Weight Loss Wednesday, August 27

 

First, unrelated particularly to weight loss, just dates in general—this year is flying by!  I can’t believe it’s almost September already.

Anyway, still up about half a pound from where I was before our weekend away, so a little slower coming back off than I would like, but it’s still moving forward, and that’s the important thing. 

 

	STEPS	ACTIVITIES
Wednesday	7,532
Thursday	8,165
Friday	7,314
Saturday	9,295	45 minutes treadmill; 2.97 miles
Sunday	10,984	46 minutes treadmill; 3.08 miles
Monday	7,818
Tuesday	7,982

Weight Loss Wednesday, August 20

 

Sad to say, it’s my first backward week in a while, but only by just over a pound.  A weekend full of three big meals—even dessert several times—and swapping the gym for hours in a car definitely took its toll.  But I’m not too worried about it, even though I haven’t really gotten back into the swing of things just yet.   I still know where my goals are, and I’ve still got my plexus to help me out when I stray, so it’s all good.

	STEPS	ACTIVITIES
Wednesday	6,021
Thursday	6,872
Friday	7,663
Saturday	6,906
Sunday	2,987
Monday	6,789
Tuesday	5,237

Weight Loss Wednesday, July 16

 

Another pound down this week, and a total of two inches all over.  Yay!

I spoke with my doctor, and the test results confirm I am definitely menopausal, though that certainly wasn’t a surprise.  Because of problems with blood clotting, typical hormone replacement is not an option for me.  Apparently the patch version has lesser risk, but still more of a risk than I’m willing to take.  Doc also offered the idea that sometimes antidepressants are used to help with symptoms in those who can’t take the HRT, but after giving it some thought and talking it over with Brian, that was another step I didn’t want to take, even though I really wanted to get rid of my symptoms.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but for several months—like since around the first of the year—I’ve been taking a product called Plexus Slim.  I started taking it hoping it would help me lose weight as it seemed to have done for so many others, but it didn’t have that effect for me.  Other good results—better sleeping, more regularity—kept me drinking the Slim. 

Just about ten days ago, I added a probiotic and cleanse product from Plexus to the mix, and I’m attributing the recent weight (and inch) loss to that more than anything.    Not in a drastic, out of control way, but in a way that just seems to be slowly making me feel better and allowing some of my eating and fitness choices to start to be productive.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I will say that I recently became an ambassador for Plexus products, but primarily so that I could save a little money buying my own stuff, not because I want to share it with the world.  (Though maybe some day I will, so if you want to know more about the stuff, drop by my site!)  But, seriously, I don’t share these results in an effort to push something on anyone, only to say that this is the next step I’ve taken in my fitness journey, and it seems to be helping me out.  Getting myself into better shape really has been more difficult at this stage of life, and I’m glad to have found something that I can use as another tool toward my goals.

And, I’ve stayed on target with the Facebook group I’m in this month for steps and daily plank, so that has helped, too. (Except I haven’t done my plank yet for today, and I’m feeling strongly that I may have to do two tomorrow to make up for going to bed without getting it done tonight.)  The next thing I really need to tackle is finding a way to make it to the gym at least once during the week, but lately work has been a drain, and I just haven’t had the enthusiasm for it after I leave the office—particularly as the gym seems about a million degrees hotter in the afternoon than it does in the morning, and I’m having enough trouble regulating my body temperature lately without feeling like my workout is going to send me into some sort of heat stroke!

But, as always, this remains an ongoing journey, and I’ll just keep taking it one day at a time until I get to where I want to be.

	STEPS	ACTIVITIES
Wednesday	5,826	37 second plank
Thursday	5,711	40 second plank
Friday	6,513	41 second plank
Saturday	8,976	34 minutes treadmill, 45 second plank
Sunday	8,353	36 minutes treadmill, 20 second plank
Monday	5,477	50 second plank
Tuesday	8,395	60 second plank

Welcome Back to Wellness Wednesday

 

Well, here we are again.  I know I’ve said it before, but I honestly have got to find the strength of will to rededicate myself to losing weight and getting healthier.

A few years back, when I found that sort of determination, it was all started because of a particularly bad photograph.  When I look back a few years from now (hopefully as a much smaller person), I will say it was a health scare that got me moving again.  Not a huge health scare, mind you, but one that has gotten me to thinking.

Of course, I’ve known for a long time that I’m healthier overall as a lighter person.  I mean, that’s not much of a secret, right?  But when I ended up in the hospital for a few days last week, getting subjected to the poking and prodding and scanning, it really sort of hit home.  You see, even after all the poking, prodding, and scanning, the experts still haven’t figured out a precise cause for the symptoms that sent me to the doctor in the first place, but all the things they thought it might have been (which have been ruled out after all the testing), and the inkling of an idea they have now that it still might be, all of those reasons are exacerbated by being overweight. 

