Last day of my streak

I haven't missed a day of exercise all month -- this was day 15 of no-excuses. But I think this will be it for me! Tomorrow through Saturday we're in transit (though I may be able to sneak in a walk or a jog tomorrow or Friday) and then all my exercise will be touring. Most days this month I've actually looked forward to it; I've tried to work in enough variety that I wake up thinking not, ugh, I have to exercise, but, hmm, what should I do today? Of course, a few days it has still been, ugh, what's the minimum I can do today and have it count? But I've stuck to it.

Yesterday was an ugh day -- it was hot and I had to get the oil changed, so I counted the 0.75 mile walk to and from the car place (1.5 total) as exercise, and then Daniel and I went out for our evening walk (first in a while) for another 2 miles. Today was better; I took the kids swimming and did another full mile, this time with fewer interruptions and paying attention to the time, so I have a number to compare to on future swims. A slow number. Swimming is weird because I don't get sweaty and I don't feel the muscle fatigue very much while I'm doing it (but often I do later), so I don't entirely feel convinced that I've had a workout.

Food yesterday was near disastrous -- I think I was over 2000 calories by the time I quit. Tonight we're having clean-out-the-fridge and I think I'd better be cleaning out the grilled trout instead of the bratwurst or burgers and chips. Actually, I think we cleaned out the chips last night, so that may not be an issue. Next I will be cleaning out Spain. I'm doomed!

Why am I so hungry?

This is week three of the Game On diet, and except for the first couple of days when avoiding my usual post-work gorge session on all the junk in the house was difficult, I've been fine. Five small, healthy meals a day, spaced two to four hours apart. No problems, no hunger (except the good kind where you get hungry just before your next meal).

Today I came back from my morning ride starving. Stomach growling, feeling weak, I could barely keep myself from snacking while I made breakfast. Then I was fine through my second meal of the day around 11:00. Now it's 1:30 and I'm not due to eat for another hour and I'm starving again. What's up with this? I've been eating the same amounts as the last couple of weeks, and my workouts aren't any longer or harder than they have always been, and I can't imagine that my metabolism suddenly kicked up a couple of notches, necessitating more food. But my keyboard is looking mighty tasty right now.

weigh day

I weigh myself daily (starting last week) and my weight has flucuated between 5 lbs.  Since I started "dieting" last week I'm down 2.6 lbs.  it might be a fluke though because I have done NO dieting- I am waiting until Thursday (payday) to hit up our farmer's market and trader joes.  We are going to start making Colin's food so I need to get some organic veggies.  I've been eating alot more oatmeal this week though which helps because it's warm and makes me feel full.  I'm vowing to NOT buy anything unhealthy when I go to the market on Thursday.  NOTHING.  not even bagels and I adore bagels.  love them. 

Also- how the hell do mother's with infants exercise?  Michael and I are never home at the same time (he works evenings and I work during the day).  I can take Colin to the park for a walk(which I admit can wind me) but I'd like to find time to go to the gym.  I guess I could try to find a gym that has a daycare.  that makes me uneasy though- am I just a paranoid first-time mom?  the only people who've watched him so far are family and a couple of friends.  maybe I'm just making excuses!! :)

140.8

Yeah, that's right. 3.6 pounds down from last Tuesday. Yesterday (on my official Game On weigh in day) I was 141.8, so I don't know what's up with that other pound. On Saturday I was 141 even, so either weight could be accurate. But the larger point is I'm losing weight and getting into shape. Mostly around my knees, it seems. Before starting this, I was noticing that sort of hanging flab you get around your knees when your thighs are blobby, and today it looked like I was getting more definition in my leg muscles and less blob. Maybe we should switch to short skirts for Katie's wedding? And long sleeves?

I have to say I'm really liking how Game On is forcing me to adopt good habits. I was sick over the weekend--I woke up Sunday with stomach issues, and I thought it was because I overindulged on my Saturday day off (birthday party, pool party, anniversary dinner), but when the illness stuck around into Monday, I figured it probably wasn't that. In the past I would have used the illness as an excuse to not move and to eat saltine crackers and jello. But doing that would lose me a LOT of points, so I stuck with the diet (although both days I didn't attempt to eat until the afternoon, and then I went with the blandest approved foods I could manage, but still ate the five required meals) and exercise. On Sunday I went for a long and brisk walk. Yesterday I was hoping to get out for a long ride - that was my Sunday plan but I really didn't want to be away from home (and a bathroom!) for that long - but didn't have time for a long ride after work with the thunderstorm moving in, so I got out for 16 miles on my usual route (in 1:12--the first 11 miles averaged 14.6 m.p.h. and the last five miles were all uphill and knocked my average down to 13 m.p.h.). This heat and humidity is oppressive--I come back from even the most minor workout looking like I took a shower.

Part two

I think it is funny that Emily says she will un-do her good work by our trip to Spain, and I am looking forward to hopefully LOSING weight on the trip. It is counter-intuitive, but I always seem to lose when I am on vacation. It doesn't matter what the nature of the vacation is, but I lose; banjo camp, bead camp, cruise, trip to Norway, etc. My conclusions - as I have said before - is that I eat more regularly, I am more active and I eat MORE calories. I am also more relaxed and I am out of my normal routine.

