Return to Exercise

Well, last evening I swore to myself that I would exercise. It sure is hard getting in gear after all that time off. I did a 45 minute exercise video and I was ready to fall over by the time I completed it - but I did it. I keep telling myself to push forward through this first week because it is the roughest and I know the great feeling that is in store for me once I get over this hump. I keep thinking about how great and energized I used to feel after exercise and the excitement of seeing the scale go down. I know how good eating right and exercise can make me feel and I so badly want to be there again. I must keep pushing forward, one day at a time, until the feeling returns.

This morning I saw a drop on the scale. I weighed in at 235.6

A New Stage in My Life

Alot has happend since I've been here last.  The biggest one being that I'm now officially an "empty nester". My DD/best friend has flown the coop to move in with her BF. I think this is especially hard since I am single. I have been doing alot of emotional eating and have gained alot of weight since I've last been here.  (I weighed in at 237.4 this morning.) So that means that I've gained back all but 5 pounds of the 63 that I lost.

I've realized that this is a new stage in my life and it's time to get my ass in gear and create a life for myself which means losing weight, getting healthier, embracing my new freedom and getting out of the house more.  I've also realized that when I did the best losing weight is when I blogged. So here I am. Again.

Bombarded with spam

For the past week I've been bombarded with hundreds of spam comments! I've changed some settings so we'll see if this works. If not I may have to move to a different blog site :/

New Recipe

I used yesterday as one of my days off from exercising and went shopping after work. I walked for about 4 hours shopping so I guess that counts as something. I went to Costco and stocked up on healthy foods. I'm so proud of myself that I didn't buy any junk or eat any samples.

A woman at work gave me a recipe for Mediterranean Layer Dip. I made it last night and it was delicious! I didn't go by the measurements of the recipe, as it was quite complicated so I just did it on my own. Here is the jist of it, if you're interested.

Spread a container of store-bought hummus in a medium-sized shallow serving dish ( I used roasted red pepper hummus), top with feta cheese crumbles (enough to cover) add a layer of chopped fresh spinach (enough to cover). In a seperate bowl add the following: chopped fresh ripe tomatoes (seeded), chopped cucumber (seeded), chopped green and katamala olives, chopped roasted red pepper, juice from half a lemon, salt and pepper, a few crushed red pepper flakes. Mix and add to top of spinach. Top with chopped green onion. Serve with toasted warm pita chips.

I don't have the nutritional info since I just threw it together, I just guestimated. I mainly went by the nutritional info on the hummus container. If you like mediterranean dishes, this is FABULOUS! I have to watch I don't eat too much since the hummus is fattening.

That's about it for me, the weather is very cold here now so I guess I'm exercising inside this evening. Have a great, long weekend (off Monday for MLK day)! YAY!

Morning Exercise

My DD has been going to the gym at 6 am before she goes to work. Two days a week she goes to yoga class at 11 am and she even goes to the gym before yoga! She likes to have her evenings free for homework and whatever. She has inspired me to try the morning workout. So...this morning I got up at 5 am and did a 30 minute exercise dvd (Slim in 6) while my pot of coffee was brewing. It was a little rough getting going but I made it through and then I rewarded myself with a cup of coffee.

I must say that it did make me feel more energized to start my day and I know that I will like having my evening free tonight. That was a non-scale victory for me.

Will I workout every morning? Not sure, but I'm going to give it a try for a couple of days and see how it goes.

Anyone else work out in the morning?

Time for a change.

Time for a change for sure!

TIme to eat healthy.

Time to exercise.

Time to drink more water.

Time to think positive.

Time to be inspired by others.

Time to motivate myself.

Time to get things rolling in the right direction.

This mornings weight = 219.0. Down exactly 2 pounds and into a new decade. Now to keep things going...

Thoughts on Protein?

Well, I'm back on my way. The house is restocked with healthy foods and my WW info is out where I can use it - and I'm tracking again.

DD and I walked 2½ miles yesterday. I was out of breath walking up the hills but nothing that I couldn't handle or had to stop for. It felt good to get moving again and to work my heart and lungs. It's amazing how fast you can get back out of shape, isn't it? We also did a 10 minute ab video. It's not long but it is a killer. I felt like stopping close to the end but I pushed through and did the whole thing. Yay me!

It was so warm yesterday - like 60° and sunny. Unreal for January in Virginia. I sure did enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Now this morning we have snow flurries. Weird.

Thursday is payday so I'm starting back at the gym. I need to get some new workout clothes and a new pair of shoes. I will feel so much better to have something cute to work out in, plus it will make me want to work out more, too.



Anyone have thoughts on protein and weight loss? I keep hearing about how good it is for you, so I'm upping my protein through my foods and now also through my drink to see if I can tell a difference. Yesterday DD and I bought this protein shake powder. You can mix it with water or milk. I mixed mine with 1% milk this morning. it's actually pretty good, it tastes like chocolate milk mix, like Nesquick or something. It has 25 grams of protein per scoop. I was so full between a glass of that and a cup of steel cut oatmeal with bluberries (my new favorite breakfast).

Today I weighed in at 221.8. Down exactly one pound. It's a start in the right direction.