Hmmm

Two days of tracking more carefully what I eat and reducing my calories by around 200 per day. Up half a pound and very hungry. Lol.

We'll see what happens by the end of the week.

Follow ups from yesterday

I went back and looked at my weight chart - looks like I weighed about 172 when I went to SF. So new (old) jeans are a few pounds away I hope.

Last night's ground beef stroganoff was around 300 calories. I stuck pretty close to what I wrote yesterday and came in around 1500 calories for the day. By lunch I was HUNGRY. The rest of the day I was fine.

Today's food is essentially the same - lunch is dinner leftovers & a salad, tonight's dinner is seafood enchiladas.

Yesterday I did kettlebells, today is elliptical, tomorrow is kettlebells and swim.

Take care.

Incremental goals

Happy Monday! (said no one, ever. lol) I hope you had a good weekend. We had a super nice trip down to the beach to visit friends & family.

Friday I weighed 175.8, this morning I was 176.6. My jeans are too big. I remember on my trip to San Francisco a million years ago I had 2 pair of jeans that I packed - I weighed right around 175 on that trip (I think). My plan is to find those jeans and try them on as soon as I dip below 175 - so there's a nice motivation. And 172 represents 50 pounds gone - another tremendous milestone! So weight-wise, a couple of notable milestones hitting soon.

For my kettlebell workouts, I've reached a point where my workout is equal work to rest (it's been that way for quite some time), with my longest work period being 20 swings - 30 seconds. This week I am bumping up my workout to include a set of 5 intervals which are 40 swings for 60 seconds - so a longer period of continuous work, even though the duration of the workout and number of swings remains the same. So that's another milestone.

Today and tomorrow are teacher workdays and T is off - which is good since he is still feeling under the weather. It's a break for me as well - I am generally in charge of breakfast and lunch and he takes dinner since he gets home first. This morning I only had to fend for myself.

I used my extra time to weigh & measure all my food! After that exercise last week, I decided to try tweaking my caloric intake down some.

AM: 2 cups coffee with half n half and 1 prune: 100 calories
Breakfast: Boiled egg (70 cal), plain Greek yogurt with 1 T each PB2 and cocoa powder, and a stevia packet - 135 calories toppings 1 T each raw oats, muesli, and chopped walnuts (100 calories)
AM snack: cheese stick, 1 mandarin orange (120)
Lunch: homemade chicken pot pie soup (300), salad with homemade ranch (100)
Afternoon snack: 12 almonds & mandarin orange (110)
Dinner: ground beef stroganoff with regular and zucchini noodles, broccoli ??
evening snack: ??

I'll figure the rest out later, but I'm aiming for no more than 400 calories for dinner and 100 calories after - which would put me at 1600 calories for the day. I'll figure it out and see where I land.

Have a good day!

What I'm eating

Okay, Beth - here ya go!

I do track what I eat, but I generally track by virtue of pre-planning and repetition. I do not strictly count calories or macros. I try to eat a "lower" carb diet, and my diet is focused on eating "real food" or "clean eating" as I've sent it called. I sometimes put my stuff in sparkpeople, and I will track if I feel I'm overeating. A lot of times just writing it down is sufficiently mindful.

What I ate yesterday:

Coffee - 2 cups, with 2 T half and half each (80 calories)
1 prune (20 calories)
Breakfast - 2 boiled eggs - 140 calories, stonyfield farm chocolate yogurt (150 calories) with 1 T each whole oats (18 cal), German muesli (33 cal), 1 T chopped walnuts (50 cal)

AM snack; premier protein (160 calories)

Lunch; 2 homemade baked chicken strips (200?) , half cup homemade sloppy joe mix made with ground turkey (150?), tossed salad with 2 T Caesar dressing (120 calories).

Snack: 2 mandarin oranges (80 calories) 12 almonds (70 calories)

Snack: 1/4 c fritos, a slice of cheese - we ate dinner LATE! 160 calories

Dinner: 2 tilapia fillets and a crab cake (I put the crab cake between the fillets and made a stuffed flounder type thing) - tilapia (125 calories plus 190 for the crab cake) coleslaw (100 cal)

That come to 1845 calories, so my take away is I eat a lot of food! According to my fitbit (so take it for what you will), I burn 2350 calories on an average day. So a 500 calorie deficit should get me a 1 pound/week weight loss, which is pretty darn close!

I primarily drink water and unsweetened tea (no artificial sweetener) and my AM coffee - I rarely drink soda and generally will have a beer maybe twice a week.

