Wacky Weather

One day it is 65-70° and the next it is in the 30's with the wind blowing like crazy in between. Last night we had 50 mph wind gusts. WEIRD!  One good thing I've noticed is that the days are starting to get longer little by little.  Yes!  I can't believe that tomorrow is February!



I haven't exercised in several days and I can feel myself slipping back into fatland.  I've been sick with a bad cold which drained all of my energy and I haven't exercised in about a week and food slowly slipping.  Damn.  I'm just going to have to force it whether I feel like it or not.  Funny how it doesn't take long to start feeling like shit again. I did weigh this morning so I have an end of the month report and I'm up a little but I'm down 5.6 for the month of January.  I was hoping for more but I'll take it.

I've scheduled myself for a mani/pedi on Saturday, hoping that it will make me feel better to shove my ass back into gear.  A haircut is in my future, too.  After work I'm headed to the grocery store to stock back up on healthy foods.

Hope you all had a great January and here's to a fresh, new month.

Update

Yesterday was weigh-in day and I lost .2.  Hey, a loss is a loss and considering that I'm bloated with TOM right now, I'll take it.  I'm hoping for a nice loss next week when TOM leaves.

We had a great shopping trip yesterday.  We went to several new stores that we've never been to before including Steinmart and Trader Joe's.  We also discovered some good thrift stores and I got a few treasures.  We ate out all three meals and I don't think I did that bad considering.  I also made my DD cannolis the other day for her birthday, which she absolutely loves and, of course I ate one.

I caught a massive cold from a coworker and between that and TOM I feel like shit today.  I haven't been sick in a long time and I DESPISE having a cold - so miserable.

I missed BL last night.  I will watch it this evening On Demand.

Here's to a good rest of the week.

Yay for Friday!

Oh, Friday, how I have missed you!  A co-worker is out sick today so that leaves me covering two offices today; I hope it makes the day go fast.  We're supposed to get a couple of inches of snow today starting after lunch.  I wish I was home cozied up.

I've been the SAME EXACT WEIGHT FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW!  WTH?  That is really weird.  It didn't budge an ounce. It's my weekend goal to make the scale go down before Monday weigh-in.  Speaking of Monday...I'm taking the day off and my DD and I are going on a shopping trip out of town.  It's to celebrate her birthday - she is turning 21 on Tuesday.  I can't believe my baby is that old.  Makes me feel old for sure.  We're leaving first thing in the morning so that means that I will be eating at least two, possibly three meals out that day.  Lord help me to make the right choices and not blow up with sodium.  I can't plan where we'll eat ahead of time since we're just winging it and I'm not that familiar with restaurants in that area.  One good thing is that it will be at the beginning of another week AFTER I've had my weigh-in and I can flush everything out before the next weigh-in.  I'll do the best I can do.  I'm so looking forward to getting out of town and to shopping at some different stores.  I'm also hoping to hit a few thrift shops that I've never been to before.  Oh, how I love discovering new thrift shops and the thrill of finding a treasure.

Have a great weekend everyone.  I'll post Tuesday with an update.

How long does it take...

...to work the junk out of your system?



I'm starting to notice a change in how I feel since I got back on track.  I'm not sure but I think it probably takes a while for all of that crap to work out of your system. (Does anybody know?  I'm curious.) I've totally cut out junk food, soda, almost all sweets and I only have one cup of coffee a day. I will have an occassional treat but very seldom.  I'm afraid if I eat it I will binge so I don't even keep it in the house anymore. I've also cut almost all processed foods.  I'm noticing a change in the way that I feel - more energetic and not as weighed down. Also, since starting to exercise again, I'm feeling less "creaky". 

I wish weight loss didn't take so long!  Don't we all?  One day at a time, we'll get there. Together.

NSV:  Almost all of my cravings for junk are gone!

Sooo Cold!

It was 8° this morning and only supposed to be a high of 29°!  No chance of it letting up for a couple of days.  Ugh! 



Random topic:  Greens. I'm on this kick where I want to try new produce to keep from getting bored.  I would like to try greens since they are supposed to be so good for you.  Being from PA originally, I wasn't brought up eating greens.  Once in a while my Mom would make wilted kale with olive oil and garlic but that's it.  I've made kale chips at home.  I've had different "mystery" greens in salad mix that I really don't know what they were.  Most I liked but some were bitter.  I would like to experiment with different kinds and different ways of preparing them.  Healthy ways.  Not the fattening "southern" greens with bacon and ham.  I know that I also don't wan't the waterlogged greens cooked in alot of liquid.  I guess I'll scour the internet for a recipe that sounds good and give it a try.  Any suggestions?

