Craziest charity ride idea ever

Last night I signed up for another charity ride. I'm not sure I can do the distance, but I had to sign up because it's such an insane idea. It's called the 100 Miles of Nowhere and is a fundraiser for the Livestrong Foundation. This fundraiser is the brainchild of a guy who writes a blog called fatcyclist (who is not fat anymore, thanks to the cycling part) and who is madly raising money for the Livestrong Foundation for cancer research, largely because his wife has terminal cancer.

He's a fabulous, funny writer and I love reading his blog (crazy stunts are pretty much par for the course with him) so when he posted this one, I decided to sign up even though I'm not entirely sure I can ride 100 miles. But the idea behind it is that on May 23, you get on your bike and you go nowhere for 100 miles. Ideally you should do this on rollers or a trainer at home, but you can also do a short outside course. You can also use an exercycle. And you can also cheat and only do 25 or 50 miles, because no one is counting. I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do--if I can find my old trainer in the basement I'll use that and just guess the distance, but I might resort to the exercycle in the gym at work (which would really be torture--those are uncomfortable and I'd have no control over what I watched on t.v.) or even to going in circles at the playground (I'd get dizzy, though, so maybe just 10 miles of that).

Every person who enters gets the ubiquitous charity ride t-shirt, plus a bunch of other free stuff (better than most it seems), but best of all you are absolutely guaranteed to win your age/gender/region/category group. Since this will be the only time in my life I can hope to actually WIN an event, I couldn't NOT sign up, right?

More info on the event here: http://www.fatcyclist.com/2009/04/23/register-now-for-the-100-miles-of-nowhere/

1200 calories later

I'm just back from the Kennedy Krieger autism ride. I had so much fun--I want everyone to do this with me next year! The weather couldn't have been any more perfect (not something we can count on in April, and today is warm even by May standards). The route was gorgeous--out of Oregon Ridge and through the valley, then up to Boring (really!) through little country roads that reminded me of England, then back down to the valley on Byerly and Dover, across Butler Road, then down Cuba Road back to Oregon Ridge. The cue sheet said it was a little over 27 miles, but my computer told me it was a mile less than that (not sure which one is more accurate). I did the ride in just under 2 hours. When I got back to the start, I met up with a guy riding another Miyata touring bike, so we geeked out about them for a bit. You don't see many people on touring bikes in general, and when you do they are never Miyatas. I also had a great spinach salad at the end of the ride, courtesy of Wegmans (one of the sponsors of the event). Who knew spinach salad could be a good recovery food?

I think my commute must be the best bike training in the world. The hills I deal with on my commute are so far way worse than anything I meet on other cycling routes, so I never seem to have much problem getting up other people's idea of a hill. Today's worst hill was VERY steep at the end, but the distance wasn't far so I didn't have to get off and walk like I saw several others doing. I'm also getting better about getting out of the saddle and standing up to climb short hills--not something I ever used to be able to do.

It was a good workout week in general. I took Monday as a rest day, but I alternated running and swimming the next four days, then of course today's ride. I'm also back to doing crunches/planks/push ups in the evening. I always tell myself I'm going to do these and then I never do. I get good for about a week, and then I stop again. The trick this time will be to NOT stop when I get lazy.

I'm like an elevator

My weight is just going up. I was 144.6 this morning. Ugh. Gotta lay off the Easter candy (which will be easier once it's gone). Why is it that it takes months to lose weight and I can just gain it all back in two weeks? So not fair.

I only exercised twice last week. Of course one of those times was the triathlon, but when you get down to it that was only a glorified workout. I got out at lunch for a run today. Yay! Intervals on the actual road instead of the treadmill. After two weeks away from my usual routine I need to remember what I was doing and get back into it--only four months left to train for the "real" triathlon.

How am I supposed to post after that?

I can't possibly post anything as interesting as Sarah's triathlon post, when I'm just here for a usual Tuesday post.  My weight was 145.2.  It likes to jump up a pound or so every Tuesday, even if it was lower during the week -- the highest I saw all week was 144.4.  Ho, hum.  Nohting interesting going on in my diet or exercise right now.  I was going to go skiing today (we wanted to get video of the kids on skis before the warm spell that's coming) but it has been raining, snowing, and sleeting all day, with a sub-freezing wind chill but above-freezing ground temperatures, so we'd be cold but skiing in slush.  So much for that idea.  So it's back to no exercise for me, except for holding a sleeping 30-pound child for 10 minutes in the driving slush while waiting for a bus.  At least I'm getting some muscle work in.

The long version

Besides making it through the race yesterday and spending the rest of the day feeling smug, here's the rest of the story if you're interested.

First of all, it was rather anticlimactic. I didn't feel like I accomplished anything notable--it just felt like a nice, varied workout with a lot of other people around.

I started the race with a serious sleep deficit. Connor apparently heard I was doing this triathlon to support autism research, so to celebrate he showed off his best autistic behavior--up until 4 a.m. on Friday night, then until 2:30 a.m. Saturday night (I guess that's actually Sunday morning), then I had to be up at 4:15 to get ready, eat, and load my bike on the car. I wanted to be down in Bethesda at 6, and while it should only take 40 minutes, you never know what might go wrong. Like having no gas in the car, which, as it happened, was the case. But I got there in plenty of time and had time to cool my heels (and then warm up--don't want to do a race with cool heels), lay out all my stuff, wander around, talk with other uncertain first timers, etc.

I had been most worried about the swim since I really hate swimming, but since I wasn't trying to be competitive at all and since the swim was so short, this turned out to be the nicest leg of the race. I put myself in the slow group (I heard someone define fast as being able to do 500 meters in 8 minutes. I figured I'd be lucky to do the 250 meters we had to do yesterday in under 8 minutes!) but it turns out I'm average or better for the slow swimmers--only one person passed me but I passed multiple people. When I got in the water, everything I ever learned about form and keeping my head down went right out the window--my primary goal was to just not get kicked/hit or kick/hit anyone else! Even though we were starting 10 seconds apart, I kept ending up in these gaggles of swimmers blocking certain areas. But everyone is so darn nice (at least in the slow group!) so it was fun--lots of chit-chatting as we worked through these areas. I finished the swim in 6:43, about exactly what I expected.

The bike leg was three laps on the road around Georgetown Prep. It was a nice ride--one long but not steep incline, one flat section, one road with a couple of rolling hills, and then a section on Rockville Pike that had an incline down then back up, but again very shallow. The first lap was fun because there weren't many people on the course. By the third lap it was getting crowded. I got passed quite a bit by people on fast road bikes, but did a lot of passing myself--mostly of people on rusty mountainbikes and hybrids. I know they say the engine is more important than the bike, but I can't help thinking that MY engine would run more efficiently on a lighter bike! Almost all of the passing I did was going uphill--touring bikes have GREAT gears for hills. And these were easy hills compared to my commute, and I wasn't hauling panniers filled with clothes and my lunch. I'm pretty sure mine was the only bike there with fenders. I have no idea what my time was on this section (or on the run, just so you know)--I looked at my watch at the end of the swim and that was pretty much it until the race was over.

The run was the hardest for me. I did that brick a couple of weeks ago with a two mile run after a ten mile bike ride, and this wasn't much different for distance (slightly less than 10 miles on the bike, 2.5 miles running) and that brick was not a problem for me at all, and the 6 minutes of swimming shouldn't have taken that much more out of me. But the course was hillier than I normally do--it was a steep downhill to start, then up and up and up for the next mile and a quarter, then a quarter mile down, then a half mile flat or slightly downhill, then more uphill until you hit the track at Georgetown Prep to finish. It really felt like a lot more uphill than down, and I think the lack of sleep was catching up with me. I was tired and couldn't keep my heartrate where I usually do while running and slowed down to walk a few times to get my heartrate under control. I remember passing only five people, and four of them were mother/disabled child couples!

My final time according to my watch was 1:17, but I have no idea what my official time was--I don't know how long I took in transition, and I'd like to know what my times were on each of the legs. I hope they post that information soon. I'd also be curious to know what the top speeds were--I figure if four minutes would be a fast swim time, and winning cyclists generally average 22 - 25 mph, that portion could be done in under 30 minutes. Top runners are usually doing 5 to 6 minute miles, so another 15 minutes there. So I'm betting the top times were well under an hour. Pretty humbling.

I was finished with the whole thing just after 8:30 and home just after 9:30--when everyone else was just starting the day! I'm glad we got the weather we did--we could have been doing this race in today's weather (rainy, chilly, windy for those of you in Norway). I'm not sure I would have gotten out of bed at 4:15 if that were the case.

I haven't posted for the past couple of weeks.

I've just been lazy. And mortified that my weight is going back up. I was 142.2 last Tuesday, and 143.6 this Tuesday. Ick.