And I will sometimes have a bite (literally, like a bar will be in my desk a couple of weeks) of dark chocolate after lunch if I want the taste of something sweet.

Thanks - this has been an interesting exercise!

Creeping along

Another sweater was off the island this morning:

(Oh, I was mistaken - the lavender one is Eddie Bauer - I think I paid maybe $2 for it!). The green one is too large as well, but if you can kinda see on the other side of the bed, I have 2 more very similar!

I lost another 1.2 pounds this week. I am happy with what I'm eating - I'm not hungry, I don't feel deprived, and I am steadily losing. So do I try to speed up the process or just keep creeping along?

I hope you have a good weekend!

Lavender sweater in search of a good home

A few years ago I went shopping with my mom at her favorite thrift shop. I found a lavender v neck 3/4 length sleeve cable knit cotton sweater from Talbot's.

A lot like this, but with shorter sleeves and a bit lighter. ANYWAY. It's been a mainstay in my fall wardrobe, but this morning I retired it. Not only is it too wide, but the v is now too low. Good-bye sweater - I will miss you.

About last night. I've been using my kettlebell swing workouts as my primary training for both strength and HIIT - and don't get me wrong, it's working like a dream. I can't imagine ever giving up my swing workouts. Again, if you are interested:

But there are more things you can do with a kettlebell (and I know quite a few of them) but there are a couple I wanted to work on - specifically snatches and turkish get ups. And T seemed interested, so last night we went and had a functional movement screening with a kettlebell instructor. He measures your flexibility and balance using a few simple movements. It was pretty interesting but the results were not surprising - I need to work on both, and so does T to a lesser extent.

After that we did a kettlebell assessment and orientation. T had tried them once but honestly it's better if you get some professional instruction if at all possible. He enjoyed it and we opted to sign up for 5 half hour training sessions as a couple. After that we will decide what we want to do - they offer one one one instruction, small group classes, and open gym. I firmly believe this will push me harder to work on my strength training. At home I have moved up to incorporating a 20 pound kettlbell into my swing routines.

Food has been a bit tighter this week and I am seeing the difference. We are going to the beach this weekend, so I will need to stay focused.

Okay, have a good day!

In between

I am feeling frustrated. I've donated my 2 largest sizes of clothing and I'm getting closer to some old favorites, but I'm not quite there yet. This week I've decided to focus on getting good quality sleep, I've cut back on exercise a bit, and I'm cutting back evening snacking even further. T and I are heading to the kettlbell gym this evening. Step 1 is a functional movement screening and we'll see where we go from there. I am hoping this will help me further along the path. I've come a long way and I am certainly smaller, but I still have a fair bit of weight to lose - I'm guessing around 35 pounds. At the end of the path I want to feel and look healthy, with some nice muscle definition. It'll be spring before I get where I want to be, but the time will pass either way. I might as well be heading in the desired direction, right?

Take care.

The great shoe debacle

I am doing OK in the clothes department, although it's about time to go "shop the guest room" and I need some new yoga pants. But what I could really use is a pair of shoes. If I need to wear business or business casual, I'm set. But if I'm wearing jeans my options are pretty much limited to sneakers, sandals, or crocs. And sandals are out until spring. Today I ended up wearing some backless loafers with socks (which looked kinda dumb) and my shirt really didn't match with the color of the leather. I felt like I'd been dressed by Chuckles the Clown. Or a toddler.

I am alternating elliptical at the gym with kettlebell workouts this week. Normally I would swim tomorrow but I am going to go and early vote instead.

Already?

I can't believe it's Monday already! We went camping with friends, and it was an awesome weekend. T slept very well every night and is feeling much better. We got back yesterday in time to do shopping & food prep and get stuff washed and put away. It's was 34 degrees this morning, so I guess we skipped fall and have gone straight to winter.

I guess I haven't had a lot to say lately, but things are fine. I will probably have a lot more to write after our visit to the kettlebell gym Wednesday evening.

Have a good day!

Well Grr

This morning the scale was up half a pound (grumble), putting my loss this week at 0.8 pounds. I've noticed a trend of a week with 2+ pounds, then 2 slower weeks. Not sure what is going on. In any case, I am going to more closely track my food next week to see if maybe my intake has crept up and I haven't noticed. I am also going to start working with a kettlebell coach, I will keep you posted on that.

Also, it's cold here. I have the space heater in my office cranking.