I need to get myself more organized with my eating. I have some REALLY good habits - but I alternate them with REALLY bad habits. So - by my math that balances out to be kind of neutral habits. Combine that with my lack of exercise and lack of sleep, it is no wonder I am a big fat blob. Yesterday I had a Green Monster - but didn't eat my breakfast (I usually have the GM around 10:30 am and my breakfast around 8:30 - or vice versa). I ate lunch - the yummy sandwich that I shouldn't have - but it was kind of early in the day - and so at 5:30 I was starving, so got cheetos out of the machine. Why wasn't I prepared with a healthy snack? I then was very proud of myself when I got home because I made brown rice with chicken and vegetables. But - I drank the left over ginger ale. I didn't eat anything else, but when I was going to bed I was desparate to crunch something. I have no idea why! So I at crackers. As I was chewing them I was thinking "This doesn't taste good. Why am I eating this?" I can't tell you. They were at least whole grain crackers. I do wonder however, if I would have been eating something much worse if it was available - like cookies. I guess not having snacks in the house pays off to a certain degree. I can honestly tell you that I would NOT have had hummus and carrots at midnight - even if I did have them to hand.

Making progress

I started a post yesterday and got through half a sentence before I got interrupted. It was that kind of a day! I had a busy weekend, too, so exercise was somewhat spotty. On Saturday I decided to try a kickboxing video on SparkPeople, but their "10 minute cardio" turned out to be about six minutes, with a lot of talk and far more cooldown than 6 minutes deserves. I did another one and that was all of seven minutes. So then I went out and jogged half a mile, but it was mid-day and horribly hot, not to mention boring, so I gave up on that, too. I never did get a full cardio workout in that day. And I missed my weekend ab workout because of other interruptions.

Sunday was not much better -- I went for a bike ride with Mary. It was 12 miles and completely wore her out, but the pace was so slow that I didn't get my heart rate up very much. But it was fun anyway.

Yesterday I dithered about what to do -- I'd just gone riding the day before, and nothing else appealed to me -- and after dressing to go running but realizing it was over 80 at only 10 am, I decided, to heck with it, and changed into riding clothes and went out on my bike. I did 14 miles in almost exactly an hour and definitely got a good workout! Later in the day I did do my arm work, which is always pretty satisfying.

I went to a cookout on Saturday (and did NOT overeat) and a friend of mine pointed out my arm definition. I didn't think you could se anything yet, but she didn't know I'd been working my arms, so maybe you could. Either way, it made me feel pleased. Positive feedback is always good for motivation!

Speaking of positive feedback, my weight was at 140.0 today for the second morning in a row. That's my official weigh-in, too, so I'm seeing scale results, not just arm results! And I'm feeling better overall, and I don't think I look quite as doughy. At least, I don't feel so flabby, though it could just be psychological. Not that I care!

We're off to Spain on Thursday (well, Alabama for a day, THEN Spain), so I will undo much of the good I've done over the following 10 days, no doubt, but I keep reminding myself that it would be that much WORSE if I hadn't spent the first half of the month working so hard! I'm thinking of bringing a resistance band so I can still do arms there -- they pack so easily.

All Bad...

Why I am Fat
by: Amy Angerer

I am fat.

I am fat because I eat things like crackers at midnight - not because I am hungry or because the crackers taste good but because I want to eat them at midnight.

I am fat because if there is a mostly gone bottle of ginger ale in my fridge I will drink it instead of water just so I can get rid of the bottle.

I am fat because I am too lazy to pack my lunch and so when April goes out to get lunch I say "here - get me that sandwich I like so much" (which BTW is a WHITE bread baguette with tomato, procuitto and fresh mozzerella - and lettuce and some salad dressing-y stuff) and then eat the whole thing.

I am fat because I don't go to bed until 12:30am and then wake up every two hours and then hit snooze in the morning - twice - instead of going to bed at 10:30pm.

I am fat because I don't use my C-PAP at night because it makes me feel like I am suffocating even though when I do use it I feel much better the next day.

I am fat because instead of challenging myself to do some intersting physical activity at night when I get home - I challenge myself to spin 100 ounces of wool and then don't feel guilty when I sit down and spin for an hour or so at night instead of exercising. Which - technically - is more physical than, say, playing on facebook - but still...

The end.


BTW - my weight jumped AGAIN this week. I am up to 259.

My pants are too tight

and I know it's not just baby weight anymore.  It's all you can eat sushi (strange concept but normal to Reno-ites), it's starbucks cake pops (yes- they are delicious), it's In and Out Burger (another west coast favorite), its the freaking copious amounts of junk I've given myself permission to eat since June 2010 (when I found out there was a little monkey in my uterus).  It's definitely time to do something about it.  1) I am too broke to afford a whole new wardrobe (my feet even seem chubby) and 2) I don't want Colin to develop the poor eating habits I've picked up.  Salads are my friend!!!
on a side note- I really miss crab dip.  Just sayin....

New Exercise Plan

I have been following the blog of Jennifer Pharr Davis - a woman who is trying to break the record of walking the AT the fastest. Her own current record is 57 days. The world record is 49 days. She wants to beat the 49 days. But she just seems like a neat person anyway.

