Friday

Down a half a pound – which puts me down 2 pounds since Monday. Yay! Hub’s blood sugar was 132 this morning – so clearly the change in eating plus exercise is making a HUGE difference. He has been stunned by the change. And the day earlier in the week when it had been down then spiked back up? He admitted he’d had a Gatorade that day. He said he learned his lesson about THAT. I’ve been reading about nutrition so long, I sometimes forget that he genuinely doesn’t know how some things are going to affect his blood sugar or what foods have sugar. To me it’s like “duh” – but he has to learn it for himself. If I just tell him he may not get it. But he’s also listening, which is a refreshing change. Ha ha!

Stomach is feeling better this morning. I left work early yesterday – I was in misery. I did eat some dinner (salmon patties, quinoa, and broccoli) but I just felt like crap. I hope I don’t have a repeat of that any time soon!

Tomorrow we are planning to head to Coral Castle (http://coralcastle.com/). Random fact: The story about the construction inspired the song “Sweet Sixteen” by Billy Idol. Anyway, the weather is supposed to be dodgy again this weekend, so this is a fun little half day trip that gets us out of the house but isn’t entirely weather dependent.

My step brother headed up to our stepsister’s today - she’s about 3 hours up the road. Truck work was all finished up! Ready for things to quiet down a little around case de crazy.

Not good news on the boy's grandpa's cancer: very rare, very aggressive.  No ure, only treatment.  But knocking it into remission could buy him years - not just months.

Weight was the same today. I was hoping for a loss, but oh well. I knew to expect it. Sigh.


In good news, hub’s blood sugar was 130 this morning. 130. Awesome. His weight was up about half a pound. I reminded him that some fluctuations are normal when you are weighing daily. Now, I need to take that advice myself!

Workout yesterday was awesome. First I did 505 kettlebell swings, then I did AMP class. Jeff is having shoulder surgery next Wednesday so he is in crazed workout mode. He was a self described “mean man” – and I loved it! We did a total body workout full of crazy stuff. Like: Imagine a push-up but with one hand on a step and another holding a weight. Do a push up, but when you come up lift the weight toward the ceiling and twist your body and hips so you are looking at the ceiling. Lower the weight and do another push-up. I was a red-faced sweaty mess at the end!

Nevertheless, I am feeling kind of down today. I don’t know why. (I really wanted to get a ham croquette at the cafeteria this morning - thankfully they didn’t have any today). I think its money stress. It just sucks. I’ve tried not to worry and just have faith that things will work out. They have so far for the past year in spite of hub’s surgery and unemployment. And I tell myself there’s no point worrying because there is only so much I can do, you know? And for the most part I am doing the things I can, but I just hate the unsettled feeling.

My step brother was supposed to leave for NC today – he drove his truck over Tuesday night so he could work on it at our house. Now he’s headed back to NC for a while. He was doing some more work on the truck but I’m hoping he’ll be heading out tomorrow. He was recently at our house for a VERY long stay, and a break is in order. I feel mean saying that, cause we love him and all, but....

Last night was math – we went over 2 lessons on sequences and series. They were both pretty short. Tonight is only a quiz on those 2 lessons. Uh, ok. Anyway, schoolwork this week hasn’t been as bad as I was worried it would be. It takes a lot of time, but for the most part I have enjoyed sitting down and doing this stuff. It’s been a pretty unique experience – it feels a lot like home schooling. Even though our dispositions are a little too similar to make it ideal, I think it’s brought the boy and I closer together. But I will admit I’m looking forward to more free time this summer! Ha!

Today was lunchtime yoga. I have had a stomach ache for some reason for most for the day. (I couldn’t even finish my salad at lunch – I just picked at it.)

I am very ready for the weekend.

Back side of the week

Down another half pound! I expect to stall for a day or two, as that seems the way of things with my weight loss, lose big then pause, lose then pause. But that’s ok – the numbers are heading in the right direction and I am so pleased with the progress I am making.


A certain amount of this is vanity – finding clothes when you wear anything over a size 12 is hard IMO. Maybe it’s my body shape – I tend to have big-ish hips at any size, but at higher weights finding clothes that fit and that I like is tough.

But honestly, a lot of it is simply about being comfortable in my body. I like feeling strong and feeling like I can do the things I want – camping, hiking, snorkeling, etc. without being overly limited by my lack of fitness.

