Monday, February 28, 2005

What is wrong with this picture? I am losing to a piece of food, taking orders from a snack.

I will start my food plan today. I don’t want to wait. I won’t say that I’ll start eating right tomorrow. How many times have I said that before? Saying tomorrow is saying I won’t do it today. THIS is the tomorrow I spoke of yesterday. I would never run a business the way I’ve treated my own body and my weight problem. If this were something that I needed to do for my children or someone I loved, I would have done it a long time ago. So, I will do it for someone I love – Myself.

Today, I will start living as never before. I’ll remember that this begins in the supermarket. I will buy the foods that support my success and avoid the ones that sabotage it. If I don’t buy it, I don’t eat it. If it’s not in my kitchen, it’s not on my hips.

There’s not a single food that I’ll see today that I haven’t seen or tasted before. I have seen it all, I’ve tasted it all, and it hasn’t made me happy; it has only made me fat. But, this is not a mountain to climb. It is just a few patterns to master. I have overcome a great deal in my life. I can learn to manage six meals a day. That is my only challenge to buy a lifetime of being trim. What’s the worst that can happen to me? I will just see or smell a food that I’d like to eat. It will not be new. I have seen and tasted it before. A food temptation is simply a feeling; it’s not a command. It lasts about 4 to 12 minutes. If I break the eye contact and say ‘No way!’ it will pass. Isn’t thin worth 4 to 12 minutes of standing up to a feeling?

None of my clothes fit. I can’t bear to look at a picture of myself or in the mirror. I’m not taking care of my health or the quality of my life. What I have done in the past has not worked. That’s why I will do it a new way using new strategies. If it seemed difficult in the past, it was probably because I didn’t have the right strategy. I knew what I wanted – to be trim – but I didn’t have a plan to get there and stay there. Strategy gives me the road map that makes it possible. It’s not just knowing what to eat and what not to eat. It’s knowing how to do it, how to want to do it, and how to make it easy to do. That’s what strategy is about, and that’s what I’m working on, one day at a time.

I will follow my food plan every day, with one ‘planned’ free meal a week. I will only eat in restaurants as a reward to myself and at planned times. I will not make ‘excuses’ to deviate from my plan.

If I have an upsetting situation, I will say to myself, “I have an uncomfortable feeling, but it is not about food.” Eating over it will not make me happy; it will only make me heavy. Even if I can’t solve the problem or change the person who is upsetting me, by not eating, I break a major pattern that has made me heavy. Maybe I can’t do anything about other problems in my life, but my weight is one area that I have the power to change. And I will use that power.

In a world where there is cancer, and AIDS, and homelessness, what’s the big deal if I say no thanks to unplanned food when can say YES to being thin? Did I come this far in life to take orders from food?

I deserve to be trim. I deserve to succeed with this. I deserve to be in control of my life with food.
I did alright this weekend.

The biggest positve was that I finished my book. I have to say that it was VERY good. I would highly recomend it for anyone who KNOWS what to do nutritionally, but doesn't always DO what they know is right. He's got a lot of good things to say. I would say the #1 thing he says that I think will help me out is basically this. Examin your past and use it to determine what you do today. :) Now that might sound basic to folks but I'll try to explain how this has changed me. Sunday I was having a 'free meal'. I knew there was a bag of cadberry eggs up in the cupbord and I started to grab a handfull of them. My thought was... it's my free meal I can have one handful. But then I started thinking about my past. I started thinking about my history with those mini eggs and I realized that with me... for them it's never 'just a handful'. One handful becomes two handfulls and once I've had that many it's justification to just keep eating. After all, I've already blown it... Soon the bag is gone and I've moved on to other 'restricted' foods because heck, I've blown it, so I'll just finish out the evening and restart 'tomorrow'. If I'm lucky I WILL restart tomorrow, but sometimes that 'handfull' of mini-eggs has meant DAYS of 'tomorrows'. So - I skipped the 'treat'. I had a fat free ice cream instead (something I don't have a history of abusing) and was happy with that. (it was my daughter's birthday and I bought myself fat free icecream so I could 'celebrate' with the rest of them)

That's not to say that yesterday was 'perfect'. I ate more bread then I origonally intended and may have to restrict that item in my diet too (even on free days). We'll see I'm learning more about myself every day. My weeknesses, and my strengths.