My first triathlon is this Sunday and I'm taking the idea of "tapering" to the extreme--last week I got those great workouts at the fitness center overnight, but the rest of the week only included one run, one (longish) bike ride and one swim. The whole week off, and that's all I did. And this week is worse--I'm having one of those weeks at work that just don't include breaks. Two days of training, and then today I have to leave at 3:15 for scouts. Tomorrow I'll be in a half day training session starting at noon. I was hoping to get in a few light "maintenance" type workouts this week, but now I'm wondering if I'll get any kind of workout at all! Thank goodness this is a short triathlon.

The real reason I'm posting today is because I found this website that lets you put out a contract on yourself--you commit to a goal (of any sort--they have some standard ones like "stop smoking" and "lose weight" but you can also set a custom goal like "clean out my basement" or "do my taxes in February for a change."), enlist someone to be a referee (who will verify the accuracy of your reports), and set yourself up with supporters/cheerleaders, and then best of all, set up a financial disincentive for failing to meet your goal. You can set it up so that if you fail, a certain amount of money goes to a charity (or better--an anti-charity, one you would never in a million years want your money to go to!) or a friend/foe.

I wonder if I'd get back down to 135 pounds if I knew the George Bush Presidential Library would get $50 if I failed? I think I'll talk to Brian about this tonight--he might push me to exercise more if he knew that was the result of me failing too.

144.2

I think.  It was 144-something.  Lower than last week -- but it was down in the 142s on Saturday, so this is the proof of two or three days of Easter gluttony.  The Easter Bunny did bring me a basket (OK, a basket-shaped crystal thing that he apparently found atop the cabinets in the apartment) full of truffles and other gourmet chocolates, but it's not the eat-until-you're-sick level of loot of other years, and the leftovers from Easter dinner are all but gone as well, so within a day or so I should be back to normal eating habits.  Skiing season is virtually over; we had a dusting of snow last night, so I might be able to squeeze a little in this week, but then I have to find some other exercise.  I looked in the storage shed today for a stroller, but no luck; there might be one in the attic, but I think it's a pram, and Cecilia's too big for that.  She's not up for the level of walking that would be exercise for me, so now I'm back to having to wait until Daniel's home before I can exercise.  Fortunately, with the level of sunlight increasing to 18 hours a day now and 20 by next week, I shouldn't have to worry about being out after dark!

Holding steady

Seems every time I get excited (moderately) about nicer weather staying around here for good, another cold front moves into town. Oh well.

So my routine has been pretty good but it can always be better. But I continue to trim, especially from my upper body. My poochy stomach continues its stubborn ways but I'm making inroads to eliminating it.

I started a push-up routine that will eventually lead me to do 100 push-ups in a row. It's only three days a week and takes less than 10 minutes. So far I'm progressing.

I went for a 7-mile hike on Sunday with the nickname the "roller coaster." Yeah, my calves are still screaming from that and my knees didn't like it much, but overall I burned a lot of calories and it was great to be outdoors.

I'm going to have the tires changed on my bike to a slightly thicker tire so I can take the bike on some rougher roads. I'm camping at Assateague in a couple of weeks and want to be able to ride on the beach and on the roads around the area. My other tires are slicks and just don't work so well off road -- I proved that a couple of years ago when I wrecked the bike.

This weekend I'm headed to Phoenix to visit friends who have a 5-month-old and we're going to head to the Grand Canyon. I planned this trip very late so I won't be hiking to the bottom of the canyon but I do hope to get in one good hike.

With Congress in recess I hope to get in some extra workouts and set a good pace for the next couple of months.

Stuff

My weight was same-same this morning. I am glad that I have been holding steady, but more and more I am thinking I need to do something to now start moving downward... I have been dreaming about exercise. I said that in my last post - but I have dreamed it since then. I was pretty disgusted with myself this weekend. I did nothing - and I had plenty of opportunity to do lots! I even woke up in time to make water ballet on Sunday - but didn't go. It was beautiful weather, but I didn't take a walk. I need to form new habits. The FIRST habit I need to form is getting dressed in the mornings - even when I think I don't have to go anywhere. My current habit is to wear my jammies until I have to go somewhere, or I can't stand it any longer. I need to resolve NOT to leave my room (OK - the bathroom) until after I have gotten dressed. Maybe if I was actually wearing clothes rather than PJs I would take a walk... Something.

Yoga is starting a new session this week. It runs in 13 week sessions. Level one loops back to the beginning. That basically means that we are starting over focusing on our legs and how they affect our poses. After about four weeks of that we do more on our pelvis and core, then we move up to our back and shoulders for the last six weeks or so. I like the later sessions better than the earlier ones. They are HARDER (i.e. focusing more of our weight on our arms and stuff - hard for me with my no upper body strength and LOTS of bottom body weight!) but I prefer it anyway...

Not enjoying the general trend

My weight was 145.0 this morning.  Yikes.  It's been creeping up over the last several days and landed here yesterday, though it dropped again a bit before I got around to eating breakfast so I didn't count it as "real" yet.  But today it was real.  Sigh.  I've been getting a little more exercise, what with the skiing, but I think my body is settling into the new routine of having to walk a lot and take buses everywhere and it's re-focused on gaining weight.

Yesterday I declared that I wouldn't eat between meals unless it was fruit or veggies, and I did just fine with that, except then we went out to a restaurant for dinner (pretty rare for us here, and after the expense of last night -- more than the cost of a week's groceries, and groceries aren't cheap, either -- it will be even rarer) and I ate a lot.  I had reindeer steak for dinner (bitter at first, but I got used to the flavor and it wasn't bad -- Mary hated it, though) with mashed potatoes and vegetables (mostly brussels sprouts, though, and kind of soggy, so I didn't eat many) and a roll with butter and some garlic shrimp for starters and my share of a bottle of red wine and a dessert of cloudberries and cream cheese, probably way loaded with calories -- I was too full even to finish.  So that undid any good of eating well yesterday.

Today I'm doing better.  I had a reasonable breakfast and lunch, and we got oranges at the grocery store this afternoon so I had one of those, plus I ate the remnants of the two that Cecilia ate (she won't eat all the way to the peel, and there's a lot of yummy stuff left!).  But oranges are practially free.  Calorie-wise, not in price -- though the price was a remarkable 5 kr per kilogram, about 35 cents a pound!  It's rare to find anything that affordable here.  I wish I could go back and get a couple dozen more -- they were sweet and tasted almost like clementines, but they were huge.  Yum.

I'll keep at it the rest of this week and see if I can reverse the upward trend before Easter!  Next week there will probably be chocolate and jelly beans, so I'm in a little trouble, but there won't be half-price leftover Easter candy so it won't go on nearly as long as it usually does, and maybe I won't see such a big penalty on my weight chart this year.  I'm already at my post-Easter-binge weight, so I don't need to go up any further.

Ouch.

And to think I thought I was in pretty good shape these days!

Last night was "Up All Night Sports," which, as the name says, means that I got to stay awake all night locked in at a fitness center. With 200 or so Girl Scouts.

It was a very, very nice fitness center--the sort of place I'd love to be able to afford a membership to. It's the same place Connor does his swim lessons, but I had never wandered beyond the pool area before. Last night we were in the gyms, the racquetball courts, the climbing wall, the spa, the studios and the vast sea of gym equipment. Because I was in charge of keeping track of 11 4th and 5th graders, I didn't have that much time to myself, but over the course of the night I got in a short swim, 30 minutes on the rowing machine (lordy, I love those things. Why isn't that standard equipment in gyms instead of appearing only occasionally, and then only two machines hidden in the corner?), and a circuit cardio class that kicked my butt. For what it's worth, I was the only one who actually kept up and pushed myself through the whole class--I didn't see anyone else who didn't stop and just collapse towards the end of each station--but I'm feeling it (and the rower) today. The class seemed to be based around pylometrics alternating with calisthenics. My average heart rate stayed at a good range for me, but the top heart rate was 195!!! I thought I was supposed to be dead with that heart rate. And on all of the jumping exercises, my heart rate was regularly in the mid-180s--173 is supposed to be my top heart rate for a hard workout. Some of this may be due to the time of day (the cardio class was at 1 a.m.) and my caffeine-laced blood, which meant I started with a higher base heart rate. But even though I'm hurting today, I'm also thinking I need to start recreating this class at home once a week or so, because clearly I need more intensity like this. All the endurance stuff I do is fine, but only challenges me in one direction.

And this probably won't last until Tuesday, but when I got home my weight was 140.2. Not really surprising since I spent the whole night working out, not sleeping and not eating. I'll probably be back up in the 142 range (where I've been all week) by tomorrow morning.

Geeez! I almost forgot

I haven't been on the blog in a while. I didn't realize how long until I logged in today.

I do NOT have Celiac Disease. Yay! I was getting very worried about that. I don't - and that puts me back at square one with my stomach issues - but since I have dealt with these problems since I was 14 I am OK with that.