And then there’s the fact that I just turned 46 years old and I am on no medications. I don’t need any – and I intend to keep it that way for many years to come. I think many modern medicines do as much harm as good and I simply don’t want to have to go down that path. At the end of the day, whatever motivates you is great for you!

And then there’s the fact that I happen to enjoy moving my body – challenging myself to go harder, faster, or lift more. Ever won a lifting competition? It rocks. Finished a triathlon or road race? Also rocks. Those are moments that I feel truly alive.

How much muscle is too much? There’s no such beastie unless a person is taking so many steroids that her face is beginning to get what I call ”the horsey look”. (And I would still admire the muscles.) Check out the book “The Women” by Bill Dobbins (which I own). Just amazing. I don’t have the desire to do what I would have to do to look like that, but I can be fit and strong and feel good. That’s achievable and valuable to me.

The dentist yesterday was – ugh. Two hours! First the cleaning, the my oral surgeon came over to the dentist’s office so they could look at my mouth together and come up with a plan (I’m losing a bridge because the 2 teeth on either side are dying because they aren’t strong enough to support it). Then they had to make multiple molds (yuck).

I got home worn out and demoralized. I’m guessing this is going to cost in the neighborhood of $8000 out of pocket. Seriously, who has that kind of money these days? Heck, I’ve never had that kind of money just lying around! Ugh. Well, it’s that or wait for the thing to fall out and get dentures. Uh, no thanks.

Last night was cool (I turned on the heat in the car this morning – it was 57. Clearly my blood has thinned). I slept with the windows open and it was so nice. I didn’t want to get out of bed! But I did. Breakfast this week is a big veggie & egg casserole type thing – all I had to do was scoop out a serving to take to the office. For lunch I chopped a tomato, a huge cucumber, and a big orange bell pepper and divided it into 2 produce bags. Then into each bag went a diced grilled chicken thigh and boiled egg. I’ll buy a bed of greens at work from the cafeteria and lunch is done!

Dinner tonight is leftover night. I have vegetable soup with ground turkey and a chicken soup. I’ll make a big salad to go on the side and call it good. I have loads to kale to use up and ends & odds of veggies. The CSA box comes tomorrow so I’ve got to make room in the fridge!

Random musings on a Tuesday

Hub and I were both down another pound this morning. Oh yeah! One nice thing about tracking my weight so long is that I can tell you the last time I weighed less than this was the week of February 12, 2010. Woot! Right now losing weight feels 1) very exciting and 2) pretty easy. I’m eating well and plenty – I may get hungry an hour or so before a meal, but I’m hardly starving. Sure, there are times (like last night) I would have liked a cookie, but I got busy doing something and it was no big deal. Amazing.

I am listening to Kraftwerk’s album “Tour de France” in the car these days. Now, I love Kraftwerk (I always envision Dieter from SNL dancing around. I’m totally in touch with my German heritage and am so happy I got to live there.) But this album is special because it was commissioned to celebrate the 100th year of the TdeF – and if you’ve been reading this a while you know how I feel about that! Last year the Tour sorta passed me by. I wasn’t home – we were living in a hotel at the time and I wasn’t able to relax and enjoy it – indeed, relish it, the way I normally do. This year will be so different. Watching TdeF and working on projects for Pennsic – July is the best month of the year.

Speaking of which, I doubt I’ll be making too much for Pennsic this year. We’re both good on garb and I haven’t stayed in our camp for a couple of years so I don’t really know of anything I want or need for camp. So I’ll probably just check to make sure everything is in good repair and call it good. I have lots of fabric, but nothing is truly needed and I still haven’t organized my craft stuff. I’ve never even found my Viking wire weaving stuff – in any case I’ve probably forgotten how to do it. Oh well – I guess that means Eilis and I need to go shopping and maybe she can teach me (yet again)! Bummer – shopping with Eilis. *lol*

Today is an early day at work – I have a dental cleaning. Good times.

Lunch today was yoga. The agenda for tonight is going to the gym, probably for the arc trainer.

Monday, again

So, nice weekend even though the weather was terrible Saturday and we cancelled snorkeling. On the plus side, we live here so we can go any time! Lots of yard and house work accomplished. The boy and I went for a nice walk last night – the dog park was voted “too muddy” to take the dog. Ha!