I hope you have a great weekend!

F.O.F.

I never really exercised until I joined the Army. And I had been in the Army quite a few years before I truly embraced the concept. Early morning workouts were tough - a lot of times I didn't really wake up until I was into mile 3 of a long run. :-) A few years ago I came up with the acronym FOF - "feet on floor." The alarm goes off, and the next thing that happens is my feet hit the floor. Waking up and thinking can occur later.

It's funny, because I love to work out, but if I spend a bunch of time thinking about it I will think of  other things I need to do and I may end up doing something else. If I can get moving in that direction then I will be working out before I even start to think. I try to simply make getting going automatic - if it's 11 AM and I'm at the office, it's time to head to the gym. If I'm working at home, I'm going to the pool.

My workouts aren't as long these days as they used to be, but I'm okay with doing 2-3 half hour workouts in a day rather than longer ones. It's easier to fit it all in. I am thrilled to be able to say that for the most part, I currently have working out set on auto pilot - it happens without a lot of thought or planning because like my food, it's planned out in advance. Not to say the workouts aren't good or intense, but whether it's a "crush it" day or an "I showed up" day, I do the work.

Take care.

YES!!!!

Hallelujah - I am both validated and vindicated, not to mention reassured that I am NOT nuts!! LOL

Last night we went to 3 stores in the hopes of looking at flooring. While we were at Lowe's with my in-laws, we bought a sample tile:

I brought it home and like it okay but wanted to look at more colors, so last night we headed out. Stop one the lady says "Why do you want to use that? Don't you want something like what we have on the floor here?" (Gee, no, plastic fake wood isn't what I'm going for. I already have gorgeous hardwoods in my house and beautiful wood walls in my kitchen.) Stop 2: "Why don't you just rip out and sell all that knotty pine. You could buy a new house with what that stuff goes for!" (Uh, no....). Stop 3: No help, 2 tiles on display - couldn't figure out how to ring up 1 for us to take home as a sample, so they gave it to us. (Too dark.)

By this time it's dark, rainy, and I'm tired. I am tearing up and totally second guessing myself. Everyone so far had indicated that I'm nutso for wanting to use a commercial product in my home. Heck, even my FIL got talked into something completely different when he went to big box to help set up the estimate for us!

So this morning when I spoke with Clark at "Got You Floored" in Greensboro, it was like a breath of fresh air. I told him what I was looking for and he said "You don't happen to live in Ardmore do you?" Uh, no. Then he explained how he has sold VCT to dozens of homeowners there who wanted to maintain the "mid century aesthetic" of their home and had put VCT in their kitchen. So I'm not the only one!!! YES!

In other news, swam and did kettlebells yesterday, elliptical today.

Take care.

Time flies

This weekend went so quickly! Saturday we ended up running a bunch of errands and were gone from the house for over 5 hours. Sunday we were supposed to go to a business meeting, but I was just peopled and erranded out. T went and I opted to stay home and work on laundry, tidying up the house, etc. I still started the week feeling unready. Also, Sunday was cold and rainy and by that evening I wanted to eat all the hot/ cheesy/ spicy things in the world even though I wasn't hungry (but I didn't).

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but we need to get the kitchen floor redone. Since my FIL used to own a hardware store, T asked him if he knew anyone that did flooring. Which is why someone from Lowe's is coming today to give me an estimate. And when he went to Lowe's, FIL was talked out of what I want and into something I don't, so I have no idea if the folks coming have ever even installed VCT flooring. Le sigh. I do appreciate his wanting to help - really truly I do. Anyway, we'll see how this goes. We are going 2 places this evening to look at flooring.

Here is the look I am going for:

(Note, both these pictures are from retrorenovation.com, which is an awesome resource on all things mid century home related). I like the way it is neutral, looks good next to warm wood tones, and is super durable (and affordable). Not to mention looks like it belongs in a "mid century modest" home.

I was down a pound from Friday, then went up a pound (what the heck!?!) so basically the scale is being a brat. I was feeling run down and opted to take Saturday and Sunday as rest days and was feeling much better for it yesterday. Yesterday I did the elliptical and this morning I went to the Y for a swim.

Breakfasts this week are Greek salads, lunches are leftovers. Snacks include protein shakes, mandarin oranges, and almonds.

Take care.

Well hello fall

Talk about freaky weather! Today is gorgeous - I woke up to 57 degree temps and brisk air without a lot of humidity. It's like we didn't have a tropical storm yesterday! It feels amazing.