Moodwise, even with this new attitude toward food, I'm not doing so hot. Probably just my P(ost)MS messing with my head. I just know I'm feeling REALLY uncomfortable in my own skin. I naturally avoid mirrors etc, but today I seem to be faced with images of myself everywhere I go. And for some reason I'm only seeing the negative today. Modivating, but exactly the kind of motivation I like. OH well, I'll get over it and start looking at the postive again.

Friday, February 25, 2005

As I am wont to do, I forgot one thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that my sweetheart has surprised me by jumping back on the exercise wagon. It’s great because it motivates me to stick with it, when he’s doing it too. What really surprised me though was his motivation… I know he’s vain. I mean the man won’t walk out of the house unless his shoes and belt match. But I never really though he cared much about how he looked naked. Turns out I’m WRONG heh. It seems this sudden interest in working out stems from a little movie I like to call “Men in skirts” but for some reason the studio called it “Troy”. We watched it the other night and ever since then Nigel keeps talking about Achilles. Mind you – I’m not complaining :) I love my baby just as he is, but if he wants to have a Brad Pitt body, who am _I_ to stop him? ;)

OH! And I forgot another interesting tid-bit I ran across. M&F Her had an article on “Bootilicious” women. I went through and looked up each of the women listed. It was cool browse through photos of women who still had CURVES. The most interesting thing I found was that none of these women were – ‘perfect’. The one that struck me the most was some girl who was a fitness winner (I can’t remember the name) she had stretch marks on her hips!

I can’t tell you how many times I take a good hard look at myself in the mirror and the only though that runs through my head is, “No matter how much weight you lose, you will still always have ______” just fill in the blank. With one of the following: Stretch marks, loose skin, varicose veins, cellulite… Something like eats at your confidence. But here are women… Women who are admired, who win contests, who get their pictures put up in national magazines and they aren’t ‘perfect’ either. Anyway – I really feel like I’m getting some of this mental stuff worked through. Yeah, yeah, I know this should be about being healthy but to tell you the truth… I’m not really unhealthy. My blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is normal, my blood sugar is fine…I’m not in bad shape, relatively. I can run two miles, I can bench press over 70 lbs.. I’m probably in better shape the ½ the ‘skinny’ girls out there. But, I’m 70 lbs overweight. And truth be told it’s NOT pretty. Yes, this is about vanity for me. Heh

Anyway – all that to say I’m making progress.
Hi guy’s – It’s been a while. I’ve a LOT to talk about too. Here’s the short version.

3 day weekend struggle = Bad
Recovered from a “Why am I even doing this?” moment = Good
Had long talk about goals with my sweetie = very good
Sweetie suggesting some ways he can help = very very good
Sweetie following through and making dinners so I have more time to exercise = excellent
New book arrived in the mail = superb
Reaching 200 again on the scale = fantastic
Actually BUTTENING a pair of size 14 jeans = Happy dance time.

The long version is this:

Friday night I had to pick up pizza. It’s a long story :) I convinced myself that one piece would fit into my meal plan – and I had it. Unfortunately, one piece turned into three pieces. It always seems to turn out that way.

Saturday was my free day. I had originally intended it to only be a free meal while eating out, but instead I let it become an all day chocolate fest! But, it was my free day.

Sunday I seemed to be recovering ok. I even got a run in. Then evening came around and I started craving sourdough bread dipped in olive oil. Unfortunately, I gave in. Then I had an artichoke, and then ate my ‘planned’ meal of stir fried chicken. Then I had more bread and POOF I had messed up.

Monday – I don’t really remember what I ate Monday. I started my monthly (which explains but doesn’t excuse my weekend’s excess) and I wasn’t feeling good.

Tuesday I got back on track. But I had a rough ‘moment’. I’m in the car A LOT and because of a bladder or kidney issue (we’re not sure which) I need to stop and use the rest room A LOT. That means dropping in at quick marts and fast food places. I always feel guilty stopping at these places and not buying anything so I wander through and usually pick up something small. Tuesday I was walking through and the THOUGHT hit me. That one that usually is the final blow to my ‘get fit plans’ I stood in the middle of the quick stop and heard that voice say, “Buy whatever you want, it’s not like it matters. You’re not making any progress anyway. You may as well.” But this time something different happened, another, more mature voice said, ‘I AM NOT GIVING UP!’ I didn’t, and I haven’t.

Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like I suddenly transformed into some dieting superwoman. I was actually crabby and depressed the rest of the night. That voice didn’t instantly shut up. It kept whispering…”Why are you doing this again?” “You’re waiting your time.” “Nothing’s changed, why keep trying?”

My fiancĂ© noticed my bad mood and commented on it. Finally I managed to tell him what was wrong. His response, “You’re NOT giving up!” Heh – I love that guy. He always knows exactly what to say. I talked to him about my frustrations. About the yo-yoing I’ve been doing so far this year and where I thought things were going wrong. He doesn’t exactly understand my issues. After all, all he has to do is run 3 times a week and skip the cookies and he’s dropping two pounds a week like clockwork. But he was willing to empathize and listen. Later as I hashed through what was going right and what was going wrong, he made a suggestion. “If you tell me what to do, I’ll make you dinner.”

Later that night I printed out a one day meal plan with recipes. It was all easy stuff to make. I wasn’t really expecting much, but I put it up on the refrigerator anyway. The next morning I woke up to peach oatmeal. I couldn’t believe it! He had woken up before me and fixed me the breakfast that was on my meal plan! I made my lunches and had an excellent ‘on plan’ day. And when I got home, he pushed me into the bedroom and said, “Go do your run, I’ll make you’re dinner for you.” And he did! After I finished my run I jumped off the treadmill to find a plate full of ‘on plan’ foods! His only request, that I do the dishes. HECK I can DO that!

So, things have been easier the past few days. I’ve picked up a few new supplements… St. John’s Wort, Bitter Orange, Green Tea, and Capsicum. All supported by scientific research as helping the body burn fat. Today is my second day on them and I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve noted a huge improvement in my stomach. I’m not feeling so distended and bloated. Yesterday I noticed that my ‘largest’ pair of size 16 jeans were dropping EVERYWHERE. So, on a lark I picked up the brand new pair of size 14’s that have been sitting for two months WAITING for me to fit into them. I pulled them on, and SURPRISINGLY the two inch gap between button and hole was almost gone – AND if I held my breath and laid on the bed I could actually button AND zip them. I actually walked around the house a little bit too. What a shot in the arm THAT was.

Then this morning the scale dropped to 200 again. ALL signs are looking positive again HORRAY!

Oh! And my new book came in the mail today. I’ve REALLY been looking forward to this one. It’s called “The Thin Commandments” by Stephen Gullo. This is not really a weight loss program, but a book that deals with the MENTALITY of eating right. I’m on chapter three and I already LOVE the stuff he has to say. Stuff Like:

…those who succeed at weight control do not have greater willpower than those who fail – they just have better strategies.
And
I have conclusively discovered that the particular diet an individual follow is secondary to success at weight control……. The most important factor for winning is having strategies – not the particular diet you follow.

There’s so much more. I’m just dieing to finish reading it but I’m trying really hard to go slow so that I can really soak it all it. The best part is, it’s not just ‘talk’ there are REAL suggestions and exercises in there that I KNOW will help. The simple fact is – I’ve always know WHAT to do. What I’ve lacked is (what I thought was) the will to do it. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about the things I’m reading :) This may just be the ‘what’s different this time’ that I’ve been looking for.

(by the way, the book is for sale at www.rodalestore.com)


Alright, I think that’s enough out of me!

Friday, February 18, 2005

I'm REALLY looking forward to this weekend. Three days alone with my sweetheart.

We've got plans to go out to an EXCELENT resterant - (provided I can get reservations) what can I say? I'm a terrible procrastinator. http://www.mustardsgrill.com/main.htm it's going to be GREAT. BUT - I've worked so hard to get below 200 that mentally I REALLY need to stay here - so that means I'm going to go but I'm going to try REALLY hard to do this in moderation.

AND - on the note of my previous post regarding wierd advertising - I got an ad for a long distance company today that said if I signed with them I could get a pint of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream a month FREE for a year. Heh.

And speaking of decadent treats... I was in the store today and noted that I'm going to have to stay out of the stores for the next two months. My nemosis is now in stock. Cadberry mini eggs. OMG! HELP!
It was another difficult and long day, but I got it done. Cardio was the same routine as Tuesday and MAN wasn it hard! The great news is that in the same 30 minutes I upped my miles from 2.19 to 2.25! It was really a test of my will power to get through it, but I did!

Eats were good today. I was so busy I had to remind myself to eat a few times, but it all worked out.

