consistantly as an adult.  I do my aerobics on Tuesday (Thursday is gone b/c of t-ball) and C25k every other day.  I know this is a big key to success.  I'm almost obsessed with it :)

I think one of the biggest pitfalls where people get into trouble with trying to lose weight is lack of adventure.  I have a girl friend who just started Weight Watchers and she was talking about how she grilled up a bunch of chicken so she could have it with a salad everyday that week.  BLECK?!?  Really?  Grilled chicken on greens EVERYDAY for lunch?  Is she going to be able to sustain this forever??  My opinion: if you aren't enjoying what you are eating (and you love to eat), you are setting yourself up for failure.  I was talking to her about tips to spice up her menu and I think she'll be fine but I was this person and now I'm thinking differently.  This mostly veggie lifestyle is working really well too to boost weight loss (for me).  I am currently obsessed with an avocado dip that I eat with triscuits.  It consists of 1 avocado-diced, 1/2 can black beans, 1/2 C. frozen corn - thawed, 1/2 container of pico de gallo from the grocery store, all mixed together with some lemon juice, salt and pepper.  YUM! 

The secret to my success tho?!?  I would say it is my Green Monster!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  It has literally changed my life.  My marriage, my energy, my parenting, my LIFE is better.  I know that seems odd and I'm sure that all my changes have impacted this new me, but I really think the GM is the center of it.  Who new spinach had so much power?!?!  Popeye did :)

I don't know how long this progress will last (I'm sure I'll plateau) but I'm going to enjoy it while it does.
I hope everyone has a GREAT Tuesday!!!

Ode to a Green Monster

I don't think April has written one yet - so I will.

• O Green Monster!


• You are as green as a zombie at nightfall


• You smell like a pound of spinach womped in a blender


• Your edges are raggy and leave my dishes dirty


• The black flecks of blueberries are visable in your skin.




• O Green Monster!


• The cool rush of that first taste


• The sweetness of the banana in the pulp


• The daily decisions; vanilla yogurt or blueberry?


• Blueberries AND pineapple? Or maybe mango?




• O Green Monster!


• You are so easy to sip


• So delightful to consume!


• You look like hot tarmac, but taste like a beach vacation!


• You are oddly addictive...




• O Green Monster!


• Thank you for giving me my daily dose


• of the dreaded five fruits and vegetables!


• Thank you for making it so easy!


• I love you forever, my Green Monster!




• The end!

Oddly Addictive

I got up this morning (almost fell down the steps! clutz!) and promptly made myself a Green Monster. This is notable for several reasons: One - it is all vegetables and fruit and I really don't go out of my way to eat either. Two - it is a Saturday. Traditionally I don't eat anything but coffee on Saturdays until about three in the afternoon. Three - I had to prepare it. Not quite cooking - but I had to gather ingredients and use a kitchen tool.

Green Monsters are oddly addictive... I am not sure what it is about them but as soon as I finished mine from yesterday I was looking forward to having one today. Is it possible that the ingredients combine to make some sort of crack? It has the strange affect on me that coffee does... not the buzz, but the wanting of it first thing in the morning. Odd.

Weakening.....

It's been a really tough week here and my stress levels are at a peak. Brian is starting a new job next week, which is great news, but it's down in Gaithersburg, which stinks. It means I'll be back to my routine of going in late every day, running around between 3:00 and 4:15 getting Connor from school and taking him to Elkridge, then working late (but not too late because I have to be home when Connor gets home because Brian will still be in Gaithersburg), and with Brian so far away it means I have no backup from him in case something comes up that needs immediate attention. We've posted ads on Craigslist and around the local colleges looking for someone to do transportation and have gotten no response, so we decided we could skip TI and just find a regular after-care program, but the ones we've talked to either don't have space or won't take someone with Connor's disabilities. And this couldn't be happening at a worse time. For some reason, the grants season seems to be in full swing right now. I got eight grants out the door in the last two weeks (normal pace is three or four a month), including one horrible federal one that we got in with only eight minutes to spare yesterday. The pace isn't going to ease up until May--I've got three private grants, one county grant, three state grants and two federal grants due between now and mid-May, and in the meantime I'm supposed to be chaperoning Claire's week-long school trip to an outdoor education center in two weeks, and then out for Spring Break the week after that (which won't happen--the two federal grants are due that week). And in the meantime my scout troop has decided to try to hold a fairly major event (for us, that is) to raise funds for another project that they want to do, and while I love it that they are doing this, it's just taking a lot more effort and planning from me than I normally have to put into scouts, plus it looks like we have one or two field trips each weekend between now and the first week in May (seriously, except for Easter weekend). All of this is a big lead up to saying I want a frigging brownie and am having a hard time resisting! There was an event after work last night (which meant a 14 hour day for me) and the number of desserts left over is insane, and our office is the storage facility for these. But I've already had that apple fritter this week (490 calories!) and two pieces of birthday cake (one for Connor, one for Missy) and my weight has been stuck all this week--I was 142.8 on Tuesday and Wednesday and 143 yesterday and today. I've been keeping my intake spot on for my goal and exercising regularly, but my weight isn't budging this week (can stress make you retain water?). Every other week for the past several weeks I've seen a steady drop of a little bit each day. Not sure what's up now. So I can't afford the brownie, but I want the brownie and my stress is telling me I deserve the brownie, but I know it's lying.