In NC, March showers bring April flowers

April is my favorite time of year (not because of my birthday). The weather is fabulous if unpredictable – 2 weeks ago we had a couple of nights near freezing, tomorrow is supposed to be ninety.

As good as the weather is how everything looks. When I was in the Army I dated a boy from Michigan. He came home with me one spring and spent the week with his mouth hanging open – he couldn’t get over how green everything was. Not to mention that every yard turns into a riot of color – filled with dogwoods and azaleas. It’s beautiful.

Work is very crazy right now – I’m working on this high profile project and it’s been gobs of work with lots of quick turnaround times, so I go home fried. Hub is no better – actually I think he’s more tired!

Last night for the first time in a long while I just felt … defeated. I wanted to throw up my hands at everything – work, losing weight, cooking dinner, this wedding I have to go to tomorrow….. everything.

Can I digress a moment and talk about this wedding? I’m gonna be outside in a field – her wedding is taking place at a “primitive” site we use for s.c.a. events – no AC anywhere – just a field basically, with an old farmhouse so we do have some access to water and electric (but not much access). And it’s going to be 90. And at 5 PM I have to put on a long sleeved long dress. (see picture to get an idea) A velvet dress. With an underdress. Yesterday I asked my boss to please push me down some stairs so I’d have an excuse not to go. I know it’s partly because I am tired but I am dreading it. I hate to admit that, but it’s true.

Last night I forgot to take my melatonin – I was up in the middle of the night, reading a book at 3 AM. Gah. That made getting up this morning difficult.

I lost 1.2 pounds this week. Clearly I’m not giving up or anything – I just need some down time. I’m taking Monday off work – I’ll need it to get caught up on my trifecta of shopping/ cooking/ cleaning. Next weekend I am doing nothing!

Have a good one!

Grrrr.

For the first week in a very long time I am feeling frustrated with the darn scale. I was up 0.6 pounds from the weekend - I was careful but we went out Sunday so I wasn't surprised. When it hung around I wasn't worried - I know it takes a day or two for it to drift down - that's just how my body works. When it was still there Wednesday.... This morning the scale was down 0.8 pounds. That's a loss of 0.2 pounds from last week. Given how diligent I've been with the diet and exercise that's a bit frustrating. I don't usually see 2 consecutive days of downward movement - I hope that changes this week. I'm not freaking out - I know I'm doing the right things and will continue to do so.

I'm tired. I'm working on a HUGE presentation at work - VERY high profile, plus hub is workign 60 hours per week so I have a lot of extra responsibility at home these days. I'm just feeling frazzled. And I'm helping with my friend's wedding this Saturday. I'm toast. I've am taking next Monday off - I'll need it to get caught up on my stuff at home.

Musings on food and exercise

In my “real life” I don’t discuss diet and exercise in any detail except for a couple of close friends. While I find what people eat really interesting (to me it’s a little window into who a person is), that’s why I don’t discuss it much. It’s a personal thing, and I don’t want anyone to think that I’m judging them by what they eat or how they exercise. Conversely, I am very well-read on the subjects of nutrition and exercise – probably more so than most of the people I know. I have strongly held, informed opinions, so going on and on about what I’m doing “wrong” is just going to tick me off and waste your breath.

But, I’ve set this place up precisely to discuss those things, and I enjoy talking about it and reading about other people’s experiences.

My diet (at least on weekdays) is predominantly vegan. It’s easy for me since I prep my food on the weekend and eat the same things Monday through Friday up until dinner time. Even our dinners aren’t “meat-centric” often. Last night we made our own pizzas – the only animal product was the 1 cup of mozzarella cheese we all shared. I bought vegan “pepperoni” – and no one noticed. Tonight’s dinner has 2 ounces of locally raised, grass fed, free range been and 1/8 cup of sour cream per serving.

Other reasons it’s easy for me to eat this way: I fee like it’s better for the environment, both inside and outside of my body. I have a lot more energy when I eat vegan. I think it boosts my weight loss. I feel better.

Exercise has been great – I’m still swinging my kettlebell – I could work harder, but I try to push myself at least a little. I am loving walking outside – one day this weekend I walked 5 miles in the neighborhood. I feel like I’m really making improvements, despite the stress & angst associated with a shopping trip for pants yesterday. Sigh.

I stack my jeans by size, with what I’m wearing now on top. Number 1 pair has been retired because they were too big. Number 2 pair is also too big, but number 3 pair is about 4 pounds snug. Progress is occurring.

Catching up

Sunday was my birthday, so I took yesterday off work! It was a nice weekend – the weather was good so I walked a lot, I did a lot of chores, I went out for a very nice dinner at “The Melting Pot” for my birthday, and yesterday I did some errands and shopping.