One intersting note: I got a spam today that caught my eye. It was a ad for one of those 'diet patches' Now, that in and of itself wasn't really that intersting, but their catch phrase that they were using to entice people to purchase was...

"no difficult and dangerous exercise: w/ this patch" Oh my! not only is excercise difficult, but it's also DANGEROUS! reading missinformation like that makes me want to throttle someone.

Alright then, off to finish work so I can get to bed. Hang in there all!

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Almost Forgot

But then - there's always something I've forgotten isn't there? :)

I was at my company meeting last night and as I looked around I realized that I wouldn't see most of these people again for another 3 months. Then it occured to me - 3 months = 12 weeks.... hmmmm

Yet more motivation for me and a fun deadline - how much of a change can I make before my next quartly meeting?
Just a quick note to let everyone know how the week's going!

I've been hanging in there. Getting done what needs to be done. Tuesday's run was a real bear to complete but I managed. Last night's interval run was MUCH easier, but still a good burn calorie wise.

Food has been right on and for that I'm thankful.

This year has certainly been a lesson in patients though! I FINALLY hit 200! woo hoo! That means I've lost 8.5 lbs in almost 7 weeks. Hardly the results I had been expecting. Ah well, I'll keep on slogging along. Each day makes a difference and every lb off is another closer to my goal.

I've been so insanely busy! Still, I've managed to keep my workouts up, and I've kept my eating stright even though I've not been able to do a lot of pre planning.

Well that's about all I have time for at the moment - hasta!

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Well, I took a yellow day yesterday. It was just too nice to be spending a quiet evening with my honey to stress over a few bites of food and a leg workout ;)

Not to be making excuses, but I think my legs needed the extra rest anyway. I still can't touch my toes without pain *sigh*. I haven't tried that ice bath yet Tom :). Needless to say, I think it would be a bit easier for me (being a gal) then it was for you. I'm stretching my legs several times a day and I 'think' things are getting better - slowly. Funny thing is, that it didn't really *hurt* WHILE I was working out. It actually felt really good. And the rubber legs afterwards wasn't anything more then I'm used to - but somehow I REALLY tweaked things. Still I know it's a good kind of hurt that comes from an excellent workout, so I'm willing to live with it.

On the food side, I took a free day. Stayed clean through the day and then splurged for dinner. Now for many a V-day dinner might be a big fancy restaurant, but when asked where _I_ wanted to go - I asked for Jack in the Box. Heh A big ol' juicy ultimate cheeseburger was JUST what the Dr ordered. As for my V-day presents - my honey did it right. He brought me a box full of iced sugar cookies (the kind that I ABSOLUTLY adore and have to fight to keep from drooping over when I pass them in the store) and a large box of assorted condoms. What can I say, I'm a pretty basic person *grin*. We stayed over at a local hotel and really enjoyed being away from everything and focusing on each other - even if it was only for an hour or two. It's funny how much easier it is to pay proper attention when there is no pile of dishes, or computers full of work to distract you.

I'm still up in the air as far as tonight's plan. I can either make up my leg workout - or do tonight's workout. At the moment I'm leaning toward skipping legs and giving them another week to fully recover. I'm also going to stop by the store and restock on a few things and make sure I have what I need to pack my lunches for the next few days. It's time to get back to preplanned meals before I blow it.

OK - so that's enough out of me - you all have a great Tuesday.

Monday, February 14, 2005

I suppose the fact that I havn't checked if for a week might lend one to think that I've fallen. Amazingly enough, I havn't! I've either done or made up my workout every day, and I've stayed true to my meal plan. Saturday night I REALLY enjoyed a free meal of home made lasagna YUM! Yesterday was spent in the snow with my family. Let me tell you, tubing is one GREAT workout :)

I'm supposed to do legs tonight, but it probably won't happen. We've booked a hotel tonight and I'm not sure they will have a workout facility. Still I may see what I can do since I don't want to interupt my calendar.

I'll try to check in a bit more regularly this week!

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

Another green day in the books! Hit calves and shoulders and abs. My run today was SO hard. Mostly because my legs are still fried from last night. But it made finishing it all the more sweet!

Eats were clean despite flying by the seat of my pants - I've GOT to put my lunches together before I leave for the day - I swear! It makes the whole thing easier - and I'm all for easy.

Best news of the day - after my run I started looking for Nigel. Where do I find him? On the back porch doing bench presses! I guess I've managed to set a good example and he's slowly but surely getting back into it as well. YAY!!