Again, that’s hardly a surprise, since it seems you can’t open up a list of causes for any illness from a common headache to cancer without finding obesity among the culprits, but some seem to be more causally related than others.  But, whether the weight is a primary risk factor or one way down the list of possibilities, I’d just as soon try to eliminate the dangers all the way around.

Not that it will be easy.  In addition to age and metabolism fighting me (believe me when I say that the old adage about losing weight after 50 is true), that oft-referenced motivation has really been eluding me lately.  And, since being home from the hospital, I’ve really been taking it easy—not much physical activity and lots of sleep.  Honestly, it’s just after 11pm as I write this, and I haven’t seen anything close to this hour of night for over a week!  Going to bed earlier is probably a routine I should try to continue, but I feel like I lose out on some valuable hours that way.  Anyway, the point is, while my head knows that I need to be putting in some physical effort at weight loss, my body has not been cooperating.  If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll try to hit the gym this weekend for a low impact workout and start easing my way back into things.

But, whether it’s this weekend, or takes another week to get to feeling better, I know I’ve got to do it.  I may not be a youngster anymore, but I think I’m still too young to be worrying about my end of days.  There are still things I want to do, see, experience before I leave this earth behind, so I need to get my body in the shape to allow those things to happen.  It’s really not just about weight, and it’s not about vanity at all; it’s about being healthy enough to live my life and enjoy it.

The journey begins.

Weight Loss Wednesday, February 12

 

Well, I’m only down half a pound since last week, which, if you’re keeping track, means only six pounds total.  I’d be depressed about that, but the truth is, since I’ve been sick since Saturday and not sticking to my food plan, I’m glad to still be down.  It’s a bad thing when you’re feeling achy and miserable and have a really sore throat so that the only thing that really sounds good to eat is a chocolate chip milkshake.  Not that that’s all I’ve eaten, mind you; I’ve tried to work in some fruits, veggies, and protein along the way, too.  But I have included a milkshake into my meal every day this week.  Not a great recipe for success, but a spectacular recipe for dealing with the crud.  I figure I’ll be ready to get back on the food wagon again just about the time the weekend rolls around and it’s my cheat days.  I’ll have to be a little more conservative this time around.

Also, I have worked out in my head when I’m going to get back to working out:  Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday.  Now, the bad part of that, of course, is that there will be no working out for me tomorrow, of that I’m quite certain.  Yesterday I slept until about 3:00pm, and today I could barely drag myself to work still.  I’m definitely on the mend, but just as definitely not mended yet.  Maybe by Saturday, though I can barely breathe enough to walk from one end of our office to another, so I’m not entirely counting on it.  But, if not Saturday, next Tuesday, for sure.  I’m hoping I’ll actually go to the gym each of those days, but, if not, I’ll break out the Leslie Sansone or something, but I’ve got to get committed to getting some activity in.  (By the way, Tanya, are you reading this?  Want to go with me to the gym on Tues/Thurs/Sat?)

Anyway, let’s take a look at the ridiculously low steps for this week, and then I’m going back to my favorite place lately, my nice warm bed.

Steps	Activities
Wednesday	7,246
Thursday	3,757
Friday	4,549
Saturday	3,851
Sunday	1,267
Monday	4,084
Tuesday	1,042

Weight Loss Wednesday, February 5

 

Well, when I started my “cheat” weekend on Friday, I had lost 5 pounds on the food plan.  By Monday morning, I had found two and a half of them again.  So, a little bit more of a backslide over the weekend than I had hoped, though it’s certainly not the end of the world.  When I got on the scale this morning for weigh-in, those 2.5 pounds were gone, plus another half pound, so things are definitely still moving in the right direction.  At some point I have got to get back to squeezing in a few workouts each week, but between busy days at work and sub-freezing temperatures every day, I’ve just not been able to make myself do it.  I’m going to keep working on changing my mind, though.

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	4,379
Thursday	4,726
Friday	5,485
Saturday	3,855
Sunday	2,694
Monday	4,991
Tuesday	5,237

Hungry Thursday

 

Friday Morning Update:  I have seriously got to stop hitting publish and then heading off to bed.  Or invest in a better Internet connection.  Or something.  Because getting up to find an error on the screen rather than a published page is annoying.  On the other hand, today’s the day I get to eat, so nothing’s going to bother me too much!