SO - I have decided that I want to add trail walking to my exercise routine. I do my yoga - and added clogging this spring - so now I want to add the trail stuff on Saturday or Sunday mornings. I figure that MAY be an exercise I enjoy. If so that will be three things I have tricked my body into enjoying. 8-)

Food has been so-so at best recently. I didn't monster AT ALL on my five days off. I am back to them today and yesterday. I haven't been loving them as much recently and I am not sure why. Maybe it is the plain yogurt I am now using. I think after I finish off my current container I am just going to switch back to the individual flavored yogurt. Without the monsters I am bad about fruit and vegetables.

I saw (but haven't yet read) an article called "Find your friendly foods and lose." I need to find my friendly foods. I think oatmeal is one of my friendly foods. I like oatmeal.

Another new person

I have invited Ginger into our group. Ginger just had a baby (as you know). Ginger, just to warn you - my mother reads this blog... LOL!!

Welcome aboard!!

Yay! Cycling AND swimming!

Yesterday Mary was all the way caught up (not finished, but on track) on her summer goals for finishing schoolwork (she decided this past year that all English and Social Studies were optional, but the principal disagreed, so she's having to make it up), so we went to the swimming pool as a reward. Cecilia can finally swim well enough to be left merely in the care of her siblings and the lifeguard, which means I can swim for exercise instead of hanging out in the shallow end. I swam a mile, mostly in freestyle, and I won't even tell you how slowly. I could have (probably should have) pushed myself harder, but except when I was trying not to be in the way of the person behind me, I swam at a steady, fairly easy pace. I think I am in better shape than the last time I swam laps, because I didn't spend the first 10 lengths thinking I wanted to die, and the whole 72 went pretty quickly (not by the clock, though!). And my back didn't hurt (are the planks already doing some good?) and today neither legs nor arms are significantly sore. I only noticed a bit of hamstring tightness this morning, nothing painful.

Despite the lack of weight progress, I'm feeling fitness progress (and I love seeing my mapmyride/mapmyrun calendar full of so many colors and no empty days this month), and yesterday I had no trouble controlling my eating. Today I finally saw a slight scale drop, too. :-)

Then this morning I saw that we had a nasty thunderstorm watch for after noon, which meant if I wanted to exercise outside it had better be sooner rather than later. So, Daniel or no Daniel, I hopped on my bike and rode the 7 miles in town that I did the other day. There was more traffic, but I got stopped at fewer lights (though I ran one -- it's one that only triggers if there is a car, and the oncoming traffic had cleared out, so I went ahead and turned left) and didn't have to stop at Daniel's office along the way, so according to my computer I was done in under 30 minutes. My phone said it was just over 30, but that includes the time to get the dang thing in and out of my emergency kit (note to self: with next phone, get a bike mount) and doesn't stop at traffic lights and stop signs, so that accounts for the disparity. Somewhere in the middle would be the actual riding time. And even the computer said I averaged 14.5 mph. Yay!

Hanging in there

The novelty has worn off on this game (even though my team was in first place after the first week!) but it hasn't yet fallen into the "this is just what I do" feeling yet, so I've spent this week craving the foods I gave up far more than I did last week, and I lost points on Monday night for sleep (by the time everyone left and I put away the leftovers, threw away the trash, and gathered up the recycling it was well past midnight. To get 7 hours of sleep I would have had to get up 15 minutes before I had to leave for work). Some things HAVE begun to feel like habit, though--giving up mindless internet surfing at night has been easier than expected (and made easier by Brian working from home in the evenings this week so I don't have access to the computer), and waking up and immediately going out to run or ride my bike has become the norm (although I like those days when I plan a lunchtime workout so I can sleep in a bit. At lunchtime I don't enjoy it, though - running is a lot easier in the early morning when it isn't 95 degrees out.). And the three liters of water has been remarkably easy to stick with; most days I'm drinking 125 to 140 ounces. Sleep and food are the hardest--I now go to bed before anyone else in the house, which is hard on Brian (who is then stuck working until midnight and also dealing with Connor) and I feel bad for Claire (who I'm only reading to at bedtime now a couple days a week instead of every day; we've decided that starting today I'll read to her after work in case we can't do it later). And it's boring. That's the only time of the day when I have a few minutes of free time without work, errands, cooking, or housework (not that there isn't housework--I just stop doing it around 9:30 or 10:00) so I'm used to reading or watching a movie at that point. We've had The Kings Speech in our house from Netflix for over a week with no chance to watch it. My days are pretty much get up, work out, shower, get dressed, eat, pack lunch, work, come home, cook dinner, run errands (about half the time), walk the dog, clean up, go to bed. The food part is just thankless--lots more work to prepare and pack the food while endlessly avoiding temptation. But I haven't ONCE lost points for my food--I haven't eaten anything non-sanctioned or snacked between meals except on my day off and my meal off. But I have fantasies of Lucky Charms and can barely wait until my next day off to indulge them!

Tough day

I'm not sure why yesterday was such a struggle for me. I felt like eating ALL DAY yesterday (and I'm not PMS) and I didn't want to exercise. I was tired, for one thing; we were up too late the night before (wasn't "Get enough sleep" the first of my bullet points?) because Daniel was leaving on a trip yesterday, so I fell asleep mid-afternoon while I was reading, when I should have been getting out to exercise. Eventually I unenthusiastically put my gym clothes on and decided I'd bike to the gym -- I did NOT want to go anywhere, and I had a stiff neck from cycling the day before so that might not have been such a hot plan anyway -- and then Cecilia said she wanted to go to the kids' room, so we drove. Just having her along made me more excited about going out. And I did get 45 minutes on the elliptical, and I did an arm workout at home.