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

For the most part, I had a great weekend.

Saturday afternoon was rough. As I said, we had gotten to the bottom of the clothes basket. I couldn't find anything to wear and ended up pulling out a skirt that, at the end of my last challenge was tagged to go to Good Will because it was so big on me. Trying it on and having it be TIGHT really threw me through a loop. It was like I was having to look back at all those wasted months dead on. I was so upset and frustrated I just wanted to cry. I ended up finding something to wear but it didn't stop the frustrated feelings. After I left the house I stopped at the local quick mart and fought some MAJOR cravings for a candy bar. I WON though and no candy bar passed these lips.

We ended up hiking on Sunday and it was fantastic. Better yet, the hiking pants I just KNOWN were going to be too small fit. Another small victory. Actually, according to Nigel we didn't actually "Hike" we walked up a "Mound" but it was still nice to get out and breath the fresh air and bask in the sunshine. The area we had intended to walk in amazingly enough was closed! It opens today ironically enough. Ah well, another day perhaps.

Yesterday was another "On the road" day. I managed to keep it clean but it was close on occasion. Chicken salad without the dressing for lunch. AMAZING chicken Teriaki for dinner. As you might have sumized, I did legs last night. I got home at about 8:30 and didn't get changed and ready to workout until 9:00. I had moved all my weights back onto the back porch on Saturday so last night I just bundled up, turned on the porch light and worked out under the stars. It was actually really nice as the weather was cold enough that I felt comfortable in long sleaves and a turtle kneck, but warm enough that I didn't 'chill' when I started to sweat. I super setted (is that a word) dead lifts and squats again. I had picked up some new 25lb plates at Christmas so I just HAD to put them to work. COMPLETELY noodle legged myself:

Squats/Deadlifts:

50 x 15
55 x 12
60 x 10
65 x 8

Then I did a bunch of Walking lunges - I counted a 'rep' as being two steps (one for each leg) and did -

40 x 15
45 x 12
50 x 10
55 x 8

Then I did extensions and curls. It always amazes me when I do leg curls how BAD my hamstrings seem. I also have a question for all you short legged women (or men) out there. Any suggestions on how to do leg curls? My bench with the leg curl adapter is 'fixed' and I can't adjust it in any way. When I try to do curls I can't bring my legs all the way up as it's too tall and the pads would roll off. I may end up having to just eliminate the curls even though I would love to be able to do them. Anyway, so I supersetted curls and extensions...

35 x 15
40 x 12
45 x 10

At this point my hamstrings would have no more of it while my quads were still fairly happy so I did:

Curls 35 x 8
Extensions 50 x 8

After that I crawled in to the house and took some ibprophen. I was so noodle legged that while walking around later I actually had one leg give out on me and I almost fell over. I LOVE it. Of course, I'm doing the frankenstien walk today and I'm sore as HECK but It's a good kind of sore.

Other then that - lifes pretty much the same. Our 'night-out' on Suday was really nice and the resteraunt was good.

Oh - and after Satuday's mental set back - my weight being up on Sunday and Monday and STILL up today I didn't quite have a good perspective this morning when I took some measurements. I only did two because I was running short on time - But, according to the tape, I've lost 1 inch off my waist and 1.5 off my hips. And the tantia scale says my body fat is down from 50.4% to 48.6%. All GOOD things. But, for some reason I wasn't in the mood to celebrate a ONE INCH loss off my waist. Instead my first thought was, Only an inch!? I've put it into perspective now though and I'm ready to say - WHOO HOO! ;)

Saturday, February 5, 2005

Whoo hoo! excelent workout today - Not only did I get to work my favorite body parts (back and chest) but I was so nice that I got to workout OUTSIDE! Lovely simply LOVELY. I made one little 'mistake' though. Normally when I pyramid weights I go up by 5 lbs each set. If I'm doing dumbbells I put a 1.25 lb weight on each side for and if I'm using a barbell I put 2.5 on each side. For some reason I brain farted and put 5 LBS on each side. I did my workout and then started writting in the numbers, and it was then that I realized what I had done. I ended up benching 70 lbs for 8 reps!

The only down side to today's workout was that when I went to do my second excercise my tricepts gave out on me. I don't know if it was just because I had pushed so hard the first excercise, or if I was still not recovered from my arm workout - or both.

Planning an excelent day here - and I'm off to do my run.