Yeah, I know most people talk about thirsty Thursday, but I’m not a drinker, so bar specials aren’t particularly important to me.  However, I am an eater, so food is important to me.  And, if you’ve been following my Weight Loss Wednesday posts for the past couple of weeks, you know I’ve started a new food plan.  It’s an eleven days on, three days off type of deal, and my basic belief is that a person can put up with anything for eleven days—especially knowing there’s a free-for-all waiting as a reward at the end.  But, I have to admit, day eleven (and, heck, most of ten) has been filled with thoughts of food.  I’m sure it’s not a good sign that I’m already planning every tasty morsel I want to shove into my face this weekend.  In fact, I have quite a few things I need to do—homework, my Saturday class starts this week, I should clean out my car—but I’m planning my weekend around the restaurants I want to visit.  Yeah, that’s gotta be a bad sign. 

Weight Loss Wednesday, January 29

 

Well, I haven’t been active at all this week, but I have managed to stick to my food plan.  Mostly.  I’ll admit I’ve had some breading on some of the chicken I’ve eaten, and used whole milk on my oatmeal instead of low fat.  Still, down another 2.5 pounds.  That’s a total of just over six pounds since starting back on the calorie shifting diet, but I won’t pretend that I’m not already planning what I want to eat this weekend on my “cheat” days.  My experience from the last time I used this food plan was that I could drop 5-10 pounds in the eleven “on” days, but then gain 1-2 back on the “off” days.  But even at the low end of the loss and the high end of the gain, it would average to net 1.5 pounds lost per week.  I could live with that, and it’s usually much better.  So, I think this will work for a while until I can kind of get my head straight again. But I do miss my bread. 

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	4,498
Thursday	7,502
Friday	6,053
Saturday	2,126
Sunday	2,061
Monday	4,795
Tuesday	7,959

Weight Loss Wednesday, January 22

 

Short, sweet, and to the point tonight since I’m pretty darn tired and need to hit the sack.

Back to pre-vacation weight!  Now just to keep it moving in the right direction. 

This week I also started back on a calorie shifting meal plan.  Basically the idea is to have calorie amounts sort of rotate throughout the week—big day, small day, big day—to sort of keep your metabolism jumping, or something along those lines.  I like this particular plan because all I have to do is check off some foods from a list of choices and then it generates an eleven day menu plan for me, easy-peasy.  Oh, and I like this plan because you don’t have to count calories at all, you just let the food choices do the work for you.  You can eat as much of the food as you want until you’re full (not stuffed) and it’s fine.  And, lastly, I like the plan because it’s eleven days on, three days off.  After you complete your eleven days of your menu, you can eat whatever you want—and still however much you want—for three days, and then start another eleven day menu.

I did this particular diet the last time I lost weight successfully; it’s one of the few that I can stick with—no weird foods and no hoops to jump through, just the way I like it.  Plus, you get that spectacular “cheat” window every other weekend, so it makes the eleven stricter days much easier to get through.  So, since I know it works, I might as well jump on the wagon again.

So, that’s where I stand; hoping to continue the success of the first few days, and have more loss to report next Wednesday.

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	11,373	45 mins treadmill, 3.22 miles; 1 mile walk w/Leslie Sansone
Thursday	1,156
Friday	5,155
Saturday	4,737
Sunday	7,987	3 mile walk w/Leslie Sansone
Monday	3,136
Tuesday	5,479

Weight Loss Wednesday, December 18

 

Well, no pounds lost this week, but I think I should take measurements again soon, because my pants are starting to feel a little bit looser.  And even though I’ve still got a whole bunch of those pounds between now and the end of my weight loss journey (I say that like there’s actually an end, but I know that this is an ongoing battle), I’ll gladly take—or give!—those inches as I move along. 

 

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	5,412
Thursday	8,823
Friday	9,520
Saturday	4,605
Sunday	8,048	21 minutes treadmill, 1.57 miles; 24 minutes exer-bike, 3.2 miles
Monday	6,079
Tuesday	15,415	43 minutes treadmill, 2.53 miles

Weight Loss Wednesday, December 4

 

Wow, a day with less than a thousand steps!  I’m hanging my head in shame, though the truth is I napped an awful lot of Friday.  But isn’t that what long weekends are for? 

Anyway, believe it or not, even with so little activity, and even over the Thanksgiving break, I managed to lose two pounds last week.  I’m hoping I can keep it off and even add to it, even though my best laid plans have not gotten me to the gym in weeks.

	Steps	Activities
Wednesday	9,446
Thursday	5,520
Friday	577
Saturday	3,258
Sunday	10,556
Monday	9,602
Tuesday	7,240

No Diet Day

 

 

  I know today isn’t Weight Loss Wednesday, but it is International No Diet Day, so I thought we’d chat just a bit about weight loss anyway.