I MUST exercise tonight!  I skipped last night because I had a headache and I regret it.  This morning I wrote a note to myself on the chalkboard in my kitchen saying:  "Exercise!  It will only take a couple of minutes."  It's true.  What's a measly 30 minutes?  It will be over in no time.  Now to do it.

Staying on Track

Busy today but I wanted to post real quick.  I've been doing well staying on track with eating and I picked up the exercise a little.  I'm happy to report that I lost 1.2 pounds this week.  I'll take it!

Who watched BL?  If not  - **SPOILER ALERT**

I was so inspired by the 5k run on that beautiful road by the beach.  I was so happy for Jackson that he finally had a great week; I've been rooting for him most of all.  I was happy to see the annoying Pam go home as I predicted last week.  And would an episode of TBL be complete without a contestant-humiliating bitchfest from Jillian?  Hell no!  Of course she had one.  She should have stayed GONE!

**END SPOILER**

Let's make it another great week!

Ready for a long weekend

Today has been such a long workday!  Everyone is out of the office for day-long meetings and I'm left holding down the fort.  Thankfully I am off Monday for MLK day.  Yippee!

Nothing really planned for this weekend - I'll just take it as it comes.  I must force myself to exercise so I have a good weigh-in on Monday.  I broke down and did Slim in 6 last evening and it about killed me.  I was ready to drop towards the end so I skipped the last 5 minutes.  I used to do this workout easily but since I've put all this weight back on I'm back to square on and struggling again.  I built myself up before and I can do it again.

Have a great on-point weekend everyone so we have a good report come next week.  I don't have a computer at home anymore so I won't be able to check in until Tuesday.

Enjoy a great weekend and I hope the sun in shining where you are!  :)

Snack or sleep?

Not much to report lately.  They are calling for a couple if inches of snow today - this weather is bizarre considering it was 70° all last weekend. Damn.



I've been doing great with eating but I really haven't had that "slim feeling" in the morning in about a week.  Maybe it's the food that I'm eating or maybe eating too much at dinner even though I'm staying within my points. I'm curious what the scale will say on my Monday weigh-in.  Last night I had this terrible urge to snack from about 8:30-9:30.  I could have eaten some raw vegetables but I don't want to get back in the habit of eating after dinner.  I fought the cravings off and just went to bed at 9:30 so I wouldn't eat.  Apparently I went to bed too early beacuse I woke up at 2:30 this morning and tossed and turned for a little bit.  I think that some days I go to bed too early and I don't rest well.  I get bored alone at night and I don't want to eat so I just go to bed and watch tv but I always end up falling asleep within minutes.  Another reason why I go to bed early some nights is that once in a while I get restless leg syndrome in my left leg (weird that it's only in one leg) and it seems to help if I lay down.  I've read that it is hereditary and my mom used to have it.  UGH!

I need to get in gear with exercise too.  Some nights I do a good amount and other nights I may only do 15 minutes.  I need to make it a point to do at least 30 minutes.  That will help with my sleep and also give me that slim feeling.  Maybe I will start back up with my Slim in 6 dvds.

That's it for now.  Make it a great day!

BL Recap

Another rainy day today; the kind where you want to stay cozied up at home.

I've been doing really well every day staying on track with food but I need to drink more water.  It's hard for me to drink alot of water when it's not hot.  Exercise has been pretty good, but could be better.  I forced myself to do a two mile Leslie Sansone walking video last night.  I'm felling better than I was but still so out of shape.  Little by little I will get back there.

So who watched BL last night?  If you didn't watch - *SPOLIER ALERT*

Jillian has been less annoying lately (thank goodness) so I can stand to watch her for now.  I can't, however, stop drooling over Dolvett.  I thought that Bob was cool to have his team workout in the junk food room with no workout equipment and they still kicked-butt at the weight-in.  I was disappointed to see Cate leave, I liked her and she had a positive attitude.  I can't stand that Pam - she is either crying or bitching.  And that non-stop happy dance that she did at the weigh-in?  Ugh, knock her down!  She did have an amazing loss of 9 pounds but that little dance and rubbing it in everyone's face is going to come around and bite her in the ass in the next week or two.  My favorite part of the show was Jackson's wade through the bubble gum going "What the hell?!" with his arms flapping.  I couldn't stop laughing; he is probably my favorite contestant right now.

*END SPOILER*

I'm looking forward to watching the Oprah/Lance Armstrong interview this Thursday night.  If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard it airs on OWN this Thursday night (1/17) at 9 pm.

That's it for now.  Let's have another on-track day!

Dreary Monday

It is a dark and dreary Monday here and looks like it could pour any minute.  I had a great weekend with 70° weather both days so I got out and walked and got some fresh air, which was great.  I guess this week we are back to more realistic temperatures.

Today was weigh in and I'm happy to report that I lost 1.2 pounds this week.  I was hoping that it would be more but I'll take it.   Looking forward to watching BL tonight which always gives my motivation a little kick in the ass.