I also think part of the reason I was wanting to eat so much was that my food choices weren't the best. At dinner I picked a leftover bratwurst instead of leftover cod, and that was 100 calories I couldn't get through more food (though I was hoping the fat would make me feel fuller). I ate a half ounce of Doritos instead of a slice of bread afterwards (I was wanting the salt -- but it left me hungry). I ate a tiny piece of cheesecake instead of a popsicle (that should have made me feel full, but it didn't) for dessert. At bedtime I was famished, so I ate a 70-calorie square of dark chocolate (that's good for me, right?) and went to bed with my stomach growling. I only exceeded my calories by 150 for the day (and still within a reasonable range) but I didn't feel good all day, food-wise, except when I ate a serving of watermelon (good way to feel full with few calories!). But the kids ate the ENTIRE watermelon yesterday, so I'll have to find something else to nosh on today!

Hard to tell if I've made weight progress

Last Wednesday was my official weigh-in, but I was retaining water, and then I dropped three pounds by Thursday to 143.5, after a day of dieting and exercise, so I didn't really get a good baseline. But then I went 144, 144, 143, 143 -- and today back to 144, dagnabbit -- if I was measuring from the 143.5, that means no weight loss. But I have exercised daily and eaten well over every day except yesterday (naturally), when I had too many calories to drink and too many chips late at night -- I was over 2000 for the day, and since I didn't measure everything there's a good chance I forgot something.

I did wake up and go straight out for a run yesterday morning, just a normal 5k. It was quite sluggish; I'm so out of shape on running. I even tried to do the walk/jog ratio I did last year in the hopes that would get me through the overall run faster, but in the end I think it was slower than the run in Alabama. What it did have over the other run was that I did not get at all sore, even though it was at least as hilly and just as long. So my exercise is clearly doing some good.

Today I went out for a ride again, because I realized that with Daniel going out of town tomorrow I don't have another good day to go until he's back (I don't like the idea of getting stranded 10 miles, or even 3, from home with no one to rescue me and the kids with no sitter). If I want to get two rides in it had to be today and this coming Sunday. Unless I count riding one of the uprights at the gym as a ride, which I don't want to, because it turns something fun into work. And doesn't count toward earning my bike -- I don't want to consider it really deserved until I've ridden a mile for every dollar it cost. Anyway, I just went 7 miles; I tried an abbreviated version of my 16-mile ride, but, unfortunately, it was just the in-town part, which meant I had all the disadvantages with none of the advantages of the ride the other day. So I'm still looking for a good short ride.

3.4 or 1.6

That's how much weight I lost last week. The first number is going by my Monday weight, which I think included a lot of water retention, but it's my official starting weight for Game On. The second is my Tuesday weight and probably more realistic. Either way, I'm happy with the results (144.4 today), and particularly happy because my weight today was the same as yesterday, which means I managed to maintain my weight over a day of indulgence. I think what worked was, um, not indulging. I'm allowed to take one meal off each week, so yesterday I let myself have dinner off, so for the rest of the day I stuck with my exercise, water, and small meal plan, then had a normal (but not TOO indulgent) 4th of July dinner. The hard part was coming home from the fireworks and NOT eating the leftover potato salad, chips, brownies, and beer. I can't have a bite of any of that stuff until Saturday (my next day off), by which time it'll of course be long gone! Connor is probably home polishing off the brownies as I write this.

Hi!!

I've been keeping up with the blog, but haven't been posting.  There has just been too much other stuff going on.

I had LASIK surgery this past Friday, and I am typing to you today in perfect 20/20 vision...the first time since I think I was maybe 8? Something like that. It is very weird and very cool.

We've been sticking to a decent eating plan these past few weeks, and both Peter and I are seeing weight loss, which is great, but I know it could be better as I am still struggling to fit exercise consistently into my daily schedule.  I have a plan though.  I just have to survive these next few days as we get ourselves ready for a trip to San Diego.  Come Friday, my plan can start!

Peter and I bought bikes a few weeks ago, and we used them like crazy at first, but then we had a week of rain, then we went away, etc, etc and they are sitting.  I really enjoyed riding though, so at least we have them and I am going to work them into our day when we get home from San Diego. Plus I have them parked in the dining room, so they are never out of sight.

My friend Rachael is almost done her 3rd tour in Kuwait, and she sent me a long list of exercises she does to keep herself in shape.  I like them because they require no gear at all besides sneakers.  The list is going with me to San Diego next week and we'll see how I do.

Me, too, yay! Cycling!

