14 weeks

Yesterday afternoon I did a tough 47 minutes on the elliptical (again with a cardio coach guided workout on my MP3 player).

After dinner last night I went to the Y. I did 2 things:

1. I made an appt with a personal trainer for tonight to set up a simple free weight lifting routine for me. The reason I want a free weight program is so I can do it at the office gym as well as the Y. Yes, I know enough about weight lifting that I could set up a program for myself, but I haven't.

2. I went to yoga. Near the end of class the thought popped into my head "I've been practicing yoga regularly for 14 weeks." I've done 2 6-week yoga sessions here at work and I've continued over the 2 week break we've had before the next session. I'm still not ready for the cover of "Yoga Journal", but I have made noticable progress.

I have been going to the Y faithfully for weeks now. I use the fitness center at work regularly. Could I do more? Absolutely. Nevertheless, I am very pleased that I have re-found my workout mojo. Sure it helps with weight loss, but mostly it helps keep me healthy & sane. It's like finding an old friend you haven't seen in a long time and once you see them, you realize how much you've missed having them in your life.

The last beer I had was 2 weeks ago. I made it through the holiday season without a single cookie passing my lips. I've had the same amount of joy and stress that I would have had with the food & alcohol. I'm sleeping better. I'm feeling better.

Overall I feel like I'm ending the year in a good place.

This one's for Alicia :-)

Adam and Eve said, 'Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.'

And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.'

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal and God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, 'Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.' And God said, 'I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.'

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted. And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail. After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, 'Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.'

And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.'

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved. And God was pleased..

And Dog was happy.


And Cat . . .


didn't give a shit one way or the other.

Quickie

For a number of reasons (couldn't find my MP3 player, someone using the equipment I wanted, a workout tape that sucked) my attempt at a workout at work yesterday was an epic fail.

Then I got home from work later than planned - it was too late to go to water aerobics, and I sorta wanted to go to spin but dinner was up in the air since it was unclear whether the boy would be having a friend over or not. Which put spin in limbo.

I wheedled the hub into going to the Y with me where I did a very intense 30 minutes on the elliptical. Sometimes it's hard to get there, but I never regret exercising.

Hub also uploaded the 6th cardio coach workout into my MP3 player. He listened to a bit of it as he loaded and asked if he could load some on his MP3 as well. If you are stuck using equipment like the dreadmill, these are a great way to make the time go by quickly as well as ensuring a top quality workout. Not to mention some great motivation!

Anyhow, I came home from the gym in a much better mood than before I went. I had a nice evening and have had an uber productive morning here at work.

Hope you have a great day!

Patience is a virtue

Sadly, one I don't have much of. Last night I felt like I think someone who is trying to quit smoking must feel. (I've never smoked so I've never had to quit, but that's what I imagine it feels like) - restless, wanting something, feeling ancy. Only what I wanted was to eat. I wasn't hungry, I wasn't tired, I wasn't bored. I just wanted to eat. I think it was partly old habits dying hard coupled with scale frustration. Really, that's illogical - you feel bad about the scale so eat to make yourself feel better? I didn't eat anything, but last night was difficult.

This morning the scale had popped down a couple of pounds, so that's a good thing!

Looking back, it isn't how much I ate on Christmas that left me feeling sub-par, it's what I ate - too much rich food. I don't know about you, but once I start eating that stuff, it just leaves me wanting more - creating a tough cycle to break. The last couple of days I've focused not just on the amount of food and exercise, but making sure my choices are the highest quality possible.

As evidenced by the scale, it takes a couple of days to work that stuff out of your system. Being back at work helps too - I have my lunch box crammed with healthy foods that are tasty but don't leave me feeling like I need to lay down on my desk for a nap like a lion out on the veldt.

Plan for the day:

B: Green drink & oat stuff (I don't know what to call it, it's a cup of frozen berries mixed with some nuts & seeds and a quarter of a cup of rolled oats).

S: apple

L: a cup of lentil soup and a salad with hummus

S: 2 clementines

D: leftovers

Hope you have a great day!

Still white

The snow is still covering pretty well, luckily the roads are in decent shape.This morning I went to water aerobics, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am working at home today. Hub is at work and the boy went with his grandpa for a few days, so things are quiet around here.

Today I am making Ali's ribolitta soup for dinner. Hub thought it sounded good. And since it makes 8 large servings that means enough to freeze for another meal as well as enough to send for mom & MIL. Since my mom doesn't really cook, I am trying to send meals over so things are a bit easier while MIL is staying there.