My blood was not anemic anymore and my vitamin D levels were fine. My sed levels, however, were still up and higher than in December. This is the non-specific indicator that picks up on inflamation somewhere in your body. 20 is the high end of normal. I was 23 in December and 27 this month. She wants me to have my blood tested AGAIN next month. I told her that I thought it was my emergency root canal (happened about a week after my blood test) that was causing the inflamation. She said possibly but she wanted to do some other tests since I have been talking about joint pain. She checked me for artritis in December, and I don't have it. Lately, though, my legs have been having that "growing pain" sort of ache in them that I (Dr. Amy) have decided the increase in my iron has caused. Who knows. Since Friday the aching has been so bad that I think maybe it is a virus - which is good, because that means it will go away. My buzzing back and foot muscle hasn't stopped. She wants me to see a neurologist - but I am not convinced that it is worth the effort. I am sure it is just muscle twitching at very high speeds. Sarah said that I should go because an achy tooth is no big deal until you need an emergency root canal. I don't think this is QUITE the same thing - but maybe I should have it checked. I have this fear of doctors thinking that I am just making it up - or worse - making a mountain out of a molehill! But on the other hand, twice in the past month I have been told spontaneously that indications of gall bladder trouble are felt in your shoulder blade. Maybe I will call next week for that...

Anyway - Last night I dreamed I was exercising. I dreamed I was doing lateral pull downs using 310 pounds. Hummmm. In my dream I was wondering why everyone always told me to do 40-70 pounds on the lat machines when I was capable of doing 310 pounds. The trainer in the gym (in my dream) said that I should be able to handle more weight since I had about 1/16th of an inch of muscle in my shoulders... I don't know what THAT meant. I think I need to start working out again.

Yoga has been going well. I still like it - it definitely makes me feel stronger and more balanced.

142.6

Also going in the wrong direction, but I was blaming this entirely on NOT exercising last week--I only got to the gym three times. I had planned on it being a light week, but I was hoping for not quite that light. I did spend three hours trudging along a stream on Sunday cleaning up trash, and while it wore me out, I think that had more to do with being knee deep in cold water and keeping track of Girl Scouts at the same time.

143.0

Going up!  That's the wrong direction.  That's the punishment I get for getting some exercise!  I started that push-ups routine on Saturday and then did cross-country skiing (up- and downhill falling down and getting up, more than cross-anything skiing) yesterday, which left me too injured to do the pushups, but maybe I'll try them again today.  We've also shifted our schedule so the kids can start school, so I'm getting up an hour earlier and everything in my system feels a bit out of whack.  But if the number keeps going up I'm going to start cutting calories (I can cut out desserts and cookies, for starters -- I never buy cookies like this at home!).

Toddling along

So all is pretty good on my front -- I don't have a child who doesn't want to sleep (sorry Sarah) -- but work has cut into the frequency of my workouts. Still ... no excuses.

I started phase two of my workout routine and -- OUCH -- big OUCH. I could do almost all the reps but, man, I felt it. But I understand the method of trainer's madness. Each day builds on the other, working interlocking muscle groups. So, technically, the workouts should help with any soreness and stiffness. My aim is to do the workouts back-to-back to find that out. But this week it just didn't work that way.

So today I decided that I will do a short routine in the morning and a bigger workout after work.

I was sent two cool workouts -- one to work toward 100 push-ups in a row and another to work toward 200 sit-ups in a row.

The sites are hundredpushups.com and www.twohundredsitups.com.

The have nice printable workouts and you only have to do them three times a week. This morning my workout literally took five minutes.

I think the other lesson I've learned recently -- especially when I look at the exercises laid out in the book I follow -- is I've got to give them a try. I have surprised myself lately with what I can do. So my goal is to really push myself. I actually went for a run last weekend. It has been a long time because it's so high impact and my knees suck. But it was fine and I was able to run a couple of miles comfortably and without any ill effects on my knees.

So right now I'm just hoping for some warmer weather so I can spend my weekends outdoors and for more daylight so I can do a run or bike ride if I can get home before sunset.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Divergence

Oh, well!  I was up slightly, to 142.6.  Too bad!  I wouldn't have minded the one pound drop.  But I haven't done anything to deserve it -- still eating pretty much whatever, and still only getting exercise by walking around town.  I know I should be setting some goals -- I'm probably going to see an upswing after Easter, if past years are any indication.

I'll post first for a change

I was 141.8 this morning, only half a pound down from last week. Emily? Is that what you were too?

This in spite of 6+ hours of exercise, 3593 calories burned (why didn't I burn another 7?), and being careful with my diet all week. But at least my weight is slowly coming down, and this probably means that the loss is actual fat. I'm pretty sure I'm gaining muscle as I go too.

I did my first "brick" on Sunday--10 miles on the bike followed by 2 miles running. I think they call it a brick because that's what your legs feel like afterwards! Actually I felt pretty good during and after that workout, but yesterday, even though I *thought* I felt fine, I was like a slug on the treadmill. I was able to do my usual workout at the usual speed, but it involved two pauses and lots of holding on to the treadmill. My heart rate looked good, but my muscles were toast. I think I'm going to take it easy this week--probably slow down my speed on the interval run and skip the biking to work tomorrow to give my legs time to recouperate a bit before hitting them hard again next week. Then I'l have two hard weeks and one easy week prior to the first triathlon in April.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha!

142.4 Same weight as Emily again! And with sort of the same circumstances--I've been hovering in the 142-144 range all week and this morning I was down at the lower end. Mine, however, was done with a great deal of effort. According to my handy-dandy heart rate monitor I worked out seven times last week and burned 3451 calories in the process. I don't know if I'll be able to do the same amount this week-I'm losing two days this week to all day training sessions. But I was at the gym yesterday, will go to the pool today, will bike to work tomorrow and work out during lunch, and will get in another short swim on Saturday when Connor is at his lesson, so that leaves me only one long run from what my goal is for the week.

142.4

So that's a drop of almost 2 pounds.  It's been skipping around in the 142-144 range all week, but this is the low end.  No complaints here!  This is the first time since we started the blog that my weight has gone down without a substantial effort at exercise and/or dieting.  And it's not down much and I know I can't count on a long-term change, but it's kind of nice anyway.

700+400+700

That's my calories burned today (give or take) with the commute in, swimming at lunch, and the commute home (assuming I don't break my leg or something between now and 5:00). That adds up to the total calories I burned through exercise all last week! But isn't it colossally unfair that exercising like this doesn't make you lose five pounds in one day? It really should work that way. But then, I had second breakfast when I got to work--I had eaten a bowl of oatmeal at home, but around 10:00 I realized that I wasn't going to make it through a swim workout if I didn't have something more substantial than almonds, so I had another bowl of oatmeal at that point. Hard to lose five pounds eating that way.

Did I mention that I signed up for another triathlon? This will be my first first triathlon and the Iron Girl will be my second first triathlon. This one doesn't really count--they're calling it a "super sprint"--only 250 meters of swimming (in a pool, no less), 9.3 miles biking and 2.5 miles running. And it's a fundraiser for Autism Speaks, so I couldn't not do it, right? But I only have about a month to get ready, which is why I want to do a few of these days where I push myself in a couple of forms of exercise instead of spreading it all out through the week. Sara, Connor's kindergarten teacher, is signing up to do it with me, so I'll have the support/presence of someone who has done a triathlon before. I think this'll be good practice for the Iron Girl.

Baked Beans

OH! I meant to point out that I made baked beans in my crock pot yesterday. They are SO yummy!! I think I put too much sugar in them, but that is probably why they are so good. 8-)

Also - I wanted to say that I had Noodles Bancock Curry with Shrimp yesterday for lunch (it was payroll day and I hadn't packed anything - so Ginger picked it up for me). I went to check the nutritional information, and I am pleased to report that my favorite Noodles dish is the one dish that is on all of the healthy choices lists they publish - low fat, low calorie, and the other ones that I don't remember. The large serving is 400-something (the small is 286 calories). So - that's not bad for pseudo fast food that tastes awefully good!!

244.2

Not really. I just thought it would be funny to have that as my weight since BOTH Emily and Sarah had 144.2. Saddly, however, my weight was UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE to 244.2 - which means that I am almost 100 pounds heavier than my sisters - EACH!. If you could take that extra weight from each of them and merge it together you would get one WHOLE overweight person. Or - even if you take JUST the extra weight from me to ONE of them you would have enough for a whole SKINNY person. But I am talking a grown-up. I have by-passed "I am carrying around an extra 6 year old child" and have moved on to "I am carrying around an extra PERSON." No wonder I have a surprisingly firm ass - and calf muscles.

I can't remember what I wrote last week. I think I reported that Katie and I finally moved the bulky furniture out of the sewing room. Now all that remains is the STUFF. I have done two trips carrying stuff downstairs. My rule on Sunday was that I had to take something down with me each time I went downstairs - but I mostly forgot. This is a Lenten resolution - get the basement done - but I think I am running out of Lent. Sigh. I always have great plans when I am here at work - but by the time I get home I have run out of momentum. Maybe I will go home right now (lunch break) and carry two loads of stuff down. Is it worth the extra trip to and from work to do that? Hummmmm - maybe it is... I wish I lived as close to work as Katie does - but on the other hand - Katie rarely gets more than 20 minutes for lunch. I just rarely take lunch.