Yesterday my exercise consisted of me walking and jogging alongside Cecilia while she rode 3 miles, occasionally giving her boosts up hills. Plus we did plenty of walking at the Farmer's Market and the grocery store, so I had NO problem topping my 10,000 steps for the day. Today was more fun for me -- I abandoned the kids at home (Daniel was at work) and rode 16.7 miles on my bike. I stayed away from Ellett Valley entirely -- a great ride until you have to get back into town, when it's a million miles uphill with no break. (Really just two, but the grade gets up to 8% unless you make it a very long ride and traverse some very unpaved roads.) There's a lovely loop to the north of town that goes about six or eight miles, and getting there and back and adding on a few other spurs I really had quite a nice ride. I did not try to push the pace, and I averaged just under 14 mph. (That's by my bike computer -- in actuality I stopped once for several minutes on campus to borrow a water bottle from Daniel, since I'd forgotten to get mine at home, and I paused two other times to take a drink. The computer doesn't count time that you're not moving.)

I'm still keeping food in check. Today it wasn't hard because we had a lot of fruit in the house, and when I came back from riding that's what I was craving anyway. And water. Lots of water. When I got back from riding it was 87 degrees. I was dripping with sweat for half an hour after I got back.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for other rides. 16 miles was a lovely weekend ride (wish it had fewer traffic lights on the route, though -- well, none, because there were only about four -- and less traffic on the in-town parts) but it won't get me very conditioned if 60-something miles is my goal. There are some 50-mile routes, so that's something to work towards; I might even be able to tune one of those down to 30, now that I look at it. But a 20-mile route is a bit elusive, and I don't really have a 7-10 mile route that doesn't leave me fearing for my tires.

Yay! Cycling!

I went out this morning and finally tackled the Patapsco Heritage Trail--it's the bike route they've mapped out from Ellicott City to the BWI trail, going through Patapsco State Park and then Elkridge. BWI, of course, has a nice bike trail going around it (nearly entirely devoid of random people walking dogs on retractable leashes) that is just about exactly ten miles, so it's great for training. Today I only did the route there and back, taking a slightly different route home than out. My total mileage was 21, so if I start adding on the BWI trail, it'll be a great training route for the metric century. I can even add on the spur down to Annapolis if I get bored (that's about 30 miles round trip, so one loop around BWI, the path down to Annapolis and back, and the trip there and home is just about a perfect metric century).

I was a bit worried about the route through Elkridge--that's an ugly part of the world in general, all built up with huge car parks, tattoo parlors, motorcycle repair shops, chain hotels, railroads, and all of the interstates converging on the area. But the bike route is really nice--all of the traffic stays on the ugly big roads, and this bike route takes a couple of roads that are tree lined and beautiful, at least until you're in the immediate vicinity of the airport. It was a really pleasant ride, in spite of barely making it up the two hills on the route (that's the other good thing about this--it's generally flat!).

Yesterday was difficult to quantify

Last night I went to happy hour and then to a Greek place for supper, so I really don't know how many calories in tater tots or chicken kabob platter I ate. I barely ate the rest of the day, though, knowing I'd be out in the evening, so my best guess is that I ate maybe 1000 calories in beer, fried food, and Greek food, and didn't go more than 200-300 calories over on the day. It's not exactly a healthy way to eat, though.

Exercise was equally complicated. I did a walk/jog to get to downtown (about 1 1/4 miles), which left me sweaty but wasn't exactly aggressive exercise. I also spent a lot of time chasing Cecilia on her bike, and running alongside her. And I hooked a borrowed tandem up to my old bike to try it out and rode maybe a half mile with Alexander in tow -- it was pretty alarming for both of us, especially at the beginning. I'm glad I didn't test it on Cecilia first, who was at the time very nervous about riding a bicycle of any kind, and this would have scared her off them permanently. The trailer almost certainly outweighed my old bike, yet it had no steering or braking control; Alexander learned pretty quickly that he couldn't do much balancing of his own, because we'd end up fighting each other and wobbling all over the place. I think it might work better on Daniel's heavier bike, but it's still a pretty scary experience. So I broke a sweat over that, but not because it was physically strenuous. All in all, I got in a fair amount of cardio, but it wasn't really sustained, and it's hard to measure.

I did finally do some abs and arms. For abs I did crunches, oblique crunches, swimming (Pilates-style), side bends with weights, and modified planks -- 12 of everything (to each side on the sideways things) in each of three sets, except only three planks (one per set), and on the third plank I finally succeeded in holding it the full minute. For arms I did boring weight stuff (though I've always liked weight workouts for arms) -- bicep curls, triceps kickbacks, shoulder presses, and front raises. Again, a dozen of each in each set, for three sets. Today there is some soreness but nothing I won't recover from in another day. I spent about 40 minutes all told, but I wasn't trying to be efficient; I was having to look a lot of things up, and I got sidetracked a lot by things the kids were up to.

While looking around at fitness sites yesterday I came across Body for Wife -- I couldn't decide if this guy is a stupid, conceited jerk or actually quite bright and just very frank. Probably a little of both. Certainly fitness-obsessed, but that's his career. I don't know what it is about fitness gurus that make me immediately think they're all brawn and no brain. He has the academic credentials, but his photo is just kind of gross. Anyway, he was very blunt about what it takes for someone to REALLY get into shape and stay there -- he exercises about an hour and a half a day, cardio and weight training included, with some days more than others. I think my final assessment is that he is a bit conceited and possibly a bit of a jerk but that it's calculated and he doesn't have to be; he's not stupid, and he's pretty entertaining to read.