Saturday morning I went to the gym with hub (for cardio mainly – I do my weights at work or at home with the kettlebells). His weight routine takes an hour so I programmed the dreadmill for 60 minutes of hills. Each piece of cardio equipment comes equipped with a tv and a fan. I never understood folks who could read while on an elliptical or something, but I’m not averse to watching the tv to change it up from my mp3 player. I watched British soccer on ESPN 8 or something – that was the channel it was on and cute guys being sporty seemed like a pretty good choice.

In a week hub has lost over 5 pounds and his blood sugar has come down from the 180s to the 130s (137 this morning). Behold the power of food and exercise. It has to be over 125 to be considered ‘diabetes’. Granted, a reading of 80 is better, but he is on his way and thrilled with how quickly he is seeing changes. He already feels much better!

Tomorrow I go for a teeth cleaning and I’ll ask the dentist what the outcome of her consult was with the oral surgeon. That giant sucking sound you hear is money going from us to the dental professionals. I have shallow roots. I have great hygiene – just lousy roots.

I’ve lost 4.5 pounds since my last WW visit 2 weeks ago. Sweet! Workout today was kettlebells. I am doing the front and back side of the minute for the first 2 rotations of Tracy Reifkind’s “Give and Take” video – it works out to 20 swings per minute for 18 minutes, plus warm-up. I am currently using my 18 pound kettlebell.

In other news, I was a cooking fool this weekend. I made kale chips (in the dehydrator) and crackers. The boy pronounced kale chips “too weird” and the crackers as tasting “just like seeds” (considering the fact that the recipe is just 2 cups seeds to 1 cup water and a little seasoning, I don’t find this a shocking development). Hub loves the crackers and thinks they make a great snack with a little pb.

Dinner last night was a roasted turkey breast (cheaper than fancy Whole Foods sliced turkey), corn on the cob, and roasted green beans. Tonight is fish and salad and broccoli and quinoa. Death by green vegetable is the current motto in our house. Just kidding. But I’m not. I’m out of green vegetable ideas and I’m a woman who gets a CSA box! Luckily everyone loves roasted brussel sprouts.

Congrats on the kettlebell Val!  Tracy's blogs are great - I followed her old one for years and it was a great source of inspiration.  Her book and her video "Give and Take" are both awesome!

As a matter of fact, this morning I did the first 2 rotations of Tracy's video - the front and back side of the minute - roughly 400 swings in a little over 20 minutes.  Then I went to the gym with hub - walked on the dreadmill for an hour doing the "rolling hill" program.  I love walking outside, but I like to go when he goes to support him.  Then took the dogs to the park for a walk!

I didn't get enough done today - I have loads of picking up around the house and food prep, and not nearly enough time to do it all tomorrow! Oh well.  That's the way it always seems to be.

Didn't go snorkeling today - it was stormy in the Keys and rainy here all day.  A nice day to piddle around the house.

It's been a pretty nice and very productive weekend.  Not looking forward to going back to work Monday. This has been like a mini "staycation" - thoroughly enjoyable!

Down 1.4 pounds this morning - happy birthday to me! :-)

It's my Friday

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am taking a couple of days off work. The plan is to do some stuff around the house (I will get my craft stuff organized and the project room looking like a real room and not a junk landing zone!) and go snorkeling at John Pennekamp state park in Key Largo. Hopefully the house will be looking better, the boy will have a weight training plan and will have gone to the gym for a first run through, and shopping and food prep and the usual will be done.

We are also going to do a bit of work in the front yard. Other exciting activities include making kale chips (this is a great way to eat kale) and another attempt at crackers. My first batch was a success, but a bit brittle. My second batch is just weird. I need a happy medium.

Today would normally be AMP class but Jeff has a doctor appointment so class was cancelled. He’ll be making it up later in the week, but I won’t be there. Since I did kettlebells yesterday, my plan for the day was to do step aerobics. It’s fairly high intensity and I can do it at work on my lunch break. I need to help with chemistry tonight so there won’t be time for me to go to the gym just yet. But that’s ok – I have time. Hub went yesterday and did weight training.

Dinner last night was interesting. I tried making lasagna with sliced unbreaded baked eggplant in place of noodles. I cut the eggplant too thin for one. And I didn’t think about the fact that noodles absorb moisture – it came out a little runny (isn’t that a gross sounding word?). It tasted really good – just needs more thinker cut veggies in place of the noodles and to remove some of the liquid. Hub really didn’t miss the noodles – just the Italian bread alongside. But we had a huge salad prior to the lasagna so he was certainly full.

