I am now three months with no sugar, except pancakes a couple times.
I made a beautiful chocolate truffle cheesecake with dark chocolate ganache on top and a white chocolate snowflake that I successfully "drew". I am proud of that cheesecake.
And proud that I didn't eat any of it.
Happy face.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
Turkey Trotting and Back on the AT
The last couple of days we hiked on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. That was fun. About 10 miles each day. We would be hiking again today except my husband thinks he has a sinus infection. He is not in good shape, waking early this morn feeling miserable. So as soon as the Doc's office opens we will call and see if we can get him seen.
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| It was rainy this first day, but beautiful. |
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| We love hiking in the fog. |
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| The second day was sunny and warmer. The rocks actually ARE the trail. The AT is rocky as hell. |
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| Dave. |
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| Yes, that's right, go through here. Many of these boulders you just go OVER the top, rather than around. Sick sense of humor that those trail designers have, huh? Love it. |
Monday, December 1, 2014
Biked the Katy Trail Across Missouri in October
Yeah, biking the Katy Trail from St. Charles, MO to Salinas, MO was an awesome adventure. We did it the second week of October.
We intended to bike all the way to Clinton, MO, but that last day it rained heavy with thunder and lightening. We'd ridden the entire time with rain, and Missouri had gotten hit with so much rain that the trail was like riding on a beach at times, and totally washed out in places.
Still, this was an awesome adventure and I highly recommend it.
We intended to bike all the way to Clinton, MO, but that last day it rained heavy with thunder and lightening. We'd ridden the entire time with rain, and Missouri had gotten hit with so much rain that the trail was like riding on a beach at times, and totally washed out in places.
Still, this was an awesome adventure and I highly recommend it.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Blowing off the Body Transformation Challenge (Herbal Life)
Our weigh in is the 13th. We've both made significant progress, though not to "loose weight" per se, in a two month period, but as a motivator to get moving in the right direction. We both feel we have lost weight that we are happy with, not as an end point, but as a life change movement.
We were NOT impressed with the Fairfield Nutrition store, which is translated to: Herbal Life. The Body Transformation Challenge, which we thought was part of the Fairfield Park and Rec, as well as something called Fairfield Nutrition, is really just the Herbal Life trying to get new customers. What rubbish. Neither of us liked the man and woman on duty at the store, and neither of us thought their method of determining fat vice muscle was scientific. I still want to do some further research on that, to give them some benefit of the doubt, but it sure sounded like BS. And both of us are used to getting weighed and measured with the US Army.
The entire tone of voice of both the man and woman working at Herbal Life was also just too nasal and lacking in critical thinking.
So, the nasal voice called asking for a final weigh in. Dave scheduled it for the 13th. We talked. We decided to blow it off. It's not that we are intimidated. It's not that we haven't lost the weight. I got into a size 4, admittedly, a skirt with a billowy bottom, but still, no elastic waist, and this is down from a 10. (AND THEY SAID I WAS OBESE, AT 5'7" and a size 10.) I could have out-hiked, out-run (distance), out-biked probably EVERYONE in this little contest and all the Herbal Life customers in the little shitty town of Fairfield, IA. Really.
The good news is that we are losing weight, getting thinner, staying active. And we are in our late 50's.
We were NOT impressed with the Fairfield Nutrition store, which is translated to: Herbal Life. The Body Transformation Challenge, which we thought was part of the Fairfield Park and Rec, as well as something called Fairfield Nutrition, is really just the Herbal Life trying to get new customers. What rubbish. Neither of us liked the man and woman on duty at the store, and neither of us thought their method of determining fat vice muscle was scientific. I still want to do some further research on that, to give them some benefit of the doubt, but it sure sounded like BS. And both of us are used to getting weighed and measured with the US Army.
The entire tone of voice of both the man and woman working at Herbal Life was also just too nasal and lacking in critical thinking.
So, the nasal voice called asking for a final weigh in. Dave scheduled it for the 13th. We talked. We decided to blow it off. It's not that we are intimidated. It's not that we haven't lost the weight. I got into a size 4, admittedly, a skirt with a billowy bottom, but still, no elastic waist, and this is down from a 10. (AND THEY SAID I WAS OBESE, AT 5'7" and a size 10.) I could have out-hiked, out-run (distance), out-biked probably EVERYONE in this little contest and all the Herbal Life customers in the little shitty town of Fairfield, IA. Really.
The good news is that we are losing weight, getting thinner, staying active. And we are in our late 50's.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Baggy Jeans
YES! The jeans that have always ranged just a tad too snug, almost just right, almost there.....are there now. In fact, it's funny how it sneaks up (losing weight as well as gaining, thankfully) that without realizing it, my jeans are baggy.