Not much else going on here.  Let's make it a great day.

Triple Yay for Friday!

I cannot tell you how glad I am that it's Friday!  This has been one long, busy week.  Not much to report, still staying on track and I hope to have a good report for weigh-in on Monday. 

Random Topic:  Yogurt.  I'm not a big fan of yogurt.  I wish I was because I know that it's good for you and I just think it's cozy, lol. I just don't like that sour twang, it reminds me of eating sour cream.  The only yogurt that I can really stand is Dannon Light & Fit - it's not as sour.  Needless to say, I also do not like greek yogurt, which is even more sour, but I wish I did like it because I know that it's good for you and I would love to get in all that extra protein.  So, when I saw that Dannon came out with Light & Fit Greek I had to give it a try.  Guess what?  I liked it!!  It's the only greek that doesn't have that sour twang that I despise.  There is also a tiny bit of fruit on the bottom which helpes with the sourness, too.  Another giant plus is, so many of the other greek yogurts that I've tried are all about 130 calories versus the 80 calories of the DL&FG (that's also 2 ww pp v. 4).  That's exciting for me.  I had some for my lunch yesterday and stayed so full for the rest of the afternoon that I didn't even eat my usual afternoon snack of almonds.

The weather here in Virginia is supposed to reach 70° tomorrow and Sunday!  Hot damn!  The usual temp. for this time of year here is in the 40's.  I'm going to get out and walk this weekend and get some fresh air. LOVE IT!  (To my CA buddies - I saw that you were supposed to get snow!  Even in southern California!!  Has it reached where you are? WTH is going on??)

Have a great weekend all!

Food Dates

I wanted to write a post today about food dates.  I'm not talking about the dates stamped on food that tell you when they expire. I'm also not talking about the fruity dates that we can eat.  I'm talking about food dates that we create in our mind.  Let me explain...

Have any of you ever made a date with food?  Planning in advance what you will buy to eat and when you'll eat it?  Like getting off work on a Friday night and planning to order pizza or take-out with beer or soda and snacks and settle in for the evening to chow down?  Staying home on a Satuday afternoon and looking forward to baking a cheesy lasagna and a fattening dessert and look forward to making a night of it pigging out?  Eating fattening stuff and more of it because there is nobody around to witness your gluttony?  We looked forward to this almost like a date, with anticipation and planning. 

I know I'm guilty of it and I'm quite sure that most overweight people are too.  We probably did it without realizing how truely unhealthy this food was for us or how out of whack our portion sizes were.  We just wanted the satisfaction, the void filled.  Now we know better. Now we must change our way of thinking, we must reprogram our minds to eat healthier foods and portions.  To move more and eat less. I don't know about you but I'd rather be a wallflower without a date like that ever again.  I want to eat to live, not live to eat. 

On another note - I'm proud to say that I'm a week and a half into being back on track and I'm starting to feel better little by little.  I think it takes a while to work that junk out of your system and get your body adjusted to a healthy diet and exercise again.  My body is probably shouting, "IT'S ABOUT TIME!"

It is about time.

King, Prince, Pauper

Last summer I read about the king, prince, pauper way of eating and it totally makes sense to me and I'm trying to go by this now.  For those of you that haven't heard about it here's the jist of it: 

You eat your largest meal of the day (like a king) for breakfast. Your body has gone approx. 8-12 hours without food by now (if you stop eating after dinner) and your blood sugar is at it's lowest.  You're re-fueling for the day and getting your metabolism going. 

Eat a satisfying lunch (like a prince). Just enough to feel satisfied but not full.

Your smallest meal of the day should be at dinner (like a pauper).  You will most likely be winding down for the day and soon going to sleep and you don't want that meal sitting in your stomach while you're not active.  You want to wake up hungry ready for a big breakfast.

I would hardly ever eat breakfast before and if I did it would be something small and unhealthy like a donut.  That's becasue I would eat a big dinner and then snack all night so when I woke up I'd still be full and that's why I would never eat breakfast.  Meanwhile, I was feeling tired and sluggish all day long.  Now I get excited when I get that hungry feeling in the evening becasue I know that I'm on track and that I'll wake up hungry for a big breakfast.

I watched The Biggest Loser last evening and Jillian was on my last nerve treating her team like shit - and especially humiliating that one girl (Danni?) by pouring that water over her head.  OMG!  I know that this is her "thing" but did you notice how her team just shut down from being treated like that?  Also, she is down to 2 people on her team - that's saying something, too.  Bob and Dolvett are tough but nice, still treating their team with respect, and they get great results without humiliating anyone. 

If you were on the Biggest Loser who would you want to train you?  Here is my pick in order:  Bob, Dolvett, Jillian.

Let's have another on-track day.