MIL has a follow-up with the dr. Wednesday - hopefully that goes well. Next weekend we'll be moving her back to her place. She can't drive for 6 weeks, but mom said she would drive her to appts & stuff. Hub can take her over a plate dinner so she has a hot meal that's nutritious. And she can do some simple cooking for herself as well.

I get so frustrated. We were going to give her some cash for Christmas, but ended up helping pay for her prescriptions - to the tune of about twice the amount of cash we intended to give her. When I made the comment on Xmas morning that we didn't give her cash (in addition to her gifts) it was because of what we payed toward her prescriptions. Do you think she thanked us for doing that? Ever? Of course not. At the time, she just got a funny look on her face and changed the subject. I know it sounds ugly, but I told hub I'm tired of paying for stuff for her and her acting like an ungrateful 12 year old. IMO next time she needs something, I think it's BIL's turn to front some cash. I mean, we've spent like $1000 on her this year - far more than we've spent on our son. And far more than we could afford.

Okay, that's my gripe. I need to get to the library today to pick up some books. And do a bit of cleaning. And work of course!

The scale hadn't moved again this morning. :-( I'm getting frustrated. I felt like I ate a lot Xmas day, so yesterday I didn't eat until I was genuinely hungry (1 pm). I ate very light yesterday to offset the day before. I know for me the scale tends to stay the same for 2-3 days, then show this huge drop, rather than small steady increments. So hopefully tomorrow we'll be back on the decline.

Food today:
pre workout - slice of toast with homemade pb
post workout- green drink with frozen banana, spinach (trying to use it up before I start using the kale), 1 Tbsp ground flax, cinnamon, green powder, and a touch of stevia.

The plan for lunch is a salad with hummus.

Dinner is a salad and vegan ribolitta soup (with white beans & veggies).

Stay warm!

Itinerary

I booked hotels for our trip next summer:
2 nights in Philadelphia
2 night in New York
1 night in Mystic Ct
2 nights in Boston
2 nights in Portland Maine

Now I need to solicit ideas for what we should see! (Not from a guide book, but from people :-)

Now to go clean the kitchen and do some laundry. Just call me Cinderella! ha ha ha

p.s.

Peanut butter turned out good - both mom and I liked it. And the kettlebell class was good too.

I wasn't dreaming of a white Christmas

I think this is my 4th white Christmas, which works out to about one per decade. :-) We got 6 inches of snow. It's lovely, but shoveling the deck so the dogs could go to the bathroom was not high on my list of fun things to do. Hub is doing the driveway, so I figured it was the least I could do. Besides, I obviously won't be making it to Bikram yoga today, so I need some exercise!

If I had to guess, I'd guess that less than 50% of the homes in the neighborhood even own a snow shovel.

I lost a pound this week. I wish I knew why - I tracked my food carefully and exercised faithfully. No bites of cookies or anything for me. Right now there are 2 cookies and 1 rum ball in the house (for hub) - I sent the rest with the boy and his grandpa. Heh.

Oh well, I didn't gain and even showed a modest loss and now I am on to a new week.

I hope Santa was good to you all!

On my way to the gym

Just a quick check in before I head out to the Y. They are having the kettlebell class I've been wanting to take but they only seem to offer while I am at work!

Things are okay here. MIL has emphysema and COPD. The rehad person came out yesterday and told her and discussed what she needed to do, asked about her diet etc. Also told her that if she smoked a cigarette within 30 minutes of using oxygen she would blow herself up (due to the pure oxygen in her lungs I guess). Good thing mom caught her when she was sneaking out to smoke a couple of nights ago.

Some people are idiots. I told LB "Looking at my MIL makes me want to go eat a pound of raw kale."

Not sure whether I'll be able to stay up late enough to make midnight mass or not. Hope you have a good day!

Checking In

I ordered as planned yesterday. The leftover lettuce wraps went home with LB, and I brought half my entree home to have for lunch today.

After work I went downstairs and did half an hour of cardio. Last night the guys went to the movies, I went to the Y for yoga.

This morning I got up and went to the Y and did 46 minutes on the treadmill (that's the length of that particular cardio coach workout. I love those things!). I had my leftovers for lunch today along with some added brussel sprouts.

One thing the book I'm reading reminded me of is that I need to get more greens and USE the very high quality green powder I purchased when I was in the raw foods class. To that end, I had a green smoothie with green powder post workout, and I bought 2 large bags of organic kale at the farm stand when I went.

Grocery shopping is done. Today I am doing some food prep, including making Ali's reduced fat peanut butter. I can't wait to try it!

Have a good one.