Tonight is baked fish with roasted broccoli, zucchini, and fingerling potatoes. There are things I miss making – like sloppy joes and chili mac. Part of what makes this tough is that hub genuinely has no idea what foods are carbs, so I’m always having to explain why we need to cut back on certain things. I guess we’ll get up the learning curve.

Pool time happened yesterday afternoon. I love pool time.

Things I like about living in Florida:

I never had any idea how many types of palm trees there are. Some are amazing. Very neat.

Grrr

Let’s just say things have been tough around the casa. The boy is having a hard time dealing with his grandpa’s cancer. Hub is having a hard time dealing with long term unemployment and diabetes has really just kicked him while he’s down. Luckily he’s had a couple of good friends to talk to and that has helped.

But there is some good news. His aunt has diabetes and has gone the diet & exercise route to manage it, and so he can talk to her rather than his mom as an example. (Well, his mom makes an excellent example of what not to do.) The gym opened and we went yesterday – it’s really nice and really cheap. ($10 per month per person). I made an awesome dinner yesterday: roast turkey tenderloin, roasted asparagus and green beans, fresh corn on the cob, with mixed berries for dessert.

Today's workout: 463 kettlebell swings.

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging

Down another half pound – that’s 3 for the week and all I gained around my grandmother’s memorial and that trip. So that’s done. I hate going in the wrong direction, but I’m glad I nipped it in the bud at 3 pounds.

Today is Friday (yay!): workout with Jeff was shoulders and triceps and legs. Monday I am bringing in my new kettlebell video since he asked me if I would bring it in so he could try it with me. I am going to the beach tomorrow.

So, hub has diabetes. I’ve been concerned about his weight ever since we met & married. He could always stand to lose a little weight. When I say “a little” I mean maybe 40-50 pounds, which sounds like a lot but for a 6’4” man it’s probably like 20 pounds to me. Which is a lot, but not “a lot”. Anyway. Over the past couple of years and especially with last years’ stress he added upward of 60 pounds to that. So not good – now we’re to “a lot”. I’ve asked him to work on it, but he simply hasn’t been ready.

Well, now he’s ready. This diagnosis hit him as nothing else has, having watched both his grandparents suffer the consequences of diabetes. He came home ready to change. The next day we tossed his white bread and he bought sneakers. So I am happy for him but I am also scared for him. He is determined to do this with exercise and food, which I know he can do, but as the person who shops and cooks it puts a lot of pressure on me. Luckily his blood sugar is just into the type 2 diabetes category, so I think he can turn this around pretty quickly.

The gym we joined hasn’t opened yet, I want to call tomorrow and find out what the status is. So hopefully that will be up and running soon. Also, it is a bit cool but we can get in the pool so afternoon swim is on the schedule!

I have been reading Diana Schwarzbein’s book on reversing diabetes and I have placed a hold on Mark Hyman’s book on the subject with the library. Basically, both doctors advocate a largely unprocessed, near paleo diet (that is MY description). Limited dairy and grains, heavy on meat and greens. It’s a big change – as big as I think he can handle in one go. I can’t throw it all out right away – he won’t do it. But he’s committed to giving up soda, milk, and all but Ezekiel bread. That’s a huge start. Add regular exercise to that and I think it goes a long way to making a difference. This is a guy who loves his junk food.

There are a lot of days I’d like to pack my dogs in the car and drive back to NC to my mommy’s house. That’s the truth. I’m at an age where I don’t want to wish my time away – I feel like it’s going quickly enough already. But lord this is hard.

Wednesday

Monday I sucked it up and went to Weight Watchers after a 3 week absence. It wasn’t really intentional, it was just that between things getting hectic at work (I go to an ‘at work’ meeting) and being out of town, I just hadn’t gotten there. I was up 1.5 pounds from my last visit – that is already back off.


Monday Jeff basically did an AMP class for 3 of us – mostly legs. Ouch in a good way. I also did kettlebells on Monday. Jeff asked me how many swings I had done and I didn’t know (I hadn’t added it up). The answer is: 263 swings with the 18 pound (my lighter) kettlebell. I’m not even sore from doing that anymore! Next week I am adding another rotation. Woot! Jeff asked if I’d bring in my kettlebell and video so he can try the workout.

