8/29/08

Happy Friday!  This morning I tweeted “It’s a beautiful Friday in the Queen City – what are you going to do with it?”  And I realized that we really do get to decide how we spend each and every day! And I am doing several things with my day:

1. Planning a healthy and inexpensive lunch with a friend – then time to go to Wal Mart and figure out a new iPod carrying plan for working out!

2. Walking again!

3. Planning menus and grocery list for next week

4. Working – listening to music, moving forward with what I need to accomplish!

So…to fuel all that…

Breakfast:

whole wheat english muffin, egg, lowfat cheese, mandarin orange fruit cup (juice drained – ugh! I hate the juice in fruit cups!)

Lunch:

lean cuisine, veggies

Dinner:

Not sure yet – we are probably going out.  Maybe Mexican!

Exercise: Walk 1 – 1/2 hours!!

And….my facial is tomorrow~ my first one ever~ my first reward for 10 pounds lost!!

In Better Shape Than I Thought!

I walked for an hour and fifteen minutes tonight – outside, on a track – and I could have kept going but it got dark!
It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that I could barely do a half hour!!

Wow.

Oh, and my knee doesn’t hurt! But I’m going to ice it anyway, just in case.

I am way excited! Like way!!

Self-Sabotage and Emotional Eating

So I hit a goal yesterday – and was dealing with a personal mini-crisis – and so what did I do?

Did I celebrate the goal, and deal healthily with my crisis by doing something healthy (I think a walk or swim would have helped tremendously), or did I go to the grocery store and purchase a bag on Turtle Chex Mix and eat the whole damn thing?

That’s right – I took option 2.

And what did I learn?

Option two does not feel so good.  Not even while I was eating it. I felt guilty, stupid, sick, annoyed, let down and disappointed in myself.  Now, I can’t undo that but I can and will learn from it.

My lesson: It is all mental. It is all up to me.  Allowing outside negative influences to bring me down does nothing to strengthen me.  And most of all - it feels like CRAP and I want to feel good!

I have learned in the last few months that I can really motivate myself to do things by imagining how it will FEEL when it’s done.  (Read Lynn Grabhorn’s “Excuse Me, Your LIFE Is Waiting!” for more on this…awesome!)  So now that I have wallowed in how it feels to choose an unhealthy response, I can choose something different and feel something different next time.

Eating today:

Breakfast: Milk, ww english muffin, peanut butter, banana

Lunch: Lean cuisine, salad

Dinner: (Turkey) sausage and peppers pasta

Exercise: My clothes are packed and in the car for my trip to the gym – dropping the kids off and hubby is cooking dinner, which should be ready when I get home!

8-25-08

Happy Monday!

I am finishing up my healthy lunch as I type this, defying all recommendations to EAT when you eat and not do anything else.  That doesn’t work for me – the more I pay attention to food, the more I want!

Eating today:

Breakfast: WW english muffin, peanut butter, milk, fruit cup

Lunch – Lean Cuisine (with 2x the usual veggies), cucumber salad (cucumbers sliced very thin, onions sliced very thin, hot red pepper, rice vinegar)

Dinner – Mexican Pizza – vegetarian meal – ww crust, salsa, black beans, shredded cheese, red onion, tomatoes

WATER, Lemon Water after dinner tonight

Weigh loss: 8.2 pounds

GO ME!

Exercise – WATP 3 mile or the gym

My husband is out of town tomorrow night so I will have to work out at home, so maybe the gym would be a good thing tonight. I was up with the little one last night (nosebleed again) so getting up early this morning didn’t happen.

Sigh.

But – just because it didn’t happen today doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow!

I just have to talk myself into it – HOW BAD DO I WANT IT??? RED BIKINI RED BIKINI RED BIKINI!!!!

Did Ya Miss Me?

I missed you guys!

Here’s my update:

1. Due to my knee issues, I have decided not to do the Avon Walk.  I will be doing it, or something competitive that requires training, next year.  I am working on my swimming, and strengthening my knee, and losing weight (which will probably help as much as anything).

2. I have lost 7.8 pounds.  I have not exercised seriously in 2 weeks.  Back on tomorrow.  No matter what.

3.  My eating plan has been going well.  I am very pleased with that.  There have been some moments, but I tried the thing where you give in to your craving but in a very limited way…and it actually works! Who knew?  I mean, besides all those experts and stuff!

4.  I am incorporating at least one vegetarian meal and 2 fish meals into the dinner plan for each week.

5. I am also learning to pepare tofu correctly! Thank goodness for the internet!

So back to the exercise…what is my plan?? What is my plan??

I have been waking up earlier so MAYBE I should do the WATP 3 mile at home (saving travel time to and from the gym) in the AM, and swimming or something that I WANT to do in the evening. I know that this would be ideal for me, with my crazy work schedule and family schedule and transportation issues and everything else.  Tomorrow is the first day of school – as good a day as any to start a new plan.

New Challenges – and Progress!

This week I am heading out to a conference.  I am taking a few steps to make sure I can maintain my healthy lifestyle while I am there:

1. I emailed everyone I know who is going and told them to BRING WORKOUT CLOTHES!  We have access to a local gym and it’s always more fun to work out with friends!

2. I brought my own breakfast stuff – I brought english muffins, fruit, peanut butter, and we’ll stop and I will get some milk.  I even remembered utensils and cutting board and knife! In retrospect, it might have been easier to get some fruit cups, but this will work!  I WILL NOT EAT the continental breakfast – all those carbs! ARGH!

3. I am resolved to stay away from 2 things at the conference provided lunches – bread and dessert!

Candi suggested that I focus my blogging on challenges and solutions for eating healthy away from home – so that’s what I will be thinking about as I go through my week.