Four good days

Knowing that your points add up every day and that you could lose points for cheating is quite motivational! I've managed to stick to the plan all week, and have caught myself almost eating something without thinking a couple of times but stopped myself before the treat made it to my mouth. Today has been the toughest day so far--I had Connor down at Hopkins for an early morning appointment that ended up taking way longer than usual and I almost missed a meal (I'm supposed to eat my meals no more than four hours apart), and while there I also wasn't drinking water so I'm behind on that for the day, and catching up isn't fun. I also haven't exercised yet today. I've been doing that in the morning or at lunch, and of course couldn't do it in the morning today and won't have a lunch break because I got here late, so I'll have to figure something out tonight. Biking in the dark on a Friday night at the start of a holiday weekend doesn't strike me as a good idea, though.

I've been tracking my food on the Daily Plate as well, and each day I've come out more or less around 1300 calories, without actually counting the calories; that is, I don't take into account what the calorie count of the food is that I'm eating--I just eat according to plan and it all works out over the day. Exercise each day is burning an additional 300 - 400 calories, too, so I'm doing well.

We'll see next week what my official weight loss is, but for now I'm down to 143.4. That'll slow down in the next week as my body adjusts, and this weekend I'll take a day off and halt the progression, but if I can manage 1.5 to 2 pounds of weight loss a week for the duration of this game, I'll be happy. Well, not happy exactly (it would take more than weight loss for that!), but content.

Weight spike AGAIN!

I was discouraged this Tuesday because I had another weight spike - 6 pounds this time. It was the first day of my period, and it was a bad one - so that may have had an impact. OTOH - I had an acupuncture appointment last night and as we were going to the treatment room Shea told me that it looked like I was losing weight. Then this morning at the gas station there was a guy (cute, and young but TOTALLY not my type) flirting with me. He gave me his business card as he was leaving. VERY good for a fat old lady's ego.

AND - since I had been complimented twice in the last 24 hours, I have decided that my pants feel bigger today. They aren't really - but it is all good.

And - now for something completely different....

I think the other bridesmaids on this board (and the bride) need to change their attitudes. They - instead of trying to lose 10 pounds - should all committ to GAINING 20 pounds each. As it is I am easily going to be twice as big as anyone else in the wedding party - including the groom. So, to prevent me from looking completely like a GIANT TROLL!! they should defer to my sentitivites and GAIN some fricking weight!!!!

Regarding the comments about yoga - the goal of yoga is to do the poses correctly, not be super bendy. If I can do yoga, and fairly well I might add, then anyone else here can. There is not a single thing difficult about a sun salutation!!! I do them in my kitchen waiting for the coffee maker to heat up. The REAL KEY to doing yoga is to pay attention to what YOUR body is doing, rather than the body of someone else. It is more important that your hips are lined up correctly than your hand being flat on the floor. Understand the goal of the poses before doing them. If you don't KNOW the goal of the pose, ask someone who does. A lot of people do a lot of damage by doing sloppy yoga!!

Day two behind me

New rule of dieting: stay away from Rita's altogether. I took the kids and two friends to see a play yesterday and then I took them to Rita's, which was a block away, so I could be a cool mom. I got a regular Italian Ice (smallest size adults can get) figuring it would be the least harmful thing on the menu (not counting the Light Ice, which has artificial sweeteners, which are terrible for you, and still a surprising number of calories). Well, it WAS the least caloric thing on the menu -- yet still a quarter of my day's calories. One serving, 12 ounces, packs a whopping 77 grams of sugar. Yep, I drank an entire cup and a half of sugar water. The equivalent of two sodas in calories. With hyperactive red dye, to boot. Never again. Honestly, their "custard" would have been better -- only 20 calories more and considerably more filling, and probably at least marginally more nutritious. And no radioactive dye.

At Ben & Jerry's you can get a single scoop of their regular sorbet, it uses all natural ingredients, and it has not even a third of the calories. But it was a mile away and I didn't want to load everybody in and out of the car to get there, when Rita's was right there. I thought the Italian ice would be like a sorbet. I was wrong. Live and learn.

Despite that, I managed to keep my calories to my goal range, but I got mighty hungry before dinner. I procrastinated on exercise a good chunk of the day -- the whole afternoon was filled up with the play and visiting a friend who is currently her mother's full-time caregiver and starting to go a little bit nuts being stuck at home -- so after dinner when Daniel and I went out for our walk I convinced him we should go a little further, and he said if we were going further we should follow a real route and not just the flat school sidewalk, so we ended up walking our usual 5k route, which has hills and everything. (And stairs. The bridge is still out for another month.) It wasn't as vigorous as running or the elliptical or a bike ride, but it was still enough to qualify as exercise.

I still haven't started my abs and arms workouts, but I'm going to do it today. I think I can stick to a M/W/F schedule for muscle training. And if I start today I can recover for three days before the next, instead of the usual two -- based on my running experience this week, I may need that!