Have a great weekend you all!
Funny how cardio I was doing at the begining of the week that was a chore to get through, now makes me feel as if I could go much more. I love it!

Green day in the books and I couldn't be happier

Friday, February 4, 2005

I'm in an excellent mood and my arms hurt

I need everyone's help here. It's time to do a happy dance and I'd like you all to join in - come on it's great cardio!

First, I'm about a week and a half from breaking the two hundred mark. Yippy! Whoohooo! Right On! 200 is like this 'mark-point' for me. I feel Really Crappy above it and usually feel a cignificant change below. It happens again at 185. It's like this magic line that I cross where my body feels degrees better. Strange I know, but true.

I tried on my Lee size 14's. I specify Lee because they are the new pants I bought at the first of this year, and because Lee seems to run a bit smaller then other brands (On Me). I'm about two inches from them fitting. This, in woman speak, means I can button them but not zip. *chuckle* My guess is that a few of the size 14's I have packed away (Like the Walmart brand ones) might actually be wearable - or a week away from wearable. Ready to dance again? woo hoo!

I wasn't hungry all day yesterday and because of that didn't eat a lot. Did my calories up and I was at 1100. Normally that would worry me but as I said, I wasn't hungry and my energy levels were high enough to do cardio. My guess is that my body will make it up today, and I'm having my free meal tonight, so that works out.

I walked out without breakfast this morning. BUT - because I've done a little pre-planning I've got body-for-life bars in my desk drawer. Crisis averted! *dancing again*

So - the plan tonight is a free meal and probably no workout. I'll do my weights tomorrow instead.

The weekend plans are shapping up to be GREAT as well. If the weather holds we're going hiking tomorrow on Mount Tam we'll be able to see San Francisco AND the ocean from up there. AND get some geocaching done at the same time. I'm just keeping my finger's crossed on the weather.

So - that's about enough out of me. And yes - my arms DO hurt. What's that got to do with me being in a good mood? Nothing really except they hurt a LOT less then I expected considering the workout I gave them night before last. The fact that I can still scratch my nose is a good thing.. heh
We're putting off dinner until tomorrow night, so tonight it's ON PLAN - AND - I can do my workout as origionally planned - whoop.

Tomorrow we'll go hiking, come home, clean up and then have a nice romantic dinner for two. Yeah - I'm liking this!

Thursday, February 3, 2005

Lunches are made and I'm ready to relax for the night. I wish every day could be this easy. I guess it could be if I could get home from work every day by 4:00pm! Ah well - it's the life I choose - sortof.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier. I've been avoiding taking the trip to the laundrymatt, so I'm down to the bottom of the clothes basket. And that basket's pretty shallow with this added weight I'm carrying around :P Anyway I grabbed a pair of pants this morning that have been REALLY REALLY tight recently, and put them on. I was thrilled to find they were only 'tight' now. Yes, clothes are deffinatly fitting better, it's not just in my head. YAY! I might be time to start trying on those size 14's sitting at the end of the bed and get a 'feel' for them.

Other then that - everything here is a-ok!

Oh - and that's three green days in a row this month. 10 more and I'll set a record for this year.
It's amazing what a little planning can do for you! I had a fantastic day today. Food was right on. The only comment I have for the day was that I was had a surprising lack of hunger throughout the day. That's not a bad thing at ALL!

I did 20 minutes of belly dancing, but the workout was so light, I went ahead and jumped on the treadmill and fast-walked for 30 minutes. I'm feeling FANTASTIC right now. Good day, good eats, and a great workout. I'm fixing dinner right now but wanted to mark another green on my calendar.

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

I did it again! had a green day that is! Workout went GREAT. I started out a little on the agressive side on the arms, but manage to finish the workout. I kept the cardio to an appropriate 'moderate' level and actually managed to go the entire 30 minutes. I've got a few plans forming up for the weeks to come and I'm really excited to be back into the swing of things.

Tomorrow will be one of those 'tough' days. I've got 160 miles of driving to do and no office to heat food up at - I'm modifying my meals so that everything I eat on the road is 'to go' food. I'm also having dinner alone. My fiance is going to do the burger place by himself and I'll stay home and eat on plan. He's such a doll for understanding why I'm doing this.

For the office motivation thing. Well I found this web site calle www.weightlosswars.com. They give you a variety of ways to start up little compitions so I started one for the office. Everyone is already excited about it, and frankly so am I!