My weight hasn’t dropped as dramatically as I had hoped…but I recounted my progress in healthier living…

1. NO FAST FOOD

2. Very little fried food

3. No sweets

4. VERY LITTLE Diet Coke

5. Whole wheat

6. Fruits! Veggies!

7. Very few sweets (just my treat and I skipped my treat for last week! )

8. Exercise – more than ever!

Progress is a good thing – and the results will catch up with the effort at some point!!

Water Baby

I am such a water baby – I went to the Y to swim today, trying to rest/strengthen ye olde knee, and it was WONDERFUL!

I can’t swim like I am supposed to, and I am looking for some adult swimming lessons, but the point is that I was in the water moving and my heart rate was up for 45 minutes. And as I was kicking ass in the backstroke, I heard and felt something in my knee POP and I think it was something popping back into place, since now it feels sore instead of EXCRUCIATING FREAKING PAIN every time I take at step.  So. YAY!

Eating:

Breakfast – Panera. I gotta say, they give the impression of being a healthy place to eat, but their lack of healthy – whole grain, lean protein choices for breakfast makes me think twice. I ended up with a sauage and potato egg souffle and a fruit cup.  I probably should have had a half whole wheat bagel and peanut butter.   I had a small coffee with splenda and skim.  But I do have to say that this was healthier than my typical Panera brekfast – cinnamon crunch bagel and egg souffle and large coffee with half and half!

Lunch – ham and tukey on whole wheat

Dinner – (Tukey) Italian sausage and peppers, whole wheat pasta and salad.

I went to TJ’s today (Trader Joes!) and got some whole wheat tortillas to make wraps with for lunch!

Here’s an interesting article…

Regroup

Friday was a crap day. Brekfast was fine, lunch was too early and at an Italian Buffet (going away party for a coworker) and then no water, no snack and lots of driving and and being extremely busy and then I didn’t get home until after 7 and the fastest thing I could think of that I had all the ingredients for in the house for dinner was breakfast – bacon, eggs, biscuits, and grits.

So today I regroup and move forward. Before, I would have given up.  Now – just a tiny bump on the road. These things happen. Life, healthy eating, exercise and weight loss go on!

Breakfast – yogurt, honey, blueberries, water

Lunch – ham and turkey on whole wheat (see how I am planning weekend lunch?! YAY!)

Dinner – meatloaf patties, potatoes, carrots and broccoli

No snacks today – I do feel like I need to make up for yesterday.

And I am mowing the grass and taking the kids swimming and then we’ll go walk after dinner. My knee is better but not 100% so I am not going to push it too hard.

Have a great weekend!

THURSDAYYYYY

Happy Thursday! Best known for, well, for being the day before Friday!

I did not get to work out last night after all. It was a two-fer loser, and me, I can spot a sign.

First, it was still 95 degrees when it was time to go to the track. Sorry, people. But I know my limits.

Second, I had decided I would do the Walk Away The Pounds 3 mile work out and I was on my way down the stairs to do it and my knee popped. And I almost fell down the stairs but luckily did not. I stayed off it for a bit, and the pain went from barely tolerable to not too bad, and so I walked around the house a little bit. It was the same this morning – sometimes I can walk as far as I want and no pain and sometimes by the time I’m on my third step I am on my knees.  So, I am going swimming tonight – I guess I need to let it rest some but I can’t stop working out completely. I am making progress, and I am not willing to just sit back on my ass. The guilt would kill me. And honestly, I look forward to my exercise. I feel so strong and vibrant and like the life that got sucked out of me at work is poured back in.  Before, this would have been a great excuse to give up.  Now, it’s a small bump in the road.

But, if swimming hurts it too I guess I will have to reevaluate. Perhaps get some actual medical advice. Blegh!

Today I am eating:

Breakfast – egg, english muffin, nectarine, milk

Snack – yogurt, 1 tsp brown sugar, blueberries

Lunch – Salad and grilled chicken

Snack – cottage cheese, grapes

Dinner – (Will be late, which is the only reason I am having snacks today) – no idea yet, something veggie and protein intense!

Evening Workout

I implemented the new plan and I went to the Y after dinner and I walked around the outdoor track for awhile and when it got dark I went inside and finished my 4 1/2 miles. !!!!!!!!!

There was a woman walking in front of me and guess what she was doing? Go ahead. Guess.

…

SHE WAS SMOKING!!

I have no words.

What the fuck is wrong with people that they can’t stop smoking long enough to walk?

***

There is a large area of the track that’s bordered by wild honeysuckle.  The first time around I don’t smell it. The second time around I notice it, and by the end of my walk it’s overpowering.  Do my sinuses open up that much as I exercise? What else am I missing?

***

Small epiphany.

It was a bit of a battle to get myself to go to the Y tonight. It’s hot. I’m tired. It would have been easy to just hang out in front of the TV. But I looked at the clock, and I said, “I’m going to the gym. It’s better than sitting here feeling guilty and making myself not eat.”

And as I was walking, a thought came to me. “I must commit to myself before I can truly commit to anyone else.”

So there I was. Committed. Walking. Proving something to someone.

***

There were a lot of people from another culture at the track. Families, grandparents, people playing soccer and people on the playground and people walking and running and women in sweats and women in their customary dress and people having fun. But see, I had a very difficult “friend break up” with a person from that culture recently and I had extrapolated my feelings about him and the situation we found ourselves in and projected them onto the entire culture. And I was muttering to myself some very unladylike, un-Christianlike things and I thought hey. You know what? Quit.  These people are not that person, and how can you think such awful things about an entire group of people based on one unfortunate situation? These people are playing, exercising, hanging out with friends and family and kids and they are happy and connected and have a culture, and it’s possible that you are a bit jealous of all that connectedness.

So. There you go.

***

That’s about it.  It was a great workout!