I’ve been walking every morning (I did take this morning off – hub got home late so my sleep was interrupted so I slept in until 5:30), I walked last evening, and yesterday I did yoga. This is not gentle stretching yoga – it’s power yoga, so it’s a bit of a workout. But even if it wasn’t, stretching and flexibility are important, and I find I need it even more when I am lifting weights.

Today was amp class again – yay! We did upper body today - 300 reps for each of back, chest, and biceps. The boy has a big chemistry assignment to do tonight, so that will probably take up most of my evening after supper. Tomorrow I need to do my mom’s taxes.

Food this week:

Breakfast is a veggie & egg white omelet.

Lunch is a greek salad with grilled chicken , boiled egg, feta cheese, and lots of veggies (brought from home so everything is measured)

Snacks are 3 bean salad and a couple of homemade crackers (seeds and water and spices). Today I am so full from my salad I never ate the 3 bean salad.

Dinner tonight was salmon, baked potato, and broccoli.

My thought for today: I have it in me. I can make the changes I want, have the life I want, create a vision for my future and make it happen. Sometimes I get to busy with the day to day I lose sight of my vision. Sometimes I get so caught up in the vision that I want to be there and not do the work necessary to get there. It feels boring to go out every morning at dark – joining a running club or doing a run sounds more fun. But the baby steps are necessary, as I keep reminding myself. Life goes more quickly than we think, if we don’t enjoy the process it’ll be over and we’ll be wondering where it went!

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not. But remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

I am reading Tosca Reno’s “Eat Clean recharged” and 2 of her cookbooks, courtesy of the library. The book is good, but it’s one I’d read once and be done probably. The cookbooks have some good sounding recipes. I always like to preview books when I can – my book habit is bad enough! But one of the cookbooks in particular I may end up buying.

I love you Monie

Today is the one year anniversary of my grandmother's death. Mom and I cried at breakfast.  I loved her and my granddad so much and I am a better person for having had them inmy life.

The break-up

Good-bye melatonin.

I began taking you back when I suffered some regular insomnia.  You were very helpful.  But lately I've noticed my energy seems low.  Yesterday I took 3 naps!  (That's crazy).  I've been sleeping pretty well - maybe I don't need you?

Sure enough, one night without you and I woke up, feeling rested and (dare I say?) energetic.  I walked and did kettlebells and juiced and made breakfast prior to grocery shopping!  It's after lunch and I haven't had a nap!! It's like a miracle.

I'll hang onto it in case a patch of insomnia hits, but I must be making enough melatonin on my own thanks.

Weight has been the same the past couple of days (grr).  Breakfast was egg and tomato on half a hollowed out bagel, lunch was some sweet potato alongside sauteed zucchini and chicken breast.  Dinner is homemade chicken soup with matzo balls.

Today is housework and helpinng the boy with schoolwork.  We are going in the pool this afternoon.

Argh

Last night I got home, checked email etc while dinner cooked, ate, then went to my hair appointment. I must have been tired because I was falling asleep in the chair! After that I helped the boy with math and chemistry. At that point, I was toast. I had a couple of crackers with pimento cheese and spaced in front of the tv for an hour or so before hitting the sack.

My plan was to get up at 5 for a walk. So didn’t happen. Turns out the alarm was set for 6 instead of 5 and I didn’t check it before bed! It was really windy and rain was on the way when I got up, which would have been okay. But given how hard I slept, I think I needed to catch up on rest.

Anyway, got up, weighed (up 0.4 pounds), got dressed, made omelets for myself and the boy, heated up a cup of coffee, and boogied on in to work. I bought tea to go with breakfast – black unsweetened tea. Which would be okay except they don’t make it fresh like the cafeteria in NC – it’s one of those machines you see in fast food places sometimes that dispense “tea”. Not very good.

In the morning I also get a big cup of hot water to brew myself green tea for lunch. I guess I could brew some tea for breakfast in the afternoon and leave it on my desk overnight, but that would be a hassle. I could bring in a bottle of tea from home, which would save me money AND taste better, if I can remember it of course.

Today was a somewhat busy day at work with meetings and WW is at 1, except they had moved the meeting and I didn’t know where. Yes, I know how lame that sounds but it’s true! I prefer the Monday time and leader, but I missed 2 weeks being out of the office already and I needed to get my butt to a meeting. Oh well, I will continue to keep on, with or without a meeting this week.

