Tuesday, November 30, 2010

December 1st, Not January 2nd

So.... I'm still alive. It's been crazy around here-- just like your life, I'm sure. I've been sick, the kids have been sick, we hosted Thanksgiving, and it's fourth quarter. Whew! Lots & lots & lots going on.

I had one great workout week at the gym the week of 11/15, and then NADA. Between the holiday and health issues (I've had a killer virus for 7 days now, and Luke is still sick too) I haven't been back.

But. I had to buy size 12 clothes at JC Penney (luckily BIG sales on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) so I had something to wear for the colder weather. And it's been a big eye opener for me. I don't want to be a size 12. More than that, I don't want to be a size 14.

After Thanksgiving I weighed 172 pounds. UGH! That's way way way more than I thought I'd be again. It can't go any farther than that. It just can't.

So I'm trying again. I'm really, really trying. I hate the word TRY, though. It inherently has failure baked in. Like Yoda, I believe in DO or DO NOT... there is no TRY. But regardless of the word I use for it, I'm making the mental effort again.

I just don't want to be one of those people who start a diet or exercise program on January 2nd. Because that's also laden with failure-vibes.

I want to be a regular at the gym the entire month of December. Or if not the gym, on my treadmill at home (yeah, um, we have a treadmill for the first time ever & what do I do? I gain 20 pounds in a year).

So that's what's up with me. Going into the busiest time of the year, & I'm hoping to get back in the gym & start eating right again.

I'm watching The Biggest Loser episodes online for inspiration. Those people are amazing.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving & have a joy-filled holiday season.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Good week

I'm doing ok this week. I joined a cheap gym last week, Fitness 19. Have you heard of this chain of gyms? I paid a one time joining fee and then pay $9 a month with no contract. And it's a great facility. No frills, but all the equipment and nice and bright and new.

My focus is weight lifting. I need to build muscle and I like being strong. I've missed my muscles! I went once last week, on Friday when I joined. This week I went 3 times and did weights (Monday I also did 2 miles on the treadmill), about 30 minutes of weights and 10 minutes of TM each time to warm up. Also stretching after for a few minutes. I got one more day in of 30 minutes run/walking. Four days of sweating. Not bad.

And I'm already feeling stronger.

I had one really great night of saying no to night eating, and I felt great the next morning. Next time I want a bowl of cereal at 11 pm, I'm going to remember that feeling. The rest of my nights were half ok and half horrible. I'm shooting for more good than bad nights next week.

Tomorrow we are going to dad's house to start packing his stuff. Not going to be fun, but it will be okay. It's already been 6 weeks since he died. Hard to believe it's gone by so fast.

Kids are great. Luke turned 5 last Saturday. He had a fun party. Sophie is doing so well in school. We keep the bad foods out of her body, she stays migraine free. It's amazing.

We are hosting Mark's family for turkey day, which will be work but fun. He's got a great family.

Next week, my goal is weights and cardio, 3 times each.

I don't know why I used "great" so much in this post. Tired and lazy tonight, I guess.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

One small change--a success. One big change--in the works.

I've been wanting to post for days, but of course there's been no time. I can't believe how packed my hours are, & how little I get to do for ME.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. Heh.

I made one change last week, as several of you suggested--baby steps. I had been in a horrible habit the last couple months of getting a Starbucks latte every morning on the way to work. This is a horrible habit because it's: (a) expensive, (b) exacerbates my bad habit of not eating breakfast at home, and (c) a lot of unnecessary calories. I get skim milk, but the pumpkin spice is not sugar free and a grande has over 200 calories.

My sister equated the cost of my almost-$5 a day latte habit with smoking a pack of cigarettes every day, which actually made me feel better about the cost. There are millions of people who don't think twice about spending $35 a week on cigarettes. Why should I feel guilty about spending that on my guilty pleasure?

But it was also just as addictive as cigarettes (almost anyway). I'd tried to stop myself going every day several times, but somehow my car just found its way in the drive-thru.

So last week, I decided I'd eat breakfast at home every morning, & I'd brew a second cup of coffee to take with me in the car to work (I have a one-cup at a time coffee maker, since I'm the only coffee drinker in my house--I LOVE my Keurig). And I did it. I had a latte on Friday, which is my plan now, to have one a week. And my breakfast has been a toasted English muffin, egg in the microwave, & a slice of cheese...tasty, quick & easy, with protein & enough fat to be very filling.

The habit is sticking so far.

My next baby-step item to tackle is a biggie--no night eating. I'm still plagued by that Pavlov's response of "it's late, I'm tired & feeling down, I'll eat a bowl of cereal and a few cookies." It's usually not a binge, but 500-600 calories at 11 pm every single night is going to add pounds to my body, and undo any good I've accomplished during the day.

I managed to drink hot tea last night while doing laundry & watching election returns with Mark. I still wasn't asleep at midnight, but I stayed in bed and gritted my teeth when the urge came. But, then at 2:30 am, when insomnia hit (which doesn't happen often, but it does happen occasionally), I hit the pantry. It was too late to take a xanax--even .25 mg puts me out for hours. So I filled up on sleep-inducing carbs.

I felt awful when I woke up this morning. That sand paper in the mouth, puffy fingers, achy belly yuckiness that always, always follows sleeping after eating. I don't know why this is such a hard habit to break.

But I KNOW it's breakable. Many of you have done it. I've done it before. It's going to take some time for it to stick (21 days minimum, right?), and some practice on using other things to substitute for food.

No exercise for over a week. I carried my gym bag in & out of the office last week three times, and not once had time to go running/walking. I brought it in yesterday--same deal. I'm hoping today will break that streak. The park where I usually run was calling my name as I drove by it this morning.

I am signing up today for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon next May. It's the 100 year anniversary of the 500 race, so it should be a cool year to run the Mini. It will be my 6th half marathon. Maybe my 7th, if I decide to also run Evansville's SIC half marathon in April. The only way I run consistently is to train for races. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Vickie, no Halloween party this year. Mark was out of town on business over Halloween. The kids missed him, but we went trick or treating with my sister & niece, so it was OK. I'm glad we didn't have to dress up. Halloween costumes for adults run really small. I'd never have fit into anything this year.