I'm down 0.2 pounds this week - LOL. Okay, fair enough. My mission is to tighten up this weekend and set myself up for more success next week.

Have a great weekend

Rain rain go away

We are getting some pretty severe rain up here, so I ended up working from home again today. I tried driving in but the rain and standing water were just too bad. Most of the school systems are closed, except for the one T works for. :-( He got in safely.

Diet and exercise are back on track. I need to remember that if I let stress get to me it is easy to slip back into old habits. The head space I gave to a silly work issue wasn't worth it. Repeat as needed.

Take care.

That was scary

Last night was NOT. GOOD.

I gave way too much head space to a work issue that I allowed to get under my skin. I felt rushed and anxious before & after dinner and then T left to go to band practice. So I ate my feelings. It was scary how easily I slipped back into that mindset.

Today I shared my frustration with a colleague who listened. I'm going to trust that the right thing will get done. I'm not going to allow myself to get into a frenzy over silly things today. And I am going to get back on course.

I was up 1.2 pounds after the weekend, then another 0.6 from last night. Sigh. May spend the week shedding that, which sucks, but is better than adding more to it.

What I'm doing these days

First off, a weight update: down 2.2 pounds from last week, current weight 178 pounds.

Food: I am eating 6 times per day: three meals plus a mid morning snack, mid afternoon snack, and a very small evening snack. I am focusing on getting plenty of vegetables and eating lower in carbs. I do not strictly count calories (or anything), but I do figure out rough amounts. I also will use the food scale  as needed - especially for my evening snack where it would be very easy to eyeball way too much!

Exercise: I have fallen into what I think of as the 4-3-2 plan. I did NOT sit down and come up with this, it just seems to work out this way, and it works for me! Lol I do kettlebells every other day, so some weeks I do 3 workouts and some I do 4. I generally do 2 or 3 elliptical workouts, based on what is going on at work. And I've been getting in 2 swim sessions per week.

Kettlebells are a 25 minute workout, elliptical and swimming are 30 - so that works out to 4.5 hours of exercise. I also take 1 or 2 walks per day while I am at the office. It's a lot of activity, but it's broken up into reasonable chunks. Sometimes I think there are other things I'd like to add in, but this is working for me now and I don't feel trying to pile more on top is realistic right now.

I hope you have a great weekend!

A week of Mondays

Thankfully yesterday got better and today has been okay. I woke up stupid early and never really got back to sleep, so I ended up getting up around 4:30 or so. I have a Red Bull for the drive home - ugh. Luckily dinner is prepared - loaded backed potato soup (made with cauliflower) and a kale salad that just needs to be dressed. So easy for T when he gets home. I will probably just relax this evening and hopefully go to bed at a reasonable (but not too early!) time. I am ready for the weekend!

T's class went to the fair yesterday. He was really nervous but they had a really good time. My husband works in an elementary school in a class for exceptional children. They are good kids but it can be a challenge when some have physical limitations and others are more emotional/mental. Like one of the kids is a runner. Luckily they had a 1 to 1 adult to kid ratio, which made yesterday pretty manageable and enjoyable for everyone.

After waffling back and forth, I booked reservations at a local Brazilian steakhouse for Saturday for our anniversary, so hopefully that will be good.

Me in the morning:

Take care!

Crazy week

Work has been bananas. One thing I can't really get into, but it leaves me trying to fill a void for our team by stepping up in an area I know very little about. But I have the time & inclination, so it's okay. We have 3 major projects and 2 are coming to a head this week, so it's been "pedal to the metal", and of course there are always last minute obstacles.

I've just felt harried. I got up this morning to sign in before I went to swim and discovered I left my computer at work! So 2 1/2 hours in the car to pick it up since I have an appointment this afternoon. Gah! T didn't have enough time to stop for breakfast (which I didn't make before I rushed out of the house prior to brushing my teeth), and he was running late!

So overall: a week of crazy Mondays! Here's to a better rest of the day!!!

Quick weekend

This weekend was a quick down & back to deliver some stuff to mom's place, visit the kids, and see some friends. We took Jordan with us so I could keep her activity a bit restricted. She seems to be on the mend, although she is upset that mom is gone and now she has to eat breakfast early before we leave for the day. She has turned her nose up the past 2 mornings!

Yesterday was one of the Monday-est Mondays on record.

It's our anniversary this weekend and we aren't going anywhere! YES!!!