I have another dentist appointment tomorrow to have Dr. Behar look at more sore tooth. I don't know if he will find anything - again - but it sure is getting frustrating!!!

144.2

Ack! That's two pounds up for me this week, and I have no idea why. I haven't been weighing myself this week so I don't know if I moved up gradually or if this is a spike (why do people recommend only weighing in once a week? I like to know if my weekly weight is a pattern or an anomaly). But I did only get to the gym four days last week and no exercise on the weekend (unless you count hauling two kids to the playground, with one of them on my back most of the way there and back!), and I really haven't been watching what I eat. But then, I wasn't watching what I ate for those weeks when I was losing weight steadily either. So I think for my own peace of mind I'll call this a spike and go back to weighing in every day.

Also in the past week I signed up for the Ride On for Autism Research, the annual fundraiser for Kennedy Krieger. I think I'll be doing the 25 mile distance, which is longer than my rides have been typically, but only by seven miles or so, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I'll be pestering all of you for fundraising, so you may want to start avoiding my emails.

144.2

I didn't actually remember to weigh myself this morning, but I can guarantee that's what it would have said, because that is what it has said every single morning for the past week, except one, when it said 143.2.  I think it's stuck.  And I weighed myself long after breakfast today, when I did finally remember, and it was 144.2 then.  My exercise has just been walking around the neighborhood a few times, or walking around downtown, yesterday (I went to change money and they wouldn't take it at the nearer post office, so I had to go downtown to do it -- and it turns out all those people who claim the post office gives the best deal are wrong.  Bad exchange rate and high fee, by my standards.  ATM fees were cheaper, and the rate was better.  But at least we're not sitting on any excess cash anymore).  Nothing vigorous.  I don't get a lot of movement within the apartment, so any added walking over what I'd do in Blacksburg is offset by the lack of walking inside.  And our eating has been so-so -- not too much food, but not as many whole grains or vegetables and fruit as I would normally like.  Now we have that cash, so we'll be OK for shopping for the week, and I can get more fruits and veggies.  That probably won't change my weight significantly, but I'll feel healthier, at least!

Going Down?

Probably not, but I was down almost 4 POUNDS from last week - which pretty much brought me back to where I have been all along. Wow - party weekends really do a number on me!! This past week included Ash Wednesday, and a non-eventful weekend. So I didn't eat much. Katie and I are just about finishing up the left overs from the past two weeks of parties - but we are pretty much down to nothing now. Last night I didn't eat dinner because Katie went out with Susie, and I wasn't particularly inspired by anything in the house. I had a fairly late, somewhat calorie intensive (real mac and cheese) lunch, so at about 11pm I ate a handful of nuts (mostly almonds) to keep my stomach from growling overnight. It didn't growl, but the smoke alarm went off at 3am!! So often when I wake up during the night all I can think to do is eat. I didn't this time. I scowled at the alarm until I realized that the house wasn't burning down and the alarm was no longer going off, went back to bed, and managed to fall back to sleep.

Recent improvements I have noticed... This yoga thing seems to be helping parts of me. I have noticed in the past two weeks that I don't worry about getting out of the bathtub anymore. I know! Silly - but it has made a difference. I don't know if I am stronger, or more limber, or what - but I don't feel quite so much like I will end up living in the bathtub! My lower back - while still causing me some pain - isn't as bad as it was, and I have figured out how to hold my lower back so it doesn't get as tired. I hold my sholders straighter. And TODAY, I was demonstrating Downdog at work (like you do...) and I (while still REALLY BAD) was better than the other two people who did it. Mostly, I noticed that I didn't bunch my shoulders up and I didn't SEEM to be in as much pain as them... 8-)

23 and dropping

That number has nothing to do with my weight -- it's the temperature outside right now. Brrrr ...

So first, I want to pass along an interesting blog: fitbottomedgirls.blogspot.com

I like the name and it's a cool blog with interesting links and posts. One of the women is training for a half marathon so maybe there's some inspiration added in for good measure.

My routine is going pretty well. I'm in week six of my routine and there's a noticeable difference. My clothes are much looser and I'm feeling pretty good.

But I'm at my past plateau. I can't seem to get past this point. So I'm going to really try to push through these last couple (hopefully) brisk weeks and keep dropping the pounds to get myself to warmer weather so I can spend more time outside and pep up my exercise routine.

I continue to work on and rework my routine -- food and exercise -- so I don't get bored. I know that's the one thing that is key for me mentally and physically. I have to keep tricking my body physically. If I do the same routines my body adjusts and doesn't advance.

I'm sticking to a mostly raw diet -- salads, veggies and fruits -- and that has been a huge help in providing much-needed energy and weight loss.

But there's more work to be done.

142.6

Up a tiny bit this week. Not surprising given my activity level of last week--I only got to the gym three times and didn't get out on the weekend at all. Five days of exercise really does seem to be the minimum for losing weight for me.

Not much else to report. Now that we've gotten our snow for the year (yay!) I want to put winter behind me and get on with spring. In spite of all of my preparations, I wimped out on commuting by bike all winter long, so I want to get back to doing that. And running outside instead of on the treadmill. Again, I could have been doing that this winter but I didn't, at least not more than a couple of times.

144.2

I don't know what that is relative to my scale at home; this scale definitely reads lighter than mine there.  But I've dropped two pounds (it was three) since I first weighed myself here, so that can be taken as meaningful.  I have not done any formal exercise, even once, since we arrived; I haven't even figured out where I could do crunches, since the entire apartment is hardwood and I am without a mat and the towels have the texture of sandpaper.  There is a small area rug on the living room floor, but it is covered up by a large coffee table, and it doesn't seem worth the effort to rearrange just for crunches.  If I am inspired to crunch, I guess I'll work something out.

I have not been inside a car since the 21st, when we arrived, and I've been getting out in public, so logic dictates that I have been getting some exercise.  It's more walking than at home, but probably not enough to qualify as exercise, especially since in the home I am getting less exercise, since it's all on one floor.  I do have my WAtP video with me, but I hesitate to distress the neighbors downstairs with that!  The days are getting longer, and today the temperature is above freezing, so walking in the neighborhood is a real possibility, at least in the near future. I am eating a little less, because food is so expensive that I feel guilty when I eat anything unhealthy.  At any rate, my weight seems not bad for now, and my clothes are fitting just fine, so I'll probably keep doing what I'm doing for now and see how things go over the next few weeks.

FAT Tuesday

I was fat. A new high this morning. Two pounds above the "OMG! I must cut off my left arm now!" weight I allow for myself. I have been thinking about giving up sugar for Lent. I would allow sweetened stuff - just not sweetened with sugar (or natural cane juice as the organic foods call sugar). I hadn't quite convinced myself of this yet because currently at home we have banana bread, Coldstone cupcakes, birthday cupcakes, and a piece or two of sachre torte and upsidedown cake. I can't bring myself to throw them away - and they will not survive until Easter. After my weigh-in this morning, however, I think I WILL be giving up sugar. Katie and I - while firm believers that the "not on Sundays" thing as cheating - have already decided we are having meat on Sundays, just because our most recent Let's Dish session was heavy on chicken. We have some fish foods, but mostly all meats. They will probably survive until Easter just fine - but they take up a lot of space, and we can't justify buying more proteins when we have a freezer full already. So we are having meat on Sundays. Maybe I will allow THIS SUNDAY ONLY to be a sugar-ful one.

I am getting a salary cut. Just 5% - which is less than my last pay increase in July, so it isn't TOO terrible - but it is still a cut. I am spending my disposable income on my trip to Norway, so I am looking for ways to save a bit on my expenses. Unfortunately two obvious ways that have come to mind are 1. quitting the gym and 2. not doing yoga next quarter. The gym would save me $493.74 annually - which hardly seems worth it, but OTOH I haven't been using the gym as much as I should be. Except for water ballet - which I haven't been to in about a month! Yoga next quarter I was already planning to do a "pay as I go" thing - since I am going to miss several weeks during my trip. I don't know. Yoga is the more expensive of the two ($17 per week instead of $18.99 bi-weekly) but I USE it a lot more - and really enjoy it. What I REALLY need to do is finish all of the changes I am making in my house and get that upstairs room actually MADE into an exercise room. I have the treadmill, weights, DVDs and - if the floor is emptied up - space for yoga. That room will be a REALLY NICE exercise space. I just need to finish it. Of course, that is actually an additional expense - for the floor and the paint - but it is money I have already earmarked. Maybe I can get more of that done this weekend.

Yay! Coffee!

142.4 this morning, which means I don't have to give up coffee for Lent. You all have no idea what a good motivator this has been for me! I should go to coffee rehab. It can't be healthy that I'm so addicted to the stuff that the thought of giving it up makes me exercise and cut out some of my favorite foods.