Planning is key

For the past 9 years, Lunch Buddy (LB) and I have walked at lunch for 30 minutes during the business week. With the fitness center now open, we do yoga a couple of those days, and with her schedule flexing some, we have missed a few days, but nevertheless we walk regularly. One day a year we go out to lunch and swap gifts. We both watch what we eat and are used to the other’s weirdnesses (you get to know each other pretty well walking that much for that long!). Today we are going to PF Chang’s for lunch.

First, I brought in my salad for breakfast. Yeah, I know, weird. However, this helps ensure I get my raw veggies in for the day. (I try to eat at least a pound of raw vegetables per day.) I have an apple I’ll eat shortly before we leave so I’m not hungry. We are splitting the tofu lettuce wraps and I’ll get the lunch bowl (smaller portion) of Buddha’s delight (steamed vegetables with brown rice) and I’ll ask them to add the spicy sauce from the stir fry eggplant – cause I like hot food. I’ll eat half and package the rest. Lunch will be 490 calories according to the nutrition info on their web site (call it 500 calories). Breakfast was 200 with a 90 calorie apple, and I’m sure I won’t need an afternoon snack, so that still leaves me plenty of room for dinner. After dinner snacking has fallen by the wayside.

It’s easier for me to eat at home – I can control not only the calories, but the oils and salt and stuff much better. But I am going to go and enjoy my lunch and even more, enjoy a good friend’s company. Yes it’s once a year, but it’s the friendship that makes it special, not the food.

Anyway. Yesterday I went downstairs after posting to work out and guess who was in the fitness center? Yes, LB. She’s the only other soul I’ve seen down there lately. :-) We did Gilad’s total body sculpt dvd (1 hour) and then I did 22 minutes on the elliptical. I don’t have a yoga tape for today, so I think I may do my step tape for fun. Last Saturday morning showed me that I’d forgotten a lot of the moves as well as forgetting what a good workout step aerobics is. (And fun if you aren’t afraid to look a little silly!)

I am off work until next Tuesday. I won’t promise to post regularly because I’ll be busy hanging out with my family. I hope you have a happy holiday!

Argh

MIL is being releaased from the hospital today. I know: 1) she said she isn't supposed to stay home alone, so she is going to my mom's and 2) they are sending oxygen with her for her to use for a couple of weeks. Still no diagnosis I know of, but her poor oxygen levels could be (IMO) simply a result of her poor diet, excess bodyweight, and smoking. Mom is cool with her staying there a couple of days, but I think she needs to get back home post Christmas.

Hub had a dr. appt yesterday. He has tennis elbow and it's flared up again (which is funny to me since he doesn't play tennis). He needs to wear an elbow cuff and padded gloves when he works to help muffle impacts, and has an anti-inflammatory to take for a couple of weeks. Nothing serious, just a hassle.

I went home with a lousy headache yesterday and didn't go to the Y. I did yoga here at work and after I post this I'm going downstairs to the fitness center to do my "Gilad: Ultimate Body Sculpt: Cuts & Curves" dvd from netflix and some form of cardio (either elliptical or a step aerobics workout tape).

Last night's dinner was a HUGE salad with various vegetables, salad greens, and 3 diced up collard leaves that were left from wraps. I wanted to use them before they went to the dark side. And spagetti. Seriously though, that salad seemed to take forever to eat. I think it's because raw collards require major amounts of chewing. Which is probably why they are generally served cooked to death, the poor things.

Anyway, despite MIL being here, I expect Christmas will be quiet. We have a nice day, but we don't go hog wild either with the meal or with the gifts. It's more about spending time together & doing stuff. My mom and I are dragging the sculpy stuff out and doing crafty type stuff together. And maybe work on my doll house a bit. Fun stuff I don't make time for as often as I'd like. They guys will be playing video games or working on some manly project in the garage (weather permitting). So we'll all be together doing stuff we enjoy.

Tomorrow is my last day of work, but I'll be back in for part of next week. I like to use my vacation when the weather is nice. :-)

I am reading Dr. Gabriel Cousins' book "There is a Cure for Diabetes." None of us have diabetes (except MIL), but I've been wanting to read it and the library doesn't have it, so I finally ordered it for myself. It's good so far, but very technical with the medical info, so a slow read.

Hope you have a good day. I'm freezing, I wish we had a sauna at work where we could pop in for 5 minutes to warm up!

Short & Sweet

Crazy weekend. MIL is in the hospital. She fell on the ice & dislocated her shoulder. They kept her b/c they at first thought she had pneumonia. Now they say she doesn't but she needs breathing threatments. We've only talked to her, so it's not clear what's up.

Hub installed a new hot water heater. It was needed (the old one hadn't died, but it was living on borrowed time), but it was a rather long process. That meant dishes were done by hand with heated water and laundry was postponed. I was very cranky last night, just b/c of everything.