So much better than not realizing that you've put on weight and find out when you grab that favorite pair of jeans you haven't worn for a while.
So cool, baggy jeans. Love it.
When they get a bit more baggier, I get to go to a thrift store and find more. WARNING: Tangent ahead: I love thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales. In short, I love other people's junk. I am a cultural anthropologist of sorts. I also love the hunt. I love finding bizarre things that I'd never consider buying full price at a regular store, or wouldn't even think to go looking for something like that. But since I live in an RV now and have to be very careful about having "stuff" I have to keep my thrift store pursuits to a minimum. Bummer because I love it.
OK, I'm back.
I'm ready to plan a night run. I want that invigoration that comes from running at night with a headlamp. I want to do about 10 miles too.
So I guess I will sign off and go research where I will run.
So much better than not realizing that you've put on weight and find out when you grab that favorite pair of jeans you haven't worn for a while.
So cool, baggy jeans. Love it.
When they get a bit more baggier, I get to go to a thrift store and find more. WARNING: Tangent ahead: I love thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales. In short, I love other people's junk. I am a cultural anthropologist of sorts. I also love the hunt. I love finding bizarre things that I'd never consider buying full price at a regular store, or wouldn't even think to go looking for something like that. But since I live in an RV now and have to be very careful about having "stuff" I have to keep my thrift store pursuits to a minimum. Bummer because I love it.
OK, I'm back.
I'm ready to plan a night run. I want that invigoration that comes from running at night with a headlamp. I want to do about 10 miles too.
So I guess I will sign off and go research where I will run.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Gnats and Kiss Me, Kiss Me Hiking
Dave and I went for a long hike around Lake Wapello yesterday. It was warm, in the 80's, and no wind. And, like I said, we hiked around a lake. Which meant we were accosted by gnats the entire time.
It was 6+ miles of a quick route step march, using upper body movements such as Team America's (the movie) signal, "Kiss me, Kiss me". Actually, if you saw the movie and remember it, it was the danger signal, meaning to come and get me. Anyway, we love some movies like that, despite its liberal use of the F word, and some of the movie lines have peppered our language.
So here is Dave doing the "Kiss me, Kiss me" signal.
Yes, I know it is blurry. But picture the arms moving up and down across the face, windshield wiper style, or a "slow down" motion.
We got some good exercise on this hike that seemed to never end, mostly because of our pace. Also, when we started out on this hike, Meth boy (I named him METHer Head, or if you like Deliverance Boy better, you can think that). Both could have been accurate. He was carrying a plastic bottle of Mountain Dew with red liquid in it. And, of course, his drawers were almost off his butt, though more red neck style than the popular urban style.
Since we didn't know what he was up to, and he certainly wasn't a hiker, not a real one anyway, we were suspicious and quickly overtook him and moved out smartly. Thankfully we never saw him again. We half joked about running across his meth lab.... Glad we didn't.
Dave had run 6 miles or so in the morn, so this additional six he put in was a nice total for the day, matching my 12 or 13 miles of running on Saturday.
Today I can feel muscles in my butt from the route step pace we kept up, even up the hills.
We did some good sweating.
It was 6+ miles of a quick route step march, using upper body movements such as Team America's (the movie) signal, "Kiss me, Kiss me". Actually, if you saw the movie and remember it, it was the danger signal, meaning to come and get me. Anyway, we love some movies like that, despite its liberal use of the F word, and some of the movie lines have peppered our language.
So here is Dave doing the "Kiss me, Kiss me" signal.
Yes, I know it is blurry. But picture the arms moving up and down across the face, windshield wiper style, or a "slow down" motion.
We got some good exercise on this hike that seemed to never end, mostly because of our pace. Also, when we started out on this hike, Meth boy (I named him METHer Head, or if you like Deliverance Boy better, you can think that). Both could have been accurate. He was carrying a plastic bottle of Mountain Dew with red liquid in it. And, of course, his drawers were almost off his butt, though more red neck style than the popular urban style.
Since we didn't know what he was up to, and he certainly wasn't a hiker, not a real one anyway, we were suspicious and quickly overtook him and moved out smartly. Thankfully we never saw him again. We half joked about running across his meth lab.... Glad we didn't.
Dave had run 6 miles or so in the morn, so this additional six he put in was a nice total for the day, matching my 12 or 13 miles of running on Saturday.
Today I can feel muscles in my butt from the route step pace we kept up, even up the hills.