  INDD seems to have been around since 1992, though I’ve only heard of it in the past few years or so.  It’s a day all about acceptance—accepting the diversity of body shapes/sizes in the world, and accepting ourselves if we happen to be one of the shapes/sizes that doesn’t quite conform to the mainstream idea of pretty or fit.  It’s a pretty good idea, except . . .

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Should I feel ashamed that I’m not happy with myself the way I am?  And I suppose a large part of that could be because of society and its perpetual presentation of the perfect female form, I don’t know.  I’ve been around a long time, soaking up the subliminal messages.  But I don’t think I’ve been brainwashed.  I know I’m not trying to be a stick figure.  And I know I don’t judge others because of their size.  But I do judge myself.

I especially judge myself, who worked so hard to lose weight a couple of years ago then slacked off and gained so much of it back (one of the primary reasons many don’t believe in “dieting”) and now cannot seem to find the motivation to make it happen again.  I judge myself because I know that I was happier when I was smaller, even though I still wasn’t as small as I wanted to be.  And I really judge myself because I know that I simply felt better when I was carrying around less weight, even though I still weighed too much.  And isn’t feeling good really what it’s all about?

And, yes, INDD does support the idea of healthy eating and activity; no one is saying it’s okay to cram crap food into your mouth all day long while sitting on the couch watching television.  Even the organizations that don’t want us to focus on constant weight loss or to strive for an unrealistic idea of perfection still recognize that too much weight can cause health problems.  Everyone wants people to be healthy.  And I’d certainly like it if everyone could feel good about themselves while they were just feeling good.

But I guess the thing that sort of niggles at my brain about INDD is that it’s bad enough that I do feel bad about myself many days because of my size; I really don’t need another day making me feel bad because I feel bad.  Know what I mean?

Wellness Wednesday, March 20

 

 

So, the craze making the rounds of the Internet these days is salad in a jar.  Multiple posters swear to the stay-fresh goodness brought about by a good ol’ canning jar, though I’ll admit I have my doubts.

Still, since strenuous exercise is off the table for a while, and since I also apparently can’t completely control my food intake, I thought I’d give it a try.  See, I do love a nice chef salad, but I will rarely take the time to put one together—especially when I come strolling home after class around nine or ten o’clock.  And, pre-making them and storing them in a typical storage bag or plastic ware container has never been particularly successful for me, from the freshness standpoint.  All in all, stopping for a quick burger is usually the easier way to go, even if it’s not the healthier way.

So, I figured spring break would be a good time to test it out and see how it works, since I’ll have other ready options on hand, just in case.  That’s how it came to be that Monday afternoon I was putting together a few jars of salad.  A couple include a bit of dressing, and a couple don’t; a couple include boiled eggs, and a couple don’t, all designed to see if any of that makes a difference.  But, the lettuce is going to be the biggest factor, I’m sure. 

So far, I’ve only eaten one of them, and that was right about the 24 hour mark after putting them together.  I will say that it was good as new, though one day is a long way from the 7-10 that the world wide web assures me they will last.  They still look okay right now, but looking and tasting aren’t the same thing.  I’ll be having another tomorrow, then the others before next Monday afternoon, just to see if they really can stand up even for a week.  I’m crossing my fingers; even if this isn’t the most low-cal salad available, it’s certainly better than those easy burgers I fall back on so often.  I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Have you tried salad (or any other meal) in a jar?  How did it work for you?

 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of africa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wellness Wednesday, February 20

 

UPDATE:  Apparently that Lortab works even better than I thought.  I hit publish on this piece about 24 hours ago, but never realized it got an error and didn’t go through; I just went to bed anyway.  Now, I pull up Live Writer to put together today’s post and find it sitting here, like a big, neon STUPID sign.  Oh, well.  I guess there’ll be two posts today . . .

Well, it’s become clear to me that until I can get whatever this pain is I’m dealing with taken care of, there is not going to be any huge movement in the weight loss arena.  I have, at least, managed to control my eating to the extent that I am not gaining weight, but not enough to drop pounds without some activity.  And, unfortunately, I am getting even less activity than normal just in an effort to not be miserable.  In fact, even last week’s experiment with the bike riding didn’t work.  Next week, I might try some very low speed walking on a treadmill.  We’ll see.

I did have my doctor’s appointment a few days ago, but had to wait to be scheduled for the test that will hopefully give us the answers about what’s going on.  That won’t take place until next Friday, so the waiting continues.  As an aside, that was actually a little annoying, because I’d been bragging about how great the office always is about getting patients in for lab/diagnostic work really quickly, usually even same day.  That’s what I get for making assumptions, I suppose.

But, since the weight loss program is on temporary hold, I thought I might use this space to talk about other aspects of wellness in the meantime; Wellness Wednesday works just fine for me.  I’m not sure exactly what that looks like yet, since I’m the furthest thing from a “health nut”, but that can be another one of those things we’ll wait and see about.