Work is fairly busy today, but I wanted to check in. I lost 2 more pounds this week. I will still post a net gain for the year, but I'm working to minimize that.

Went to the Y Saturday morning. I did a very good flow yoga class followed by step aerobics. I hadn't done step in years! It was fun, but I'd forgotten a lot of the moves. Also, it's harder than I remember!

Tonight is power sculpt & restorative yoga.

Have a good day!

Winter Wonderland

We had ice this morning after snow last night. I'm working at home, hub is off work, boy is out of school.

Plan B is in effect for working out.

Long and rambling

Apropos of nothing else I am going to write, did you know that the Tour de France is broadcast in 186 countries around the world? I don’t think I can name 186 countries! Amazing.

This is something I’ve been thinking about lately based on posts from various blogs. I know I’ve mentioned the documentary “Simply Raw” - a film that chronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entirely of vegan, organic, uncooked food in order to reverse disease without pharmaceutical medication. Each participant speaks candidly about their struggle to manage their diabetes and how it has affected every aspect of their life, from work to home to their relationships.

Anyway, they go to the Tree of Life Institute and of the 6, one gentleman leaves after 2 weeks or so. Most of these folks have other medical issues as well, but this gentleman loses like 30 pounds and comes off not only all his diabetes medication but also medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He has a cousin or someone pick him up and he says he just can’t do it – it’s too hard. At the beginning they showed his wife tearfully discussing the fact that she’s been widowed once already, and wants her husband to be healthy. Despite that and the fact he’s reversed his diabetes, he chooses to go back to his old life. That more than anything illustrates for me how difficult it can be to change your life.

I read blogs by folks who have lost (and kept off) over 100 pounds, and one thing many discuss is wanting to remember how hard life was when they were severely obese – due to health or other physical limitations.

Imagine changing your life if you don’t have those incentives. Your health is generally good and yeah, you’d like to take off some weight, but you can fit in a plane seat, walk around all day sight seeing with your family, ride the roller coasters, whatever. Maybe your energy or fitness isn’t where you want it to be, but it’s sufficient for you to do the things you want.

The amazing thing to me isn’t that people don’t change in the face of information showing them how they can improve their health, it’s amazing to me that anyone does. People aren’t good at seeing the long run and people don’t really like being a non-conformist. Getting off the Standard American Diet whether it’s eliminating foods or just eating appropriate amounts is to set yourself apart.

At our offsite Friday we are being served pig picking food. I’ll be packing a hummus salad. Gee, like to stand out much?

I’m not trying to make excuses. I’m trying to say how much I admire anyone who can transform their body, improve their health, change their mindset. It’s a kind of miracle really.

Have a terrific day!

I’m cold

The weather here is seriously cold. Unless you are from Minnesota or something, in which case you think I’m a wimp. But it was 14 this morning, with a wind chill making it feel like 8.

Yesterday Lunch Buddy and I did Gaiam’s “Yoga for Beginners” dvd and decided that it was a little too beginner. But we enjoyed it, so I’m glad I tried the workout. In the afternoon, co-worker and I did Jackie Warner’s total body workout. It was tough! I enjoyed it, but I did feel like she transitioned from one exercise to another too quickly for me. Tomorrow both ladies are bringing in different workouts for us to do. I have some other workouts I want to try for next week, so that should keep me busy.

I stopped by the grocery on the way home and when I came back out, my car wouldn’t start. I called hub, but then decided to try it one more time. It started, but he & the boy went & got me a new battery after dinner. I don’t want to mess around in this weather.

I spent my evening cooking: I needed to make dog food and a pot of iced tea (I know, that’s not cooking, but you know what I mean!) and I had promised to bring in cinnamon buns for our last staff meeting of the year. Folks asked me to bring them again tomorrow, and to please make a double batch. And give people the recipe. They aren’t terribly difficult – I make the dough in the bread machine. I’m glad my co-workers liked them. (I didn’t have any – I simply assured them that I had made a pan for my family and left it at that.)

After that I cleaned the kitchen (the least I could do since they were braving the cold to get me a battery!) and checked email, then it was nearly time for bed!

Tonight we are having lentil soup for dinner. I am going to spin class at 6 – since its soup the guys can heat it up and eat whenever they get hungry. I’ll eat when I get home.

My hummus wrap did not work as planned. There was moisture from the tomatoes as well as juice from the banana peppers and olives, which combined with the hummus and made it very liquidy and then it oozed out of the wrap. Today I eliminated the middleman and simply put the whole mess over a huge plate of raw spinach. YUM! I don’t mind having a cold salad for lunch as long as I can have a cup of soup alongside to make me feel like I’ve had a hot meal.