I made very good choices over the weekend and Monday AM the scale was 0.6 pounds higher than Friday – not too shabby at all considering the meal I’d eaten the night before! I was MUCH happier with my food choices, and felt better physically to boot.

Today I am feeling refreshed. I have a post formulating in my head – about what I eat, how that’s evolved, and what the results have been: not just weight, but also how I feel. But I’m in a bit of a rush today – so let me leave you with “have a nice day!”

Unstick-ified

As I suspected, the scale showed a large 1.6 pound overnight drop. Week over week I lost 1 pound - since Monday I've lost 2.8 pounds. Curiously enough, I lost 2.8 pounds last week. For someone my size I don't think that sort of weekly weight loss is realistic - I spent a good chunk of the week tired and hungry, and that's not good.

I'm still searching for the happy medium between losing weight and weekend eating, but at least the scale is moving downward. And a pound a week (which is what my weight loss for the year averages out to be) isn't shabby at all.

I've been tired in the afternoons - when I got home yesterday I made myself a green drink for a snack and that helped a lot. I've missed my green drink, but it's just not something I want when it's cold.

Have a great weekend!

Sticky Numbers

Economists talk about some prices being “sticky.” That is, when the costs of inputs go up, the price goes up. When costs go down, the price follows much more slowly, and may not go all the way back down at all (even if costs do).

I mention this because my weight behaves in the same way. I may stay a weight 2 or 3 days, then suddenly see a drop of 1.5 pounds or so seemingly overnight. That’s the hard thing about seeing the scale pop up 1.8 pounds by the end of the weekend – it takes days to see that number go down. This morning I was STILL 0.6 higher than I was last Friday. This could be the first week since the first of the year I’ve posted a gain. Yikes!

I didn’t think I was doing too badly over the weekend. Apparently I thought wrong. Le sigh. Lesson reinforced.

Update

How's that for a catchy title? :-)

Weekend was too busy. Saturday we wnt to our friend's house to paint and replace the subflooring in their hall bathroom. Luckily, hub only had to work a half day on Saturday and the boy had a friend over for most of the weekend (cheap labor!). It was a long day, but we got it done. Sunday we were both fried. My cooking didn't get done. Oh well. I've been making do and I'll get it finished up this afternoon.

The kettlebell continues to go well - I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm consistently getting in 2-3 sessions per week. The 2 mile loop in the 'hood has become my normal route these days. I remember when the half mile had gotten to be a challenge! It's wonderful to see my fitness returning!

Post-weekend weight was up 1.8 pounds - gah! Oh well, move on. :-)

Weather here is crummy today - I'd love a nap.

Interior (re-)decorating, and weigh in results

I've been feeling tired this week - since Tuesday afternoon to be specific. So yesterday when I had no afternoon commitments prior to my husband getting home at 6:15, I decided that a little retail therapy was in order. When I shop, it isn't at any clothing store. My drug of choice is Lowe's (which is one key to my successful marriage). I wanted inspiration - I wanted paint. And fabrics. And new rooms.

Stop one was the quilt shop I hadn't visited since they moved (and stopped carrying fabric, curse them). Next up: Wal-Rip. Stop laughing - they have some reasonably priced curtains. I saw 2 possibles. I wasn't sure whether I was looking for the bathroom or the kitchen, but what I found would tell me where it belonged. Next stop Lowe's. The curtain selection was disappointing. Everything was in the 1990s "trying to look upscale" jewel tone theme. Gah. No point in looking at paint chips (oh, how you excite me) until I had the inspiration pieces.

Next up: Target. (And how convenient is it that all these stores sit in a row in my town and I can go from one to the other without even getting on the main road!).

Target, I love you. There on an end in the kitchen section it happened: I found my inspiration. Oh yes, 1950s kitchen, you are nearly mine. The fabric is retro, but in an up to date kinda way. It has blue and brown (with some other colors). I bought pretty much everything they had, leaving only 1 tablecloth behind.

I went back to W-M to visit the curtains one more time, but left with only a new shower curtain for the guys' bathroom.

I took my bounty home and lo and behold if they don't PERFECTLY match the blue paint I'd selected for my bathroom. And yet they still said "kitchen" to me. I guess my kitchen needs to be blue.

I considered going back for more goodies and using the same fabrics in both the bathroom and kitchen, but I think that would be too much. I'm torn. Also, I saw 2 curtains at Target that I deemed too formal for the bathroom but I realized last night would look fantastic in my bedroom .. if I painted it! I'm thinking the same color as the boy's room. (I haven't told hub about that part yet....)