For today, let’s chat about mental health a bit.  I’m a big believer in the benefit of positive thinking and focusing on the good things in life.  The mystical people like to talk about the law of attraction and all.  I don’t really consider myself quite in their category, but I do believe in a pretty big helping of you reap what you sow, so maybe they’re not so far off.

Anyway, during the holidays, one of the craft projects that was making the rounds on Pinterest was decorative jar to be used to gather notes about the good things that happened in your day.  The idea is that you fill it up all year, and then on December 31st, you can read through your notes and think back on the blessings the past year held for you.  I really liked that idea, so I wanted to make one for myself. (And my sister, though I think she’s probably even less mystical than I.)  Anyway, while I’m not particularly crafty, I figured even I could slap some ribbon on a Mason jar to spruce it up a bit, and handy Brian could cut a hole in the lid for me.  The problem that I discovered was that you can only buy actual Mason jars by the dozen, which I really didn’t want.  I probably could’ve gone to a craft store and found some expensive version of a jar, but there were two problems with that.  1) I was shopping with Brian, and he hates going to multiple stores, especially for things he considers whimsical, and, 2) I mentioned they’d be expensive, right?  So, I settled for some little plastic canisters.  It really isn’t the container that’s important, right?

So, mine looks like this, and several times a week I drop a note down in the bucket about something that made me smile.  And, as you might imagine from the quote, they usually are not particularly important things.  For instance, today I saw two new kinds of birds at my feeder; it’s in the bucket.  (For the record: black-eyed junco, and what I believe may have been a mourning dove.)  It isn’t about being a major event; it’s about recognizing that life holds joy even in the every day mundanity of it all.

Incidentally, I realized when I took this picture, that I should’ve put an attribution on that quotation, so here’s another little something for the record: it’s by a guy named Robert Brault, who is one of those most amazing of creatures, a writer.  If you’re so inclined, you can even drop by his blog.  I don’t think I put an attribution on the one I put on Tanya’s bucket, either, now that I think about it, but I’m hoping Ferris Bueller won’t mind.

But, to get mostly back on topic, whether you subscribe to the theory of attraction or not, I don’t think many people would argue that you’ll put yourself in a better mood if you think about good things than if you think about bad.  And if you’re in a better mood, you’ll have a better day.  And if you have enough better days, pretty soon you’re just having a better life.  And what better way to improve your mental health than to have a better life?  Pretty simple, right?  Sometimes the little things really are the big things.

It’s not too late for your own bucket.  What small moments of joy would you like to remember ten months from now?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of africa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

hmm.  I might need a new picture.  Add that to the “we’ll see” list, would you?

Weight Loss Wednesday, January 30

 

Well, might as well get the not-so-great news out of the way up front:  no weight loss this week.  Of course, looking at my activity for the week, it really isn’t surprising.  Also, one of the things I realized in the final few months of last year was that it’s really easy to eat a bunch of crap when I’m going to school, and that has proven to hold true the past week or so that classes have been in session again.  I’ve got to give some serious thought to how to conveniently eat without eating convenience food.

I did try my first kettle bell workout this week, and thought it might kill me!  Honestly, I was surprised, as on the surface, it seems like a pretty simple workout, but it was more of a strain than I anticipated, even for just a short beginner session.  I think once a week for a while will be plenty for that.  And, I forgot to do my plank yesterday.  I think I’m going to continue the challenge into next month, so I guess I better get my act together about that.

And, a quick word about FitDesk, since it was my primary activity this past week.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a little stationary bike that has a handy deskish block of foam on the handlebars so that you can do some multi-tasking rather than just sit on your butt and do nothing.  I bought it last semester when I realized my naturally sedentary proclivities were going to be exacerbated by the need to sit for long stretches of time while studying.  This way, I can read or work on my computer and still get in at least a little bit of movement.  Now, I will say that the desk is not entirely sufficient for much of my work—it’s not really big enough to conveniently hold both a textbook and a notebook—but Brian says he can make a better work surface for me.  He’s already made a different seat for the thing, as it wasn’t particularly comfortable.  Pretty soon, it’ll be perfect, and I’ll be able to spend even more time on it.  Of course, it’s very low energy, truly more for keeping up minor activity, not so much for working up a real burn.  That’s more of the problem this week—not enough high-energy, high-calorie burning workouts.  And, even with the FitDesk, there still wasn’t enough basic activity, as evidenced by my low step count.  Only 69,403, down even from last week.  Yeah, it’s no wonder no pounds dropped off this time around.  I am going to do better this week, though I’m giving myself an uphill climb, since I started with a rest day for today, and won’t even hit 5K steps.  I had lots of reading to do before class tonight. 