Workout with Jeff was pretty good yesterday – mainly upper body: chest, back, biceps. Not the best class we’ve ever had, but it was enjoyable. I may try to do kettlebells this evening am going to do kettlebells this evening. I can knock out 20 minutes while the soup simmers, eat, and then get on homework with the boy. No excuses. Dinner tonight is chicken soup with matzo balls (one of the boy’s favorite meals) and roasted green beans from the CSA box on the side.

Breakfast was the same omelet, lunch is the same salad. I didn’t juice this morning since I was running late (normal juice these days is carrot, celery, cucumber, apple, ginger). I had some of my handy dandy raw almonds in my desk for a morning snack. We went to a “breakfast” this morning with our VP’s new boss. I had water and a bit of fruit – a couple of grapes, a couple of half slices of strawberry, and a couple slices of pineapple and watermelon. It was pretty easy to pass by the pastries and bagels actually.

I need a nap.

Another day

Down another pound today – woot! I’m still up 0.8 pounds from pre-trip, but three are gone and I’m headed in the right direction. I’m definitely not perfect, there are still times I turn to food. But I will say it has gotten MUCH better and I continue to make progress. I read blogs of folks who make this change and it seems like they never waver. I wish I could be that person, but I’m not. I do waver, I don’t make perfect choices. But once I get going in the right direction, it is easier to stay in that direction. Having an accountability partner of sorts in our personal trainer is so helpful.

The guys are headed to NC today. Hub took care of a few things around the house before they left and I made several phone calls (oral surgeon appointments, mailing of tax return, blah blah) so I’m feeling pretty well caught up. House is largely in order, so I’m thinking Mom and I will head to Naples for a half day at the beach this weekend. Yay! Another round of organization will be coming soon after I’ve bought some storage for the project room (aka toxic waste dump).

Today is AMP class (athletic mobility performance, if I haven’t put that before). I bailed last week – I was feeling lousy (allergies) so I am excited to be back. Yesterday was yoga and walking. I may also do kettlebells today – we’ll see how dead I am after AMP. I also have a haircut scheduled for this evening – it’s starting to get shaggy. I’ve always had my hair long for the most part, but I am enjoying having it short.

This morning I added half a small avocado to my breakfast omelet, lunch is the same, and dinner is eggplant parmesan and a salad. And I always have my baggie with raw unsalted almonds in my desk. The nice thing is that they don’t trigger me to eat a million – just a few hits the spot.

Change of subject: Why can’t I quit some blogs?

There are some blogs I read regularly (Pioneer Woman Cooks being an excellent example). Yes, she has some relatively healthy recipes but a lot of it could come out of the kitchen of Paula Deen. I find myself getting sucked in by the food porn, when in fact I don’t want to feed myself or my family that way. Yet I can’t seem to look away. And it sounds good. I wonder if it always will?

I am reading a book I got from the library (love the “Friends of the Library” room with the cheap books – if you don’t like it just take it back!) called “The Schwarzbein Principle”. It’s a few years old, but I never read it, although I do remember checking out her web site in the past. Anyway, I’m up to chapter 4 and the message seems to be “Eat real food, not too much, in balance.” Which is a message that could be from “Eat Clean” or Michael Pollan or anyone Paleo, or even a lot of vegans who advocate whole real foods, although without the meat obviously.

I did have a glass of soda this morning. I am going to try not buying any at the store next week, but my mom does enjoy it from time to time. I was in a rush to get out of the house and didn’t take time to heat up a cup of coffee. But I didn’t buy another one to go with my breakfast – progress, not perfection.

Thought of the day: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're always right."

All in all, a good day

Day started off like many BAU days: alarm going off at 5 am. Up, used bathroom, dressed, off for a 1.5 mile brisk walk. Home, showered, weighed. Still up 1.8 pounds from trip. Then off to the kitchen. I am trying to kick the diet pepsi habit (let’s face it, a glass full off chemicals isn’t good for you, even if it doesn’t have calories). I would have liked a cup of coffee (this is a new habit to replace the soda). Sadly, I don’t actually know how to make coffee, and my mom didn’t wake up before time for me to leave. Oh well. I had a little bit of leftover iced tea (unsweetened of course, I’m sweet enough already. Ha ha!)

(How sad did that last bit sound?  No, my mom doesn't live with me and I don't live with my mom!  Well, just for a few months while she flees winter...).