I realized this morning that I really haven't been watching my diet much at all. I've gone to parties, gone out to eat, snarfed down cookies after work, etc.--all of my old bad habits. And I'm still averaging about a pound a week in weight loss. My handy dandy heart rate monitor tells me that I'm burning 2000 - 2300 calories a week with exercise--I'm exercising the same number of times a week as I was back when I was first trying to lose weight, but I'm exercising harder and for longer times, so that's making up for the calories that I'm not cutting. It's kind of nice, and I hope it's sustainable. This week is going to be a challenge--yesterday was my only normal workday. I'm heading into three full days and one half day of training (the three full days on a computer system I'll probably never use) so I won't be able to do my normal lunchtime gym visits. Today I'm going swimming immediately after work, and I may do that again on Wednesday, but I can't on Thursday or Friday. I might just make up the time missed on the weekend. I hate to skip exercise at this point since I can really feel the difference when I ease up--I'm amazed at how quickly I can lose any gains I've made!

Still making progress

So I tried on my "gauge" jeans tonight to determine where I stand in my fitness routine. I was able to get them back on although it took a tad bit of coaxing. I can't say it was pretty, though. My fat just all mushed together. Ick. But it's a step in the right direction. It provides the proper motivation. I had tried them on a week or so ago and I couldn't button them. 

I also tried on some work pants that had gotten a bit tight and they are comfortable again. Yay! 

But I know I can do better. 

My biggest challenge is the fat around my waist. It really seems to have gotten worse since I turned 40. I had really hoped for better, faster results but I feel like my diet is good and I've been following my workout routine pretty well. I'm on week 5 and am really trying to push myself. With spring (hopefully) on the way I'll spend more time outdoors and that should help. 

I just feel like I have to drag myself through February with all its darkness and cold and I'll hope for better March weather. 

Otherwise I'm waiting to see photos of Sarah on her new bike with her new bike clothes and I can't wait to see photos from Norway and to hear about Emily's adventures. Emily, do you have a Norway blog? Anyone else know?

I want bike clothes!

Even though I spend more time running and (these days) swimming, the clothing for those activities just lack any fun appeal.

But there's lots of cute biking clothes out for the spring and they are crazy expensive, but so cute.

How about this jersey: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodPI_0790_10.html with these shorts: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodPI_0438.html ?

Or this jersey: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodLG_9820425.html

Pity they don't put sleeves on these shirts. Sleeveless always makes me think I need to be doing more tricep dips.

Here's a cute one with sleeves: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodTY_1199_4.html

149.5

So I'm holding steady, more or less.  It went down early in the week and then jumped up four pounds overnight, and then it settled here again for weigh-in day.  People keep getting cakes for us -- my group of friends, the Girl Scout troop, the Cub Scout pack.  And yesterday was Alexander's birthday, so we had a cake at home for that!  And the Chemistry group did a cocktail party, which is more caloric than cake, I'm pretty convinced.  And you can't not eat a cake made in your honor!  At least the Girl Scouts polished off the whole cake; at the other two parties, we were sent home with the leftovers (I resisted on my friends' cake -- it was HUGE so they only sent us with part.  But it was good and it ran out the day the Cub Scouts sent theirs home.  We still have theirs, and the birthday cake).  So I had no hope of watching my calorie intake this week.  Once we get to Norway there will be a lot of seafood; provided it's not all slathered in butter I should be able to eat fairly healthily.

143.6

Not quite a pound down from last week, but at least I'm down at all. I was a bit nervous (since I've got six weeks of coffee on the line) that I may not have lost weight this week--I was only down .2 pounds as of Friday, then I spent the weekend eating too much and had an enormous dinner on Sunday night. So I really wasn't sure if I had lost anything this week in spite of exercising endlessly. Or what seems like endlessly, although in reality I didn't do as much last week as I should have--two days of running, two days of swimming and one day of pilates. I meant to walk the dog over the weekend and do another day of pilates but I spent most of Saturday passed out on the sofa after doing an all-night bowling event with the scouts. I was only a tiny bit more active on Sunday, but not up for any actual exercise. I was STILL recovering yesterday--I went to the gym and my usual treadmill workout nearly killed me. I hate it that it takes me so long to recover from things like this. I like to pretend that I'm still young, but all nighters remind me that I'm really not.

Forgot to post

Not that there's anything worth posting about.  I was 149.5 yesterday and glad to be below 150 still (or again -- I had one day over it).  149 today.   I keep forgetting to weigh myself these days -- I missed every other day in the past week!  I have such a completely messed-up schedule right now.  I'm eating badly, but I am exercising, at least a little bit.  This week it would have been four days at the gym, plus my long Friday walk, but I had to cancel for this afternoon because Cecilia needs to go to the doctor.  She has been congested and now it appears that she can't hear.  Poor thing.  She doesn't seem to mind, but she also doesn't respond when we call her, and "What" is her favorite word of late (without inflection -- not, "What?" but, "What.").  We thought this was normal 3-year-old obliviousness until last night, when Daniel was calling her name to tell her he had her blankie-too, and she was only ten feet away and didn't respond.  We tested her today, and "Do you want a cookie?" at close range also goes unnoticed.

Anyway, I'll get three days at the gym this week, and three next, and then we leave, so, none for six months.  But I'll get skinny because we won't have a car and the food will be weird and expensive.  I hope (about the skinny -- not about the expensive).

Totally random

But you guys are some of the savviest folks I know, so I am throwing this out there.

I need some help/guidance/input on developing color schemes for mapping various "phenomena" related to the Poison Center. Most maps are density maps, and the subjects are stuff like poison related deaths, number of calls for a particular substance, increase/decrease/no change over a time period, etc. I'm adding a jpg of a draft I tossed together today to just be able to "see" the data.

Now I am not completely color challenged, but pretty darn close. In the big map on the right hand side, red is for increases in calls over a 4 yr period, blue is for decreases, yellow if there was no change and then white for no calls at all over that period. It is just not a visually pleasing map. Any ideas? Any good resources for choosing colors that any of you know about?

And another week goes by

My weight is up from last week, down from the week before and still in the same range as it has been for the past 10 months or so.

I have done no exercise outside of my one 90 minute yoga class and one one mile walk.

My food has not been great. I haven't had enough fruits or vegetables. Do I sound like a broken record? Today Katie and I didn't have eggs so I had a multi-grain apple scone from Caribou. It wasn't very good, so it wasn't even worth it to eat bakery food. But it was only a dollar.

I haven't had lunch yet, and I am hungry. I gave Ginger my last $5 to pick me up something from the grocery store for lunch - so I am not sure what I will get.

I have a REALLY hard time maintaining good habits. I haven't made a weekly lunch in two weeks. OTOH, I have been flossing daily and rinsing with peroxide. So, I think I can only do ONE good behavior at a time. Since it is my tooth that is bothering me the most right now that is what I am focusing on.

I have to start back with water ballet. It has been several weeks since I have gone. It just seems SO EARLY to get up in time for an 8:45am class on Saturday. Whine... MAYBE what I should do is start going to BED before 1am on school nights so I won't be suffering from so much of a sleep depredation by the weekend. But since I don't get home from work until 7:30 or 8, going to bed at 10:15pm seems like a bad use of my time. I have facebook to check, and X-files to watch!

I need to change my life...

Weighing in

So I DID end up getting just a touch of the stomach bug. It was so mild I'm not sure I really got it, but I was sick enough that I was down two pounds today (142 even). But I'm not counting that as an official weight since it just sets me up for disappointment next week. I'll go with yesterday's weight of 144.4 as my official weight for the week.

I'm off to the pool in about 45 minutes. Ugh. I've been reading Total Immersion and it gives me a bit of hope. The book/technique is one I've heard about from various people who all swear by its methods and praise the technique with all sorts of flowery prose. The idea is to increase your efficiency while swimming by positioning yourself in the water in the most hydrodynamic way, balancing your body in the water and using your core muscles for most of the power behind your stroke. Sounds easy, right? We'll see. So far I've only read the first half of the book where they explain the how and why of the technique. The second half of the book deals with drills and implementing the technique. So I've gotten through all the PR and am sold on it, but now I need to read the small print and see how this really works. That won't happen in the next 45 minutes, so I'm in for another day of slogging through the water at a snails pace and being about as hydrodynamic as a lump of clay with twigs stuck in it.

The fastest way to lose weight

Everyone in my house was struck with a stomach virus this weekend except me. Given the horror I have of throwing up, I spent the weekend bathing in bleach and surrounded by a cloud of Lysol spray. My hands are cracked and bleeding from washing them so much (then following up for good measure with hand sanitizer) and I ate nothing but what I would have eaten had I been sick--chicken soup and crackers and applesauce. I'm still not convinced that I've dodged this bullet (Connor got it on Friday, Claire on Saturday and Brian on Sunday. Today should have been my day, but I won't breathe easy until Wednesday I think.) so I'm sticking to bland food and not much of it. This is working wonders on my daily weight--today I was down to 144.4. A few more weeks of avoiding a stomach virus and I'll be in great shape!