And, speaking of today, I should point out that I changed the start/end days of my weekly tracking calendar.  Last week, I ran Thurs-Wed, but then the day wasn’t finished before I posted, so I decided I’d rearrange and run Wed-Tues; that’s how it will be listed going forward.

Day	Plank	Workout	Steps
Wed	1:15	47 minutes, Leslie Sansone	18,005
Thurs	:35	36 minutes, FitDesk	13,232
Fri	:43	Rest Day	1,565
Sat	1:10 (This was supposed to be rest day of plank challenge, but since I missed a day last week, I’m making up.)	43 minutes, kettle bell, floor stretching, glider	7,511
Sun	:27	1 hour 11 minutes FitDesk.	7,600
Mon	:45	1 hour 41 minutes FitDesk	7,971
Tues	N/A	45 minutes FitDesk	13,519

 

And that’s a wrap for this week’s Weight Loss Wednesday.  It’s onward and upward (or, downward, hopefully) from here.

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of africa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Weight Loss Wednesday, January 23

 

Hey, there; it’s time for the first regular check in here at Weight Loss Wednesday.  However, it occurred to me that I haven’t really listed any of my regular goals.  Well, other than the weight loss itself, I mean.  Anyway, let me rectify that oversight now. 

For the moment, my specific plans are focused solely on activity.  Sure, I am beginning to be more aware of what I eat, as that’s obviously a huge component of weight, but right now I think I need to take one step at a time.  So, I have some fairly simple goals for the moment:

• One daily plank, in conjunction with the #planksalot challenge
• Minimum four workouts weekly, minimum 30 minutes each (I hope to do six days, but I’m leaving my official goal at four for now.)
• 100,000 steps weekly

Oh, and, of course, the weight.  Friends and I have started making our plans for a gathering in California this June; I’d like to drop at least 20 pounds by then.

Okay, so how did last week look?

Day	Plank	Workout	Steps
Thurs	1:00/:45	55 minutes, Richard Simmons and Leslie Sansone	15,218
Fri	1:02	25 minutes Leslie Sansone	10,148
Sat	:30	1 hour 3 minutes Wii boxing & Wii fit, 7 minutes floor stretching	15,033
Sun	:30	Neighborhood walk, approx 2 miles	10,035
Mon	1:05	1 hour 6 minutes, Wii Boxing	15,270
Tues	Forgot	Rest Day	11657
Wed	1:15	47 minutes, Leslie Sansone	11279 (+, day not yet ended)

 

Total steps this week:  88,640.  This is Thurs-Wed, so today obviously isn’t over yet.  But, I’m just as obviously not going to rack up another twelve thousand-ish steps before midnight, so I won’t meet that goal this week. 

Weight: Dropped one pound and one overall inch.

Overall: Met my workout goal, but not step count goal and did not plank every day.  Not too bad, but I can do better.  Onward to next week.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Image courtesy of africa at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bitten!

 

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Last week, it was my husband; the week before that, my son.  I should have known I would not be able to entirely avoid the stupid virus that invaded my household this month.  Especially as I’ve been just on the verge of illness with a persistent cough for many weeks already.  Still, knowing it was likely coming does not make me any happier with its arrival.

Yesterday was not too bad, mostly just tired, but I could muster enough energy to make a trip to the store to exchange a jacket that was too small for Brian and stock up on some cheap wrapping paper, since I was running low.  I now have enough to last another several years, but that short excursion pretty much wiped me out.  Today, though, has been worse.  I slept (in my bed) until almost noon, and have lost track of the number of times I’ve dozed off while lying here on the couch.  I did not even make the effort to get dressed.  Right now, I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll just change pajamas and call it good.

It used to be that I would get sick every holiday season—sick on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and not precisely well the entire time in between.  There are lots of theories for why that happens to folks:  too much time indoors this time of year, too much crowd mingling and germ sharing, too much stress wearing on the body, too many combinations of things that just lead to illness.  I’m sure any or all of that is true, but again I say that understanding it does not make the situation any easier to deal with.  In truth, it really just sucks, though I am immensely glad to have not been really sick on either of the holidays proper.  That does make things much easier.