I drank the tea while I made the morning carrot ginger apple cucumber juice for me, hub, & mom. Next up green smoothie with 1 frozen banana, 1 mango, about 1 cup frozen mixed fruit, chia seeds, flax seeds, green powder, and then filled blender to top with baby spinach, then added water. Remember, that’s for 3 adults, I’m not downing 3 servings of fruit first thing in the morning!

I drank that while I worked on breakfast: I chopped a red bell pepper and a red onion. Placed them in a zip-loc and scooped out a couple of spoons to sauté. I added a diced tomato, some cilantro, and ½ cup egg beaters. These are okay but my god they have like 100 million ingredients! Plain egg or egg whites going forward.

I packed lunch: 3 cups chopped veggies (mainly cabbage), a diced roasted chicken thigh (no skin), and some curry dressing I made based on Fage greek yogurt. I also packed my portion of the juice for afternoon snack.

Do you see a problem? Breakfast was quite big but had no fat – I ended up really hungry! I had 12 almonds for a snack, then 12 more before yoga. Since I had yoga at lunch I knew I would be eating lunch late.

Yoga was good and the trainer here at work gave me a couple of basic upper body routines for the boy to do at the new gym. The trainer (J) is a really nice guy who is passionate about his work. I thought that was super thoughtful!

Dinner is build your own nachos, but mine will be on baked corn tortillas (build your own tostadas I guess for me), and extra homemade guacamole but no cheese. I love guacamole and would much rather have that for my fat than cheese!

Food is all plugged in and tallied up.

Hub had a busy day seeing about termite prevention, getting A/C checked (needs some minor repairs), and a few chores. He & my stepbrother leave tomorrow morning for my mom’s house for a few days to finish up a couple of things for her and a quick visit with his mom before he going back to work for the temp agency.

My low back is slightly sore and my legs are definitely feeling the kettlebell workout I did yesterday. Ouch! But mostly in a good way. The low back reminds me to keep good form!

Back and back at it

So, the trip was pretty good.  A lot of time in the car and not a lot of down time, but it was good.  My grandmother's memorial was very nice.  I was in a bit of a daze - it's hard to believe she's gone.

Things have been very busy since I got back - both at work and at home, not to mention trying to get back into my exercise routine, which had slipped a little between travel and getting ready to go out of town.

We joined a gym today!  It's $10 per month per person, so I felt like that was a reasonable price.  There's not a minimum time you have to belong, so if it turns out some people aren't using their membership, we can drop it. I'm a little skeptical about both hub and son, but I'm willing to give it a shot for a couple of months.

We have a great fitness center at work (as I've mentioned before), but no cardio equipment.  This new gym (YouFit) has LOADS of cardio equipment, as well as free weights.  And good hours, so I'm hopeful this will allow me to get in some killer cardio sessions on the elliptical.

Also, I ordered Tracy Reifkind's swing video (the one that's a workout), and did 2/3 of it for the first time today.  It's tough!  In a good way.  I also ordered her book and read it in the car.  Very good.  I made an awesome "Tracy style" salad for lunch today  - loads of veggies, a piece of grilled chicken, and a yummy curry dressing.  It's portioned out and ready to go for lunches for the week.

Tonight's dinner was a really good meal that used the eggplant, bok choy, and mushrooms from the CSA box.  It was a korean stir fry with chicken.  Again yum, but I will admit I'm a little hungry and will probably eat something light in a few minutes.  I hate waking up in the middle of the night hungry.  It's hard to not overeat at 2 am.  Having a little something a couple hours prior to bed works better for me.  I had an appointment at 6 with the counselor so we had to eat ealy.

The appt was good - it's really helped me with adjusting to the move.

Hub actually finally got an old laptop set up for me.  (I had the desktop but it died).  So I have my own computer again.

Hopefully my own computer will mean more posting.  I've been doing pretty good - I've lost 20 pounds!  But I've been stalled the past couple of weeks and it's time to kick it up a notch.  So, ratcheting up the eating (more junk getting the boot) - diet Pepsi, I'll miss you! Ratcheting up the exercise (hello elliptical, my old friend).

Good things happening, taking steps to deal with stressors.  Some not so good stuff too (the boy is back with an old girlfriend - luckily she's still 800 miles away, but he wants her to come down for the summer. Uhh.....), but all in all, things are going along.