We did some good sweating.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Out for 13 Miles and Food Progress Report
Yesterday morning I went out to run a long one, 10 miles or so and ended up doing around 13, I think. I haven't traced my route carefully on a map to see what the exact distance was, but I've run that area before and also know what my general pace is so I'm pretty sure I'm close. I wore a Camelbak for water and a butt pack with my cell phone and small camera. I ran a modified version of the Fairfield, IA 16.2 mile bike loop trail around the city.
I did this long run partly because one of our sons, and some of his Coastie friends and colleagues were running the ADK Ragnar this weekend and I wanted to run with them in spirit. They did it ultra style, and in fact, they did the MD/DC Ragnar last weekend ultra style too. So they are rocking out.
There is so much to be said for identity with groups and with group behavior and motivation. I wanted to attach myself to them for that reason and so many other reasons that get complicated and have mixed emotions attached since we are in Iowa so I can be with my older sister who has stage 4 cancer. I haven't lived in Iowa since I left for college as a teenager. Some years I didn't even come back once for a visit. So here I am now, living in the RV in a place that I don't particularly care for, surrounded by extended family, many of which are toxic. Iowa is toxic. High cancer rates, lots of fat people, lots of handicapped parking places. Everyone watches TV and shops at Walmart. Like everyday. Both.
This is not a happy place in so many ways. It is certainly not a healthy place in very many ways.
So mentally attaching myself to our son in Connecticut who was running a 200 mile relay race in the New York Adirondacks with 5 other people this weekend was a good thing for me.
As far as the Body Transformation Challenge and the whole weight loss/changing our eating practices issues, we are doing very well. So I think, because neither of us has gotten on a scale since we started. Dave has lost two inches on his waist and actually acquiesced happily when I bought him several new pairs of shorts, jeans and casual pants. I am back into everything I had that was too small for me when we got rid of our house and moved into the RV - I'd made the rule for myself that I would never again buy anything larger than a medium or a size 10, so for a while I didn't have too much to wear. Now I have LOTS of choices. Some of my things are still a bit more snug than I desire, but I am getting there.
I am also doing the No Sweets September Challenge that one of my nieces invited me to participate in through FaceBook. I am enjoying that and despite having made 3 different birthday cakes, two ice cream cakes and one cheesecake, for my older sister whose birthday was this last week, I have not even done any taste testing. So I'm happy that the whole issue of sugary treats is totally off the table, so to speak, for me, and not only that, I found that I am able to bake and work with these things and not even wish I could eat them. One small complicating factor is that since I didn't taste test anything, and didn't use any recipes, well, I guess I am flying without a net. Good. I like risk taking and adventure. And so I guess I share that with the consumers (literally) of my efforts.
When I came back out to Iowa after a break back on the East Coast in the summer (to get my head right and to recover from some family and grief burnout), I realized that there was no way I could spend the lengthy (hopefully) amount of time with my ill sister and be able to navigate the emotional land mines that populate extended family dynamics. I know I will anger people. That apparently has already happened, as one of my brothers stopped by to ask why I am pissed at his wife and three of his grown daughters. What? I know nothing about that, and actually like them all very much. But, whatever.
Doing the fitness, the controlled eating, helps me have a level of control in this crazy, sick (literally) place where I am a prisoner due to the love and compassion I have for my sister. It is a no-win situation in that respect. But I can control my own body on so many levels, and I choose to do that. It makes me happy....and healthy.
I did this long run partly because one of our sons, and some of his Coastie friends and colleagues were running the ADK Ragnar this weekend and I wanted to run with them in spirit. They did it ultra style, and in fact, they did the MD/DC Ragnar last weekend ultra style too. So they are rocking out.
There is so much to be said for identity with groups and with group behavior and motivation. I wanted to attach myself to them for that reason and so many other reasons that get complicated and have mixed emotions attached since we are in Iowa so I can be with my older sister who has stage 4 cancer. I haven't lived in Iowa since I left for college as a teenager. Some years I didn't even come back once for a visit. So here I am now, living in the RV in a place that I don't particularly care for, surrounded by extended family, many of which are toxic. Iowa is toxic. High cancer rates, lots of fat people, lots of handicapped parking places. Everyone watches TV and shops at Walmart. Like everyday. Both.
This is not a happy place in so many ways. It is certainly not a healthy place in very many ways.
So mentally attaching myself to our son in Connecticut who was running a 200 mile relay race in the New York Adirondacks with 5 other people this weekend was a good thing for me.
As far as the Body Transformation Challenge and the whole weight loss/changing our eating practices issues, we are doing very well. So I think, because neither of us has gotten on a scale since we started. Dave has lost two inches on his waist and actually acquiesced happily when I bought him several new pairs of shorts, jeans and casual pants