I'm trying to stick with a weekly exercise schedule that has me in shape for the triathlon this summer. Last week I did two days of running (one tempo, one intervals), one day of swimming (40 minutes--I was supposed to do two days but had to leave early on Friday to take care of Connor), two days of moderate aerobics (stationary bike and walking) and one day of light aerobics and weight work. I need to actually get out on my bike (again, dealing with sickness kept me inside this weekend when the weather was perfect for riding!), but last week was more or less what I'd like to shoot for in the next couple of months--two days swimming, two days running, one day biking, and the other two off or light activity. I also need to start adding in more weight training, but I think that'll either take switching to getting up at an ungodly early hour to run outside (which I can't see doing in February, unless today's weather holds!) so that I can work on the weight machines at lunchtime or coming up with a routine using the freeweights we have at home. I only have wimpy girly weights, but Brian has some better freeweights somewhere.

Finally making headway

I've been on my new workout/food routine for two weeks and I'm getting results. Finally. 

I will begin my third week of my workout schedule on Friday and the last four weeks of this program ramps up from here on out so I've got to be on my game. 

But, so far, I'm pleased with how things are going. My clothes aren't as tight (it wasn't pretty) and I'm just generally feeling good/better. I've got an enormous amount of energy and I seem much clearer-headed. I don't weigh myself but I'm noticing the difference in inches or maybe millimeters right now. haha

In fact, a friend of mine put a post about me on her blog to prove she's not the only foodie wacko out there. I think that's a compliment. haha

I've been trying to get into a raw diet -- mostly fruits, veggies, salads, nuts and yogurt -- but there's a wide range of options. 

I do like meat and fish -- I eat mostly chicken. So that's the main aspect of my diet that's cooked. Recently I got a nice piece of salmon from Whole Foods and some scallops from Wegmans. Both meals were wonderful and I enjoy the variety. 

So now I'm staring down the barrel of a tough few weeks but I'm ready for the challenge. 

Work is keeping me crazy busy but I'm managing to find the time to get my workouts done. That really boosts my confidence and propels me ever forward. 

So I hope this keeps working!

Neck and neck with Emily

I was 148 on Monday--the highest I've seen in three years. Yikes! But that seems to have been a bit of a fluke and more reflective of the huge dinner I had the night before. By Tuesday I was down to 146.4 and today to 146.2. Not that I'm thrilled with those weights, but they are closer to 145 than to 150, so that's o.k. I'm making a deal with myself that if I lose weight every week between now and Ash Wednesday, I don't have to give up coffee for Lent. But if I gain weight any of those weeks, I'm off coffee again until Easter. Remembering how horrible that was last year will, I hope, keep me eating less and moving more.

Last week was hell. I had two grant proposals due last week and five due this Monday so I pretty much woke up, went to work, worked all day without a break, came home and did the basketball/Girl Scout/dinner/bedtime routine and then worked until 1 or 2 a.m. then woke up at 6 and started it all over again. The only reprieve from this routine was when I went in for a root canal. You know life is bad when the most fun you have all week is your root canal!

Things have eased up a bit this week--I only have two proposals due this week and then two more big ones for the rest of February. So at least I can get back to the gym. I'm all packed for swimming today--I haven't been in the pool except for a scout field trip since before Christmas, so I'm really not looking forward to this!

This is my 2000th post

Or - maybe not MY 2000th post - but THE 2000th post. That is a lot...

Anyway - what if my butt is too big? I was just about to book my flight to Norway when I happened to notice a chart of the different levels of "comfort" on the SAS airplanes. So I looked at them. The Economy seats are 17" wide. So, of course I had to measure... My butt (sitting down) is bigger than 17" wide. The Economy PLUS size is 18". I am pretty sure mine is bigger than that. In fact, I think even business class is only 20" wide and that is the biggest on their planes. Am I REALLY fat enough that I have to book 2 seats? Oh - BTW, two economy seats is considerably cheaper than one busniess class seat. AND it would take about 10 economy seats to reach the cost of first class... So WHO in their right minds would EVER book first class. Just book a whole plane all to yourself. So how exactly do you go about booking 2 seats? It is only one traveller. Would I get a discount on the second? OTOH, what if I get stuck in my seat. I do remember the last time I flew (two years and about 15 pounds ago) I came off the plane saying that I almost didn't fit. I am bigger now - and the seats are probably smaller. I KNOW I am fat - but seriously, out of the five women on my team there are two people with wider butts than me. Am I REALLY that extremely above average? And what do other people do. I don't normally see people with two seats on planes, unless they are ENORMOUS - I mean bigger than me by about 100 pounds. What do I do?

BTW - my weight this week was down THREE POUNDS from last week. I wonder if either was a fluke?

I took a 20 minute (one mile) walk today - before lunch... around 11:30.

Flab-o-rama

I did get back to the gym two times last week, and I have two appointments this week and one set up for next week already.  So that's progress.  But I still feel very, very flabby.  My weight peaked at 148.5 last week (actually, it was up there and hovering for weeks) and inexplicably started trickling down, so now it's at 147.0.  Still within the margin of error for 148.5, though!  The oddest part was that the first sub-148 I'd seen in weeks came the morning after we'd eaten at the brewpub.  I ate so much that it hurt -- though I didn't think I'd actually eaten THAT much, even on the spot, so I'm forced to conclude that it was the beer making me feel very full.  I had grilled salmon for dinner, with a baked potato, and I didn't finish the first and barely started the latter.  And I ate a salad, but I didn't finish that, either.  And the appetizer was tiny (but really yummy -- shrimp and crab dip on ciabatta bread).  That was it for the night, except for the beer (1 1/2 glasses), which I know packs a fair number of calories.

Anyway.  I'm not embarking on any new diet programs right now.  I'm just trying to tread water while I worry about other things -- talk to me in a month!

Venus

Something to aspire to... I like her. She looks comfortable. You can't tell, but her little arms are tucked under her big boobies. Clearly her feet would never support her for running or walking... maybe some yoga.

OTOH this is really more what I look like...

Only - my back flaps are more pronounced. Luckily I have no fat toddlers running around holding up mirrors in front of me. In HER case you want to tell her to get off her fat a$$, put some clothes on and go for a walk! And BTW, is that bracelet STUCK on your arm? Why did you shove it up so far? Poor thing. She looks nice otherwise. She really should put on some clothes though.

Vickie, I love the idea of a walk after lunch and dinner. I am going to try to work that in... at least after lunch. Dinner is so late as it is, I don't see a walk happening before the weather gets nicer - or it is lighter out later... which shouldn't be much longer. You are right about enjoying it once you are addicted. I loved it when I was walking to and from church. But that was only once a week - and I stopped, not when the weather got cold, but when I started having a tighter schedule and I wouldn't have time to get home from church and too yoga if I walked it. Maybe that would be a good thing to start up again for Lent. Walking in February just isn't as appealing as walking in June...

Get Serious Now!

OK - My weight was up about a pound and a half today. I knew this was coming... My plateau, which was great while it lasted, couldn't last forever. Also - I have been eating badly off and on for several weeks now. What I mean by eating badly is not eating at all... or nothing substanial. Or eating nothing but crab dip and birthday cake all day. I am worst when Katie doesn't have to eat breakfast in the mornings... which is any day that schools are closed - or late - or if I have to leave earlier than she does. Or whatever. If I don't eat breakfast I am less inclinde to eat anything all day. That completely goes against the deal I made with my body to feed it when it is hungry. I have been very headachy lately too - and I am not sure if that is because of bad eating, or because of other stuff (the weather, stress, etc.)

OTOH - I have been paying close attention to what I do eat when I do eat. Portions I mean. I always thought that when I would eat foods I would eat beyond what was a healthy portion. I really don't. I mean, like pistachio nuts. I love them. I eat them regularly as an evening snack. It is impossible to measure out 1/4 cup of nuts if you get the kind with shells, so I always assumed that I was eating more than a normal serving. Just recently Katie and I got the pre-shelled kind. So I DID measure out a 1/4 cup each time I would eat them. In EACH case, 1/4 cup was as much, or more, than I desired. So I concluded that I WAS actually eating the correct portions in the past. Nuts really are the only snack food that we keep on hand. I have had Christmas cookies in the house - but I still have a fair number of them left. I just recently finished off my ginger date chews. I really enjoyed them - but again, I didn't gorge on them.

So - to get serious - I need a plan. Since I had a weight jump today, I need to reverse that possible trend. How do I lose weight? At two hundred and hummfffss pounds, eating less than the 1700-ish calories probably isn't the best plan. I really think I SHOULD start tracking my food again. I need to increase my exercise. This I know. It doesn't matter how many times I say it - and I believe it - I just don't see it happening. There are pockets of time that I COULD fill with exercise - but they are limited and I have so many things I could fill them with. 90 minutes of yoga a week (even yoga that makes me sweat) isn't enough. It isn't even enough to add on two 60 minute sessions of water ballet. Patty and I have scheduled trips to the gym - but so far we have only made it once. This is my fault. I have had a tight work schedule the past two weeks. I hope we can make a more concerted effort to make it there after this week. So - add an additional 2 or 3 30 minute sessions of treadmill work - or elliptical - or whatever to the tally. I bet even THAT won't do it.