The thing that really bothers me, though, is that I think at least a good portion of the blame lies with me.  I wasn’t sick last holiday season, and I remember thinking it was sort of a blissful experience.  But, I was much more focused on my own health last year.  I was still actively working on weight loss and better lifestyle choices.  Most of that has gone by the wayside this year, especially in the past few months, and I’ve decided it really does make a big difference.  I’m ashamed to say that I’ve regained some (too much) of the weight that I lost, and I’ve lost almost all of my motivation to work out.  Oh, I still take some small steps to maintain some of my better habits:  very little soda, using my fitdesk and stability ball, some lower calorie options that have become the norm for me.  But it’s clear that those things are not enough.  This holiday bug that has reared its ugly head and bitten me in the butt is proof enough of that.  I already knew that getting back on the fitness wagon was going to have to be at the top of my resolution list again this year, but this is like a message from the universe, screaming at me loud and clear, just in case I should forget.  As I’m laying here for the next day or so, resting up between trips to the bathroom and hoping that my head does not explode, I’m going to have to make a specific plan, and I’m going to have to figure out a way to ensure that I will stick with it.  I know that I can do it; I’ve done it before.  I just need to keep reminding myself of the benefits even beyond getting rid of some excess pounds.  Like not being sick most of December.  Yeah, that sounds like an excellent goal.

The Eternal Constant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image credit:  Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You know how every month (heck, almost every day) is designated as National-Something-Or-Another?  Sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and sometimes just enough to make you wonder who was smoking what when the monthly designations were being handed out, right?

I don’t usually pay a whole lot of attention to whatever the monthly celebration might be, but this month happens to be Self-Improvement month.  And, since I’m still struggling with getting back on board the weight loss wagon, it seems like maybe this is one I ought to tune in to.

Plus, back in July, during the Ultimate Blog Challenge, one of the participants posted about Healthtember, an interesting idea of a month of positivity.  I usually try to be a pretty optimistic person, but I can certainly admit I’ve been struggling with that lately, as well.  And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my lack of positive mindset and regaining of weight have occurred simultaneously.   Clearly, it’s time for me to make a change.

So, what better time to really buckle down than National Self-Improvement Month?  Might as well give it a try, right?  The past week or so has already seen some very minor changes for the better, as I’ve gotten involved with school and had things to do other than sit around and feel sorry for myself.  I’ve gotten in a few days of C25K, and been on the stationary bike most days.  Still haven’t gotten the food intake part anywhere close to under control, but one step at a time.  And now, I’ve got a whole month’s worth of days specially designated for those steps; I think I’ll try to take advantage of them.

What about you?  Any changes you’d like to make for Self-Improvement Month?

C is for Commitment

 

                                                                  Image credit:  rubyblossom photostream


It’s time for another ABC Wednesday, and today’s topic—as the title says—is Commitment.

As I mentioned recently, I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately.  That’s caused some things to lose importance to me when that really shouldn’t be the case.  So, as today is the beginning of a new month, it seems like a good time to get myself back on track and renew my commitment to a few things that truly are significant to me.

So, effective immediately, I commit myself to the following:

Camera—I love taking pictures; it makes me happy.  I’ve been participating in a daily photo challenge for a few months now, and I’ve really enjoyed it.  But the past couple of weeks it hasn’t been the same.  While I have been taking the pictures, I haven’t taken the time to really think about them or have fun with the daily prompt.  And, I’ve been lackadaisical about doing any editing, or getting them posted anywhere.  Really, it’s just sort of been going through the motions, and I don’t want to give up on something that I really do find fun.  I hope to be able to stick with the challenge the rest of the year, but I don’t know how that will really go once my classes are in full swing.  But at least for this month, I’m going to get back into using my camera every day and finding the joy.  I will take the photos every day, and get the finished product posted to the appropriate pages.

Create—I want to continue my daily blogging.  I’ve been doing it a while now, but having just finished last month’s blog challenge, I want to make sure I don’t backslide.  I think it would be easy to do.  (Heck, I’ve been thinking about this post all day, but here it is almost 10pm before I’m finally putting fingers to keyboard.)  Anyway, again, once school begins, it’s possible a daily schedule will not be possible, but I hope that won’t be the case.  But, just to be on the safe side, my commitment will be daily posting until the 19th.  If it proves to be too hectic after that, I will ensure a minimum of four posts per week.

Also, I’ve been wanting to open an Etsy shop for some of my photos.  I’m not sure what that plan looks like in its final stages, but before I begin school, I’d like to get at least a bare outline of things in place.  So, by the 19th, I will print and mat a minimum of five photos and get them listed.

Closet—Seems silly, I know, but it’s a task I’ve set for myself.  I’ve been saying for weeks and weeks that I needed to do a deep cleaning of my closet, but saying and doing have been a ways apart.  Then, the other day, someone in UBC posted asking for a seven day habit of any sort, and I pledged seven days of carving out a minimum of 30 minutes daily to work on my closet.  It’s been working so far, but I’m adding it to my commitment list as some added incentive.  At half an hour a day, it shouldn’t take much more than a week to complete (I hope!), but, just in case, I’m committed to finishing no later than the 17th.