I bought the individual hummus tubs at Costco – 16 2 ounce little tubs, so I bring one in per day. (I know its wasteful packaging, but sometimes that kind of convenience is the difference between my lunch getting packed and not). Each tub has 140 calories. I mention this because that’s the same amount of calories typically found in 2 tablespoons of full fat salad dressings. The tub holds between ¼ and 1/3 cup of hummus – that’s a lot to put on a salad! My point being, it’s a much better choice for my calorie buck.

Personally, I don’t believe in fat free substitutes for 2 reasons: 1) they usually taste like crap and I prefer to enjoy my food and 2) the ingredient list usually reads like a science experiment. Using stuff like hummus is a better choice for me. It really comes down to this: the less processed the food you eat is, the more of eat you can eat for the same calories. Which is a nice double incentive to eat less processed foods!

Hope you have a good day and stay warm!

What I’m eating this week

For the curious, bored, and to remind myself when I need ideas:

Breakfast:

Is probably going to vary. Today I made my take on a breakfast from Dr. Fuhrman’s “Eat for Health” book. It has 1 c frozen mixed berries (from Costco), 1/4c raw old fashioned oats, 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds, a couple of walnut halves broken up and a splash (around 1 – 1.5 ounces) pomegranate juice for a bit of flavor and liquid. I think it would be fine with water.
When I feel the need for something savory, I’ll have beans & quinoa.

Lunch:

I made a chowder loosely based on Alicia’s. Mine is a pretty basic vegan potato chowder with a few chick peas and butter beans that were left over. It may sound weird, but butter beans are amazing in chowder.

I’m also having a wrap (on a collard leaf) with hummus, sliced cucumber and tomato, sliced olives and banana pepper rings. Awesome!

Snacks:

I’m out of apples so I’ll probably do beans until I get to Costco. Afternoon snack is my old stand-by of peanut butter and prunes. I’m almost out of peanut butter, so I am going to try Alicia’s low fat peanut butter.

Dinner of course varies.

Have a good day!

Nighty Night

Getting ready to go read for a few minutes and then turn in. It was a good weekend - lots of relaxing. Yesterday because I was dead from "Death by Insanity", and then this morning hub and I were bums and sat on the sofa watching the UFC PPV we tivoed last night.

After that we got up and went to the Y. I did a "cardio coach" workout on the elliptical and then sat in the sauna. I'm still stiff and sore from Saturday's class, but the sauna did help.

Christmas decorations are all up - I just need hub to put the last few boxes back up in the garage.

Overall a good weekend. I can't believe I am working every day this week!!! Tomorrow I am taking a yoga dvd to do with lunch buddy and a Jackie Warner weight lifting dvd to do with a co-worker in the afternoon. Work classes are over so we are continuing on our own.

I have learned this week that "total body sculpt" at the Y is okay for me, but cardio sculpt is not. That helps as I plan what I do for the week. I didn't do a spin or an aqua fit class, but even though plans had to change a couple of times, I met my goal of 2 yogas, 2 weight sessions, and 3 cardio sessions. It's a good start.

It's insanity alright

Just a quick check-in. Didn't set the alarm this morning. I couldn't believe it when I woke up and it was 10 till 8 - I never sleep that late! I was really tired when I got home yesterday.

Anyway, I had a quick piece of peanut butter toast then it was off to the gym. I did yoga then stayed for cardio sculpt. The lady that taught it is probably around 30 and looks like she was an athlete in college - I'm guessing lacrosse.

Anyway, the cardio intervals were adapted from that "Insanity" program you see on infomercials. Yes, it was. Oh lordie! 30 minutes in and I felt a bit light headed and wanted to quit. I slowed down my pace but I wasn't sure I'd make it through. I did, but I was wiped out! It was also very high impact which isn't so great for my knees, so I don't think I'll be doing that one again in the future - at least not with that teacher.

I went home, had part 2 of breakfast (green smoothie) and took a long shower. Then I had part 1 of lunch and headed to the grocery store.

I got my Christmas miracle today - W-M was slammed but all the shoppers and the employees were just as nice as could be. I got in & out quickly, came home for part 2 of lunch, and then just vegged for a while.

Not sure what I'm doing this afternoon - I'm still pretty wiped out!

Have a good weekend!

You can keep your holiday meals, your cookie swaps, your homemade treats. But Lord I would seriously like to raid the cheese tray on the back table. My kingdom for a grilled pimento cheese sandwich!

That is all.