Oh - BTW - even though my weight hasn't increased to speak of (not counting this week) my clothes seem to be getting tighter, or less comfortable.

UGH!!!

I gots a new plan

Hello all,

Great to see everyone to help Sarah usher in *old age*. haha I posted photos on facebook, which you all have probably seen.

So on Friday I started back with my eating and exercise routine. So far, so good. I'm following a 6-week routine I've followed before. I can pretty much do all my workouts at home although I'm going to try to mix them up a bit. I wouldn't mind adding a treadmill workout in there for a change of pace.

My goal this time is to get into the second 6-week plan -- there are three. You should see some of the exercises in the third plan. Whoa. But we'll see. I usually move along pretty quickly strengthwise in this program and it gives my metabolism the necessary kick in the butt it needs (literally) to drop the pounds I've socked on over the holidays and really, since turning 40. Bleck.

I'm also trying to change my morning routine. I'm not a fan of mornings. Even though I felt well-rested heading into Monday that didn't mean I wasn't going to enjoy a few precious extra minutes under the covers.

But my new plan is to get up and do 30-minutes on the bike w/trainer, a interval routine. Then do weights or whatever else after work. I'm also going to add back in at least one walk per day after a meal. Some days it's pretty much impossible but I'm going to push myself when I get home if I have to.

It shouldn't take long to incorporate the changes.

So overall I'm feeling positive and generally organized. That's a huge thing for me to have all my ducks in a row so I can maximize my day and get in the exercise I need.

It was actually kinda sad to see how out of shape I've gotten. Pretty much everything I did -- weights, core (killer) and yes, even stretching, hurt. So I've got plenty of improvements to make and it shouldn't be too hard to see some of those changes quickly. There's much work to be done.

Have a good week everyone.

Lack of protein

Katie and I went to Noodles last night for dinner. Really unhealthy, I know. I was just worn out from the weekend and was craving... something - but nothing that we had in the house. Katie said she definitely wanted pasta. I would have been OK with a gyros. I had mac and cheese (comfort food) with beef (protein). I realized at that point that I had not had any protein all weekend. I don't remember what I ate Friday night, because I was working on Sarah's cake. I think I had pistachio nuts, but that is about it. Saturday I had a spoonful of crab dip, but that was more fat than protien. I don't think I had anything for dinner on Saturday. Sunday then, I had coffee (which I also had on Saturday) and then the junk food I served at the party (muffins, scones, mimosas, etc.), but again no protein. So by last night I was really needing meat!

I didn't make it to the gym either day this weekend. Saturday I was working on getting ready for the party and Sunday I was getting ready for the other party. It was a busy weekend.

Diet means nothing without exercise

So I've remained pretty strict on my diet since the start of the New Year but I realize (and I already knew it) that it doesn't matter an iota without exercise. I've kept my al-ki-hol consumption to a minimum and I've brought my lunch to work every day. I haven't succumbed to added snacks and I don't get home and chow dinner. I've kept mostly to salads and plain ol' boring chicken.

I was sick the first week of the year (actually took a sick day) and I've been working late every day this week. Excuses, yes. I will admit that. But all told I just haven't been able to get into an exercise groove.

And I feel as if I'm paying for it on several fronts. Exericising really helps relieve stress and makes me sleep even better than normal. Plus, I just feel so much better -- joints, muscles etc. -- when I get in a workout.

Now I figure I've got to get through the stress of the inauguration -- I'm required to go into DC, sit in my office and watch on TV with some sort of anticipation that Obama will say something about the subject matter I cover. Right.

I also have friends coming into town ... for the entire weekend and the inauguration.

But I've promised myself no more excuses and I hope to begin that change tonight.

I have some pants I bought while I was bit thinner that are kinda tight. I can wear them but it's just depressing. I just feel fat and out of shape and that's depressing, too.

It would be one thing if I weren't watching what I eat but I am. I figure at the best I'm maintaining.

Anyway, I'm just really frustrated and feel like I've only gone backward.

So here's to new days ahead that are brighter and lighter!

Out of the office on Tuesday

I was supposed to be anyway. I had a training session in Rockville MD, but after I had already driven to Rockville, we found out that they were having problems with their server that day and so we couldn't do the training. However (and this was really annoying!) they didn't just send us home immediately so we could get SOMETHING done for the day, they kept us there for 2 hours more trying to get the system up and running. It was a huge waste of time.

We stopped for lunch in Columbia. We went to The Cheesecake Factory. I had never been there before and people for YEARS have been telling me how good it was. I was craving eggs - so I ordered an omlette. It was SO GROSS. It was like my plate had sat under a heat lamp for a long time. The omlette was incredibly greasy and had a crust on it. The toast was burned black on one side (but someone had flipped it over so you couldn't see it was burnt right away) and there was no butter on it. The homefries were way to brown and dried up. I ate about 1/3 of the omlette, but it was making me sick. When our server came to bring us the check, he asked us if we wanted boxes. I said no, and in fact the food was so bad I couldn't eat it. The manager came and apologized and took it off our check - and then gave me a free piece of cheesecake (I got the lemon raspberry one).

Anyway - so all of that means that I weighed myself, but didn't post my weight. I was the same as before - still. Exactly the same as last week, in fact.

I went to yoga on Wednesday - but was REALLY out of whack. I am not sure why. I ate breakfast which I don't usually do.

Stuck

I'm stuck not exercising and not eating well.  And our gym membership expired yesterday so we have to decide how best to renew -- pay for a month at the higher rate, or pay for the full year and put it on hold while we're gone, leaving that money tied up for the six months we're gone?  Or just pay-as-we-go, which I don't know if they even would let a local do.

My weight yesterday was 148.5 and today it was 147, so it's still hovering in the upper 140s, where it has been since the new year began.  Ugh.

My progress

Or, more accurately, my stagnation. I know it's not "official" until tomorrow, but I was the same weight this morning as I was last Tuesday. This in spite of lots of exercise (seven sessions, a total of four hours and 56 minutes, with 2,396 calories burned. Broken down, that was 1:52 of light exercise (walking the dog, pilates), 1:36 of hard exercise (running), and 1:16 of moderate exercise (elliptical, stationary bike. The stationary bike was supposed to be hard exercise but I just couldn't get my heart rate up high enough on that machine). My heart rate monitor is lots of fun for someone with mild OCD!). But clearly I'm still eating too much--a lot of the Christmas goodies are still around (mostly the chocolate variety) and I need to find the willpower to stay away from them.

What I really want to know is, why didn't I exercise for four minutes on Sunday so I could hit an even five hours of exercise?

Surprise! I'm back!

It's been a long time since I posted. For a long time my weight was pretty much stable at 151. I would like it to be ten pounds lower than that, but I'm a real wimp when it comes to resisting goodies. And we still have goodies around the house. To make matters even worse, Dad cannot resist a bargain, as you all know, so he comes home with refrigerated goodies of all kinds, cookie mixes and various other sweets. You know how he is about clipping coupons, too---it's a game with him. And I am always glad to help him eat up the stuff. His sweet tooth has increased a lot in his advancing years!

Anyway, this morning I was 155 pounds, and I have an appointment for my annual physical on Thursday!

Crowded Gym

I went to the local Brick Bodies today at 9:30am to check it out (FINALLY!). It was PACKED. How is it that there are SO many people who are not working at 9:30 in the morning? There were four classes going on in different rooms! It was impressive. The gym itself was pretty nice too. It isn't as nice as the Reisterstown one - but still nice. Lots of equipment. Patty Amos joined today - so she and I are going to work our schedules so we can go at lunch or something. She is more interested in classes. I am more interested in the individual work. They have two nice rowers and something called and arc trainer - both are for all over body work outs. I figure if I can get in two more work out sessions a week (three if I am SUPER motivated) that will bring me to a good level of working out...

More yikes

I remembered that yesterday was weigh-in day, but didn't have a chance to post. I was 145.8 yesterday--a pound and a half up from before Christmas, and many more pounds more than I was not long ago! It's showing, too--my clothes are getting too tight and I'm looking generally more flabby.

But I'm back to exercise, at least. I got out four times over the winter break, and am back to my gym routine as of this week. My nifty new heartrate monitor is fun to play with and that novelty will keep me exercising at least for a few weeks. I like that it stores the data for your exercise sessions so you can see how often you exercised in any week, what your average heartrate was, how many calories you burned, etc. Biking over the break was nice. I only went about 15 miles the one time I went out, but burned more than 800 calories. It was one of the windy days and I was working against a headwind for more than half of the ride, so it was more work than it really should have been.

Last night I dreamt that it was the day of the triathlon but that the swimming portion had been replaced with a photography competition. I like that idea! But in my dream I was worried because I knew that generally portraits won the competition and I'm not so good with portraits.

Yikes

I forgot that today was weigh-in day when I weighed in so I didn't remember to be alarmed until just now.  I was 146.5, up five pounds from the days before Christmas and three pounds in the last week!  It has been candy, cookies, alcohol, and high-fat meals for the past two weeks, and I've only exercised twice.  Once was only a two mile walk/jog, too (but a real one, not WAtP).  How scary my weight would be if I hadn't gotten it down before Christmas (and if I hadn't been sick for several of the days in the last two weeks)!