So Far So Good

I had on on-point week with eating and exercise so I'm proud of that. I've decided that Monday will be my weigh-in day.  I've lost 3.5 pounds this week.  Yee Haw!  I love the big whoosh that you get the first week of being on a healthy diet.  I know it will not continue, but it sure feels good now.  It's a nice little umph to get you going. One more week and I should start feeling good.

I treated myself to a manicure this weekend with shellac polish hoping that it will help my nails grow.  My DD works at a day spa and I get 40% services and products (you can't beat that!) so that's where I went.  The atmosphere is so relaxing.  Love it.  I'm going to try to treat myself to a manicure every two weeks as my non-food reward for staying on track.  I've also come to realize that it is necessary for me to treat myself to things once in a while to help me feel good about myself.  For instance, if I buy myself a new purse or shirt, it will make me feel better about my appearance and then I'll feel good and want to continue to stay on track so I will lose more weight and start looking better.  It's a win-win situation.  Before I would always spend money on the house because it was easier for me to fix the house up rather than try to buy clothes for my fat body so that's what I would always do.  My house is fine now.  I need to start spending the money on me.  I've finally realized that I'm worth it.

Did anyone watch the Biggest Loser last night?  I did and I forced myself to do kettlebell exercises through all the commercials of the first hour. (Sunny, I thought of you - remember when we used to do this every week?)  That show is so inspiring to me.  Dolvett is so hot - omg...  Also, the latest issue of People magazine is loaded with weight loss inspiration stories. 

 



I made this Harvest Slaw recipe yesterday that I found in Better homes and Gardens.  I left out the garlic and cilantro, I thought that was a little too weird.  It was tasty, light and refreshing.  I would make this again.  I brought some for my lunch today.

That's it for today.  Let's make it another great week!

The Results Are In

I got the results back from my lab work yesterday and it's all good news.  YAY!

Total cholesterol - 181

HDL - 62

LDL - 111

Glucose (blood sugar) - 97

Triglycerides (fat in blood)- 40

Since I gained all that weight back so quickly I was afraid of pre-diabetes.  I'm so glad that everything is in the normal range. Also mammogram came back normal.  Triple yay!  Especially since my mom had breast cancer.

I got this cute Tervis cup for Christmas.  It keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold.  I especially like that it reduces condensation - I hate those sweaty cups.   I used it for a cold drink the other day and it kept the same ice for 5 hours.  Using this cute cup helps me to get in my water. 

Day 3 of being back on track.  So far so good.

Taking Care of Myself

 

After months and months of slacking I'm starting to take care of myself again and it feels good.  A couple of days ago I went for my annual physical and bloodwork.  I want to see just where I'm at with everything. Getting older and having gained so much weight I'm getting concerned about cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.  My results haven't come in yet, hopefully in the mail today; I can't wait to see what they are.  My blood pressure was okay - 124/78, slightly higher than it was last time though. My resting heart rate was 70, which was okay. The bad thing is that I've gained 52 pounds since I had my last physical, which was a year and a half ago. I also had a mammogram done on the same day - still waiting for the results of that, as well.

Yesterday, my first day back on track, went well.  I stayed on track with my eating and drank 96 oz. of water.  That was a non-scale victory considering I was consuming a liter of soda a day for the past ump-teen months. I'm doing WW again, counting points.  I'm not going to the meetings (too expensive right now), just using the info from when I went last year (and quit).  I have everything I need. I knew that I had to start out slow with exercise again, since I'm basically starting from square one, so I did a one mile walking video.  I was tired and my calves burned like crazy after that.  Reality check of what I'm doing to myself.  I used to walk 5-7 miles a day.

So, onward and upward, trying to keep a positive outlook.  It's hard when doing this by yourself.  I'm used to having my DD to do this with me, since she moved out I'm flying solo.  But I can do this.

Fresh Start

I'm back.  Like 90% of the population I'm resolving to lose weight and get healthy in the new year.  Today is my first day back on track and tonight will be the first night that I have exercised in months.  God help me to push through until I start to feel better and feel the energy come back.
I keep thinking of those Special K commercials - "What will you gain when you lose?"  A LOT.
Not much time to post today, just wanted to get something out there.  I'm excited to be back on track and about what the new year can bring to us all.  We have the power to make it happen.  Now to do it.

Fresh Start

I'm back.  Like 90% of the population I'm resolving to lose weight and get healthy in the new year.  Today is my first day back on track and tonight will be the first night that I have exercised in months.  God help me to push through until I start to feel better and feel the energy come back.

I keep thinking of those Special K commercials - "What will you gain when you lose?"  A LOT.

Not much time to post today, just wanted to get something out there.  I'm excited to be back on track and about what the new year can bring to us all.  We have the power to make it happen.  Now to do it.