One good day

So... yesterday I managed to keep my calories within my goal range, and I exercised by getting out on the bike. I went out after dinner and just rode 8 miles on the Huckleberry Trail. While I LOVE being on the bike, it's a frustrating route to take -- the path has so many sharp curves, often at the bottom of long hills, so you can't get up to full speed and you can't use your speed to carry you into the next hill. And the bridges are rough wooden planks, and the underpass for the main road has a nasty metal connection to the path that my thin tires can't take at high speed. (I have had flats from hitting spots like that too fast before). Just after a curve and this underpass I got passed by someone on a mountain bike -- she was easily 50 pounds heavier than I was and her bike should be much slower than mine, but she didn't have to slow down to take the rough patches, so she was able to fly past and have the momentum (not to mention the traction) to get up the (curvy) hill. I overtook her on the next long straightaway, but then we hit a wooden bridge and she passed me again. By then it was time to turn back, so I didn't get the chance to race her any further. But I felt very silly being passed even once. I am out of shape, and my bike just isn't meant for a path like that.

I was slow to get started drinking water during the day, but at dinner and after my ride I went through five glasses. Between the diet, the exercise, the water, and just being home and not stuck in a car, I lost three pounds yesterday. If I could keep up that pace, I'd be back at my goal weight in four days. Hee hee!

Last night we went to bed more or less on time, and I got nine hours of sleep. So I met another bullet-point goal of mine as well. I haven't done the arms and abs exercises yet, though. But it's a pretty good start.

The view's no better from here

I was 146.5 this morning. That's right back in the ballpark of where I started 2011, three or four pounds up from last week, and only a pound off my high from the year. Travel always gives me trouble, so a pound or so of that will disappear tomorrow, but the fact is I was in the ballpark of that, such that I could see that post-travel. Ugh. I haven't exercised yet today, but I'm wearing my running bra -- for some reason that's something of a motivator for me. It feels weird enough that it reminds me I have to do the exercise. I also counted my breakfast calories. Here we go...

Sleeveless? Really?

So, it turns out, I and at least three other people on this blog are going to have our arms visible to the public (or, worse, family and friends) in about four and a half months. I knew this, but it's just now sinking in. I didn't weigh myself today (no scale in Alabamaville) but I know that right now things are B.A.D. I'm flabby in every possible place for flab and a few that probably aren't technically possible, at least on someone of normal build. I've said I'll do a metric century ride this year but right now I couldn't ride 100 yards. I went running yesterday (just 5k) and can barely move today -- did I really run a marathon last year? Things have gotten very, very bad indeed.

I am home now, for approximately two weeks. Sixteen days, to be exact. That is enough time to start getting on track. After Spain I'm home for a much longer chunk of time. ("And I'm going to be forty! ...Someday...!") Over the next two weeks I will:

• Get enough sleep. (Nice start. I missed bedtime by 90 minutes already.)
• Exercise EVERY DAY. No excuses.
• Start an arm training workout. (Anyone have any good links for this? I haven't found one I like yet.)
• Continue the ab workout I did ONCE a couple of weeks ago. Among other things, I tried a plank for the first time. It was humiliating.
• Count calories. I hate this, but it's the only thing that works for me.
• Get on my overpriced bike at least twice a week. (Not really overpriced. Underused for the price, though.) I WILL find a way to do this. If sleep-deprived Sarah can get up at 5, so I can I. But not tonight, because it's already almost 11:30.

And I'll continue this after Spain, too. I have to. I'd love to lose 10 pounds by Katie's wedding but I'll settle for being under 140 again. I seriously don't care about the actual number, but I'm tired of looking pregnant in my dresses. No joke. A few weeks ago I had someone ask me when I was due, when I was just wearing an empire-waist knit dress because it's cute and comfy and marginally stylish. I think empire waists weren't made for people with SHORT waists. Sigh.

Things are bad enough that I'm getting nostalgic about the marathon training. I wake up and see the sun up early and remember getting up at dawn and seeing the whole town when there was nobody out but other runners. I also miss being able to do 6 or 8 miles without thinking about it. People keep asking me if I'm still running. I get in conversations with other runners (listen to that -- "other" runners, as though I am still one) and it's fun to be in the club. I have to remind myself how much I did NOT like the training! And how I broke my leg (probably) and had blisters the size of Rhode Island and had to tape my knees back together every morning every day for two months. What a stupid sport.

I simultaneously like and hate starting over. I'm not starting over from scratch, at least! I hate knowing that it really IS hard work and I can't just nosh on cheese or chips or chocolate or whatever other ch-thing we currently have in the house that's so unhealthy in large quantities. But starting over -- hey! It's a fresh start! Erasing all the past mistakes! I know I can make progress because I've done it before. I KNOW what works for me (except for the arm thing -- after months of pushups my arms were a little bit better, but hardly sleeveless-dress-worthy). I just have to do it. Umph. It will all look better in the morning, right?

Day 2

I've decided that three liters of water makes more sense in southern California than it does in Maryland. I actually ended up drinking well over three liters (forgetting that I get thirsty at night, I forced down close to three liters at work, when I wasn't especially wanting the water), but I do think it's excessive for our climate (or at least for sedentary office workers in our climate).

I went to bed at 10:00 last night. Everyone else was still up, and I sat there for most of an hour before falling asleep, but I wanted to get to bed that early so that I could get up at 5 a.m. for a bike ride. Turns out it's too dark at 5 a.m. to ride without lights, and I hadn't charged my lights, so I didn't go out until 5:30. So it was also a shorter ride than I had hoped--not even nine miles. I was hoping to manage 12 - 15 miles in the mornings a few days a week with longer rides on the weekends, so I guess I'll have to keep my lights charged and get used to riding in the dark.