Mom and Dad are headed home tomorrow and taking some of the cookies with them, and with them goes my last excuse not to have a routine going.  I'll miss them (and the junk food) but I'll be glad to feel normal again!

A whole lot of nothing

Well - my weight was down just about 1/2 a pound this week... I did no exercise since a week ago Sunday. I ate fewer cookies this week. Katie and I moved most of the wall shelves out of the sewing room on Saturday and reattached them in the basement. She tore up the stinky closet carpet. I am hoping to paint Kilz on it tonight or tomorrow.

My next session of yoga is starting tomorrow.

All cookies all the time

Well, I had a very slight weight jump this week. I think it is because I have been eating mostly Christmas cookies all the time. I will be glad to get back to a normal food routine. I have this problem with Christmas cookies. I am the only one in my house eating them - and after one or two plates for work I don't NEED anymore. Next year I will have to get far fewer in the exchange... I don't like them to go to waste - and they get stale pretty quickly - so I eat them even when I am not wanting them. Sigh. Sarah - I think I need to return some to you so your kids can eat them. I think I will freeze some this year too so I can eat them when I AM in the mood for them. I think the prilosec hasn't been helping either. Since I am not getting reflux from eating junk there is far less stopping me from HAVING meals composed entirely of cookies.

I have done a little bit of exercise in the last week or two. Well. Not really. I actually only did one day of water ballet and that was on Sunday morning. That was it. I did squat on my new yoga wedge twice... but that isn't really exercise. I PLAN to go to water ballet tomorrow morning too (or maybe even tonight if I leave work early...) but I often PLAN on going, but then sleep through it, or work through it - or something.

I am getting more concerned about Celiac disease. More and more the decriptions sound EXACTLY like what I have (again, except the weight GAIN instead of loss). I didn't mind the challenge of doing gluten free when it was an optional thing - and MY choice - but going gluten free COMPLETELY, and because I HAVE to scares the willies out of me. I can't even imagine not having most of the foods I love EVER again for the rest of my life. I mean, it isn't like Claire not having peanuts -because she NEVER had peanuts and lots of people don't like peanuts anyway. NEVER having bread again. Nuh-uh. I really don't love the idea.

However, YOU all better be hoping against the Celiac thing too - because they say that it is genetic - and having one family member diagnosed with it increases first and second degree family members likelyhood of having it from 1 in 133 to 1 in 22. Hee hee. We can all be gluten free together! And Sarah - even if you DON'T have symptoms, you need to be tested for it. The result of having Celiac leads to other medical complications up to and including cancer. But maybe I don't have it and we can all go back to being 1 in 133. Oh - but Katie and Emily - Celiac alerts often come in the form of anemia and mild lactose intolerance.

141.5?

I'm not sure about my weight this morning -- I weighed in and it was UP from last night before bedtime and not consistent with this past week (and I've been sick, so not eating, but getting plenty of fluids and having some, um, fluid loss), so it seemed unlikely.  So I weighed again, and it came in at 141.5, 141.0, 141.5.  So I took the 141.5.  Hard to be certain.

I missed exercise on Sunday -- I did think about it but just never made the opportunity.  Yesterday I had my usual gym workout.  Today I have an appointment for 4pm but I'm feeling so rotten I may not be able to go -- I also have a doctor's appointment for 2:30, which could be kind of tight, since I'd have to go back home and get changed and get the kids first.  Would I be a loser for wimping out on the 12th day of fitness?

I haven't posted OR exercised OR watched my diet in two weeks!

So much for 12 days of fitness. I haven't gotten to the gym in the past two weeks at all because I have this job thing that is going though one of its periodic insane times (which I'm forecasting to last through February--I've got 12 proposals due between now and February 24! An average month has two or three due) plus Christmas preparations, all colliding to create the perfect storm of non-fitness. I haven't even walked the dog. And my diet has been largely starch and fat.

Much to my surprise, when I weighed myself this morning I wasn't 150 pounds, but merely 144.2. Not great, but I'll live with it (as if I have a choice) until I can get back to a more normal routine.

The Downside

OK - I have been reflux free for almost a week now, and I discovered the downside of it. Yesterday we had our team Christmas celebration - which was mostly just lunch out and a white elephant gift exchange. But one thing we did was fill up little lunch bags for each other (THAT was fun!) so I got quite a few goodies. Also - several people brought in cookies. Prilosec is great - I ate probably a total of 10 cookies throughout the day and didn't get ANY reflux. The downside to that, is after I ate the first cookie, there was no pain and suffering as a result and so I CONTINUED to eat cookies. It was nice not having the acid - or having to take Tums - but it was nice before NOT eating cookies like crazy. Then last night, I didn't eat any dinner. The cookies had filled me up. That can't be healthy.

THEN, this morning since Katie didn't have to get up, so I didn't cook breakfast. Instead I had a blueberry muffing for breakfast. Prior to a week ago I would not have CONSIDERED this as a breakfast option. Today that was it. I am committed now to having something decent for lunch. Or at least something with protein.

Emily - I am not sure what I am supposed to be looking for as a result of taking the iron. I won't need to give blood again until February I think - and they took it on December 9th anyway - even though my doctor said she was surprised they would. I don't know what other effects having low everything in my blood would have on me. I FEEL healthy other than sore knees, reflux (now mostly gone) and a weird buzzing feeling in my left shoulder muscle.

Speaking of sore knees (I know, I know, "Poor Charlotte!") but Sunday night I fell down and skinned my knee, just like a four year old. In fact, I was running to take pictures of Santa on the fire truck (the camera was fine), just like a four year old. I went down HARD on my right knee - which is the worse of my two. It was stiff that night - but mostly fine yesterday... until I had to sit at the Japanese Steak House, you know, where you can't streatch out your legs. OMG! My knee got so cramped up. It worked itself out pretty quickly though.

Celiac

I have been reading up on Celiac a little bit - it is interesting. I agree with you Emily, how do you diagnose a syndrome? In the case of IBS, I am convinced that that is what doctors call random digestive issues that they can't explain otherwise - or it isn't worth the effort to identify. So - IBS can be caused by a spastic colon, a food intolerence, imbalance in you digestive flora, a permanent virus, or whatever. So in the case of your friend her IBS probably IS her Celiac. I wouldn't give up the communion wafer if I were her (unless she HAS shown an improvement). As I am sure she knows gluten is found in weird places; spices, bath products, etc.

When I say I was "attempting" gluten free, I didn't voluntarily eat gluten for about 7 months. But I also didn't change my spice rack, or require people having parties to have something I could eat. I managed just fine. Gluten wasn't that hard to remove from my diet once I did work at it. I only faced it with dinner side dishes (we switched to rice or GF pastas) and my one piece of toast with breakfast. Since it was after I did that that I began having problems with my blood I concluded that the benefits from "enriched" bread products outweighed the disadvantages of the gluten.

However, my digestive problems have gone on since I was in the 7th grade. My freshman year in college I lost a ton of weight because everytime I ate I followed it up with being sick. I called it "natural bulemia." I wonder why I didn't think that there was something off at the time? That lasted all through college in fact - off and on. Which is why I weighed 40 pounds less when I finished than when I started.

Barbara Ball tested me for Celiac before and it was negative - however, she said it was a slow developing disease and might not have shown up then. The symptoms are vague enough that I can say that they all apply to me - but as Sarah said - lists of symptoms can apply to LOTS of categories. She took the thyroid symptoms and called it "Indications that you MAY have an autistic child. Chronic Fatigue, Waking Frequently During the Night, Anxiety, Depression, etc." Here is a list of the Celiac Symptoms:

Adults are less likely to have digestive symptoms and may instead have one or more of the following:

• unexplained iron-deficiency anemia
• fatigue
• bone or joint pain
• arthritis
• bone loss or osteoporosis
• depression or anxiety
• tingling numbness in the hands and feet
• seizures
• missed menstrual periods
• infertility or recurrent miscarriage
• canker sores inside the mouth
• an itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

People with celiac disease may have no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Long-term complications include malnutrition—which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and miscarriage, among other problems—liver diseases, and cancers of the intestine.

I don't have artritis, missed menstrual periods, seizures (although, I do regularly have phantom smells, light flashes and sounds - which I heard actually ARE seizures on a small scale - I heard it on NPR on one of those doctor commentary things...), I have never had a miscarriage, and my infertility is caused by something else entirely - namely the lack of the other half of the equasion. Otherwise this list is very like the list I gave my doctor the other day. However, if I am malnurished, it isn't showing up in weight LOSS. Sigh.

Seventh and Eighth days

Yesterday I did my usual gym workout -- nothing special but plenty of good sweat.  Today, however, I pretty much bailed.  I was busy most of the day and I did make a point of jumping up and down and jogging in place a few times, but I never got any real exercise in.  I hit about 7,500 steps for the day -- not bad, but not great.  Phooey.