I'm still digging the striped curtains at W-M, although the circles were nice too. Not sure if there was enough overlapping color to use both though.... I guess I'll just have to buy both and bring them home and see what works (I believe in overbuying and then returning). The only problem is that they are very casual and whimsical and the bedroom would remain somewhat formal, although the light blue and brown would tie the 2 rooms together....

Mercy, I love these kind of dilemmas!

I weighed this morning – score! I lost 2.8 pounds this week for a total loss of 15 pounds! My effort is finally paying off!!!!

I really thought it was Friday

Last night was not so great. For one, I got home to an angry child – angry because he’d gotten yelled at by his math teacher for not following directions. He was trying to do his math homework instead of listening. He was doing the homework in class because when he asked for help at 9:30 the night before while hub and I were both getting ready for bed, we told him he should’ve checked on his assignments earlier.

Since he got yelled at, he didn’t want to finish the homework or go to school today and when I told him he had to do both he threatened to turn the minivan in to a pile of rubble while I slept. (Teenagers have temper tantrums as badly as any 3 year old I’ve ever seen). So of course he got in trouble.

I went for a walk and started working on the grocery list & menu plan. I was very beaten down – I’d been feeling tired since Tuesday afternoon. Hub came home and we walked the dogs (my pedometer logged over 27,000 steps for yesterday). We had supper, meted out punishment, and I asked hub to please go and get a movie, a 6 pack, and some cheese dip.

While I was in the tub he came in and said he was tired & could we just watch the movice we had at home? I said okay and gave them some money to just run to the stop & rob around the corner from the house. He came back with beer and snacks for them, but didn’t even offer to get me anything. The movie was dumb and I wound up headed for bed at 8:45 in tears. I was hurt that he didn’t offer to get me anything, hurt that the kitchen was still a mess even though I’d gotten up that morning and cleaned it since he hadn’t the night before, and I was just generally feeling like no one ever did anything for me.

I’m losing weight and exercising and in general feeling much better. And sometimes I feel really good. But there are also a fair number of times when I am hungry and tired and I know the tired is from the hunger. But I’m losing weight so I don’t want to change too much up. Sigh. I brought a bigger afternoon snack today – I hope that will help.

While I was planning the meals, I listed last night’s dinner as Thursday. So I have nothing planned for dinner tonight because I thought today was Friday. It’s been a long week. Last week was very hectic and this one is going to be busy as well. I need some quiet time.

The return of Helga

When I was going to the gym pretty hardcore, my husband’s nickname for me was “Helga”. My family is from Germany and when I’m working out, I tend to have the build of a member of an East German swim team. I can pack on muscle almost as quickly as fat. Hence the nickname.

Helga’s been hibernating for a while, with occasional appearances. But I’m pretty confident she’s back on a regular basis now. For example, this morning the alarm went off at 5 – I hit the snooze once, then got out of bed. I did my kettlebell workout and then went for a walk. I felt fantastic afterward – and I still do. My eating has been pretty good – even the weekends are improving. And since we are eating supper later since hub is getting home later, I no longer snack after dinner. Go ahead and read that last bit again. If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you know that after dinner snacks are my kryptonite. They’ve been banished.

According to the scale, I’ve lost 1.4 pounds this week – and that’s 3 days before I “officially” weigh myself. Dude. The exercise feels good, I’m eating super healthy food, and the scale is cooperating!

Woo hoo for me!

It may not sound like a big thing, but it's huge for me: this morning (Monday) I weighed the same thing I did on Friday - no weekend weight "gain"! Woo hoo!!! :-)

Weekly weigh in

Down 1.4 pounds this week - woot!! Further evidence that watching what I eat on the weekends is important too. :-)

Have a good one!

Miserable Me

Given that I managed to show only a small “gain” on the scale as a result of the weekend, I wanted to capitalize on that and make some good progress. To that end, I have been VERY careful with my eating this week. And of course I have been walking like a demon because of the Fit N’ Fun competition here at work – walking over 20,000 steps per day. So, walking like a demon coupled with eating like a rabbit equals??? Yeah, it took me 3 days to figure out the answer: misery. I have been starving, tired, and cranky.

Yesterday at lunchtime I found out my MIL was coming for dinner and I took work from the office home, plus I was taking the boy to the gym for an orientation session with a trainer. After I gave up on the work and everyone was out of my house, I sat down with my husband and had 3 beers, 2 slices of cheese, and 6 crackers.

This morning the scale showed a pound and a half decrease. I don’t know if I needed some extra calories to convince it to let go of the extra whatever or if it would have happened anyway. Who knows? I hope I see the decrease again tomorrow when I “officially” weigh. This morning I slept in – oh luxury! I added a half cup of garbanzo beans to my lunch, so hopefully I won’t be starved and cranky tonight.