Care—This is the most important: getting back to my self-care routines.  Both my diet and exercise routines have completely fallen by the wayside, and that cannot continue.  Not only do I still have weight to lose to reach my final goal in that regard, but I can tell the difference in how I feel when I turn into a big slug.  My health is important enough to me that I am willing to put in the effort to maintain it, though I know it will be hard to get back on the horse.  But, there are things that I must do, and I publicly commit to them now:  1) Complete a minimum 30 minute workout at least three days per week—2 days of cardio work and 1 day of strength/resistance work; 2) Ride stationary bike minimum of 15 minutes every day; 3) Achieve minimum of eighteen thousand steps each day; 4) Log all food intake.  These are the things that I know will help me with my fitness goals, and I must be diligent about working this plan.  I have 25 pounds left to reach my final weight goal (sadly, that was 20 a little over a month ago), and I believe I can achieve that by year’s end, if I fulfill each of these commitments. 

So, that’s it—the commitments I make to myself for the month of August and going forward.  By laying it out like this, I hope to move past simple hopes and into concrete plans that will allow me to be successful.  I also hope that by making these plans public, there will be an extra level of accountability, so I thank you all in advance for being part of my commitment plan.

What things have you been putting off that need a little extra commitment today?

Dear Body . . .

 

A month or so ago, this amusing little e-card popped up on my Facebook page.   I chuckled in commiseration and continued scrolling through the posts.

But the thought has stuck with me, more true than I would like, and less funny than intended.  That’s what happens when you strike a chord with those of us who have been overweight most of our lives, even though some of that time, “overweight” has just meant “at the high end of the healthy range”.  It’s all about perception.

So, since I couldn’t get the thought out of my brain, I came to the conclusion that I should write about it, and penciled it in for this week.  Then last night I was reading Midnight Musings, and she had a post about a love letter to her body.   Her post is part of a syncroblog/link up over at SheLoves, inviting everyone to write such a letter to their body and share it.   It seemed the perfect way to maybe talk about what’s been on my mind, so I’m going to give it a try. . .

I have been unfair.  I didn’t recognize it at the time, but it’s true.  I’ve put unrealistic expectations on you and never took the time to stop and consider all that you’ve done for me.  In my youth, I was not accepting of you, and I wished—oh, how I wished!—that you could be different.  Different:  smaller, prettier, sexier; what you were was rarely enough. 

And if it wasn’t enough that I diminished you so, I treated you pretty badly, too.  Oh, I never subjected you to drugs and alcohol or anything so dramatic, but lazy days in front of the television, tons of food from a drive-through window, and poor sleeping habits were the norm.  Eventually it caught up with you, as life wore on and we aged, and you became what I already believed you were.  It’s like you finally gave in and accepted what I’d been telling you all those years.  Unfair probably doesn’t begin to cover it.

Recently, I was looking through some old photos, and I came across one of you, from the days when I thought you were fat, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I wished immediately that you could be that way now, and regretted that I’d been so dissatisfied then.  I hope that you’ll believe me when I tell you how sorry I am to have made you feel so inadequate.

When I looked at that picture, my first thought was, “I would give anything to look like that again”.  But, the truth is, I wouldn’t really give anything.  I wouldn’t give the one thing it would take: the life that we’ve lived.  I wouldn’t give up the life that you helped me bring into this world—the life that is now a young man.  I wouldn’t give up the years that we’ve had together, you and I, the years that brought me to where I am now.  I wouldn’t go back. 

But, hopefully, you knew that long before I stumbled across that old photograph.  I know that I still don’t treat you as well as I should, but I hope you know that I’ve been trying to do better.  You’ve seen me trying to be more active, and you’ve helped me to get better at that.  And you must’ve noticed that I spend far less time at the drive-through windows now.  All of that is for you.  Because, while it may have taken me a long time, I have realized how unfair I’ve been to you.  I’ve realized that I should never have taken you for granted.

So, even though I wouldn’t go back, I can go forward, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.  I do know that I’ve been unfair, and I’m glad that you’ve stuck with me long enough for me to realize it on my own.  You didn’t resort to major illness or disease to make sure I got the message.  Through it all, you’ve been much better to me than I’ve ever been to you.  And I’m glad you’re giving me a chance to change.  But, even as I change, and even as I work to take better care of you, I will do my very best to no longer diminish you, to never make you feel as if you are not good enough.  You alone have kept me going this long, have allowed me to live a life for which I am truly grateful.  So, please, accept my apologies for the past, and my promise for the future.  I will not compare you to others; I will not hide you in shame; and I will do all that I can do to make you feel as great as you deserve to feel.

What would you say in a letter to your body?  If you’re so inclined, the topic is open throughout the day, and you can link up with SheLoves here.