I dropped nearly two pounds overnight. This is some diet! Not really--yesterday morning I could barely get my rings on, I was so puffy. Then I remembered that on Sunday I ate bacon for brunch, ham for dinner, and finished the day with beer and popcorn, so I was retaining water like a water balloon. I was 146 this morning (which, admittedly, still isn't great, but isn't as alarming either).

Game On!

Today is day one of the Game On diet/fitness competition here at work. I keep having to review the rules--is it a palm sized portion of protein and fist sized portion of carbs or the other way around? Is hummus a protein, a carb, or a fat? Can my "free" 100 calories a day be from the F.L.A.B.B. list (that is, a list of foods likely to get you fat) or is it just 100 extra calories of healthy stuff?

So here's the deal with this game--we have four teams of three to five people each and every day we're working on lots of fitness and diet and healthy lifestyle goals. We get points for successfuly completion of our daily goals, and lose points for various infractions.

• Diet: five small meals a day (each consisting of a lean protein, high quality carb, and healthy fat; at least two vegetable servings a day, unlimited greens with any meal, and 100 free calories a day, which, as it turns out, can be any damn thing you want). You get one free meal a week, and one free day a week where you don't have to follow any of the rules.


• Exercise: six days a week, at least 20 minutes each time, enough exercise to get your heart pounding for those 20 minutes (so pilates doesn't count for me, but you can do an interval workout that alternates aerobic exercise with fast weight work to keep your heart rate up).


• Water: Three liters a day, no flavoring added except things like lemon or cucumber slices. Herbal tea counts, regular tea or coffee doesn't.


• Good habit: take up one good daily habit (I'll be making sure to take my vitamin each day)


• Bad habit: eliminate one bad habit (I'm giving up mindless internet surfing in the evenings)


• Sleep: Seven hours a night.


• Communication: Each day you should be in contact with one team member and one member of an opposite team.

You also get bonus points for reporting your weekly results on time and you get a 20% bonus for reaching your fitness or weight loss goal each week (at the start you have to say if you're going for a fitness or weight loss goal; if weight loss, the goal has to be losing 1% of your weight each week. I was going to do a fitness goal until I weighed myself this morning--147.8!!!! So I'm focusing on weight loss!).

You lose points for snacking (10 points per penalty; given that you only earn six points per healthy meal, that's a lot to lose!), collusion (if you try to convince a member of an opposite team to cheat along with you so your lost points balance out), for obsessively weighing yourself (once a day is allowed, but if you weigh in more often, you lose a point for each time you weigh yourself), and for drinking alcohol (except on your day off).

At the end of each week, you total up your team's points and average them. The cumulative total at the end of the four week game is what determines the winning team. We've all put in $15 per person, with the winning team getting the full pot at the end.

I'm not the most competitive person in the world, but I'm VERY good at following rules, so I like this approach. The diet requirements border on the obsessive, so I might have some trouble with that (I've never liked the sorts of diets where you can have certain types of food at certain points in the day but not at other points and only in the first two weeks of the diet, blah, blah, blah). And sleep will be a problem--last night Connor had me up until 2 a.m. Fun.

I've already had to face multiple temptations today--I made pancakes for breakfast but couldn't eat any of them, then I came in to work where someone brought in the leftovers from her party this weekend, so there are deviled eggs, cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries all over the place. Tomorrow is our staff retreat, which includes breakfast and lunch eaten out. I might make tomorrow my day off to deal with that. Then next week is July 4 on Monday and a pool party on Saturday. The following week includes a division area retreat (again with lots of food). At least the game ends before Brian's birthday, so I don't have to worry about that.

An interesting although not surprising study

I found this new study on eating. Interestingly I eat yogurt daily with fresh fruit, gave up all sodas three years ago and rarely eat fries -- although they are delicious.

If I work from home I do watch TV but don't snack -- I don't buy chips or candy or any kind of junk food for that matter. I should weigh 125. What is up with that. haha

Anyway, enjoy the study.

When it comes to keeping your weight down, a new study by Harvard researchers suggests that the quality of your food matters more than its calorie count.

Intuitively, we know that gorging on burgers and French fries and slurping down soda leads to more weight gain than eating fresh fruits, veggies and brown rice. But in the most comprehensive and detailed study of its kind, researchers have figured out exactly how much weight gain is associated with the consumption of certain foods.

The worst offenders were potato chips, which led to more weight gain per serving than any other food, the study found. The best nosh for your waistline? Surprisingly, yogurt.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/23/study-the-best-and-worst-foods-for-weight-loss/#ixzz1Q930oIad

The way it should be

I was just thinking about April in Ireland and the big, hearty breakfasts we have all experienced in our lives. The ones in Ireland are memorable because a) YUMMMMMMM! and b) they really can carry you through the bulk of the day. So my question is - Why don't WE eat like that? It makes sense. The biggest meal of the day should be at breakfast. I understand the argument that the big meal of the day should be at lunch - only at lunch most of us are entering into the down swing of our daily cycles. It doesn't matter if I have a container of yogurt or a whole pizza - right after lunch I want to take a nap. But how often do you say "Ugh! I need a nap!" right after breakfast? Not counting Christmas morning...

Maybe I should test this theory. I need to start tracking my calories again - and then I want to start shifting when I eat those calories.

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!