Now I've got people watching me at work AND at home. All I need to do is keep an eye on myself while I'm on the road and I'll be fine.

Going to go make my lunches for tomorrow!
I woke up this morning feeling - Healthy. It's hard to explain, but I know it has everything to do with the good rousing workout I had last night. It just felt as if my entire body had been well and truely 'fed'. I suppose it has a lot to do with increased blood flow and oxygen intake - Or something scinetific like that.

I'm actually looking forward to the days of yore when I woke up every morning with 'something' hurting. Not the bad achy 'I'm getting old' kind of hurting but the - 'Wow I really busted my bum on those squats last night' kind of hurting. The trick is walking the line between a good workout and crippling myself with DOMS. I doubt I'll do it perfectly, but I'm certainly going to try.

Food so far today has been great. And better yet, one of my worries has been eliminated. I managed to talk my way out of having to go out to eat on Thursday. That means I can stay home and eat 'on plan' with no burger temptations. That works just fine for me.

The plan tonight is to do some bi's and tri's and then some cardio. I'm not sure yet which cardio I'm going to do. The weather has been FANTASTIC here. Maybe I can find a way to do something outside - of course that means I'll have to get home at a decent hour. We'll see.

Have a great day - great week - great month everyone!

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

First day 100% on the new program is complete! I went ALL out with the workout and I feel INCREDABLE. I love the way I feel AFTER a workout, I just wish I could remember that those days I don't feel up to it.

Food was right on today. I was feeling really full and a little icky earlier today but since my workout I've been feeling a LOT better and frankly a LOT hungry.

Marie - I have a few questions on my workout - in fact I think I 'messed up' part of it. Not really a big deal as I know I got an incredable workout. Thank YOU!

I was rather excited to find out that 100lbs was NO PROBLEM for me on seated calf raises. Of course that really shouldn't surprise me considering these calfs propel 200+ lbs around the house and work every single day. Those 4 new 25 lb weights came in handy tonight!

I managed 20 minutes of cardio after my shoulder/calf workout. That was all I could manage. I was huffing puffing and feeling like I was going to hurl, pass-out or both, so I figured I would work up to 30-40 minutes :) I've got a few 'new' cardio sessions I want to throw into the pot including some belly dancing tapes I picked up recently. May as well keep things interesting.

My lunches are packed, chicken is defroting, and I'm getting ready to set out breakfast. Workout is done and I'm going to put a lid on the day and call it a success!
I spent most of the day yesterday hungry. I have no idea why - I ate a LOT yesterday, but for some reason I had a bad case of the tummy rumbles. No problem with that today! I'm full to the very tip top. Strange how the body can be sometimes.

I got a new workout plan today and I can't WAIT to try it out.

Well I need to get going so I can get home, get through all the things I need to do and get to bed early!
I stayed completely on plan yesterday. I took a walk at lunch and used that for my workout. It wasn't as stenuous as I would have liked, but I haven't been feeling very good lately so it had to do. I also got my grochery shopping done and fixed all my lunches for today - last night. It was so nice to get up this morning and just have to reach in and grab a loaded bag full of food. I've also got tonight's dinner already maranating. All steps in the right direction.

Total weight loss for January 2005? 4.5 lbs

Not great, but not terrible either. I have to say that I'm satisifed with that. February will be even better! I want to get to 195 by the end of this month. Yes it's agressive, but I know that if I stay focused I can do it. My goals for toady are to once again pre-make my lunches for tomorrow and run on the treadmill.

I also need to start thinking about how to handle the end of this week. We've got plans to eat out both Thursday and Friday. At the moment my thought is to eat very conservatively on Thursday as we're going to a burger place and I think I can pass on most the food there without many regrets. However Friday night is a fancy smancy steak house place that 1 - is one of the top places in the country and 2 - is being paid for by someone else. I think I'll indulge :) there are times when it's worth it. Truthfully though, other then desert I don't think Friday night should be that damaging. It is, as I said, a REALLY nice steak house that usually means that they fix NICE steaks that don't require a lot of extra sauces or oils. Then, if I order veggies and take it easy on the potato, I'm doing grand. For desert - yeah, I'll indulge but I'll share it with my "date". I think I'll also put another 'tip' to use, and ask them for a take home box to be brought with my entre' that way I can cut my food into the correct portion sizes as soon as it arrives and pack the rest away.

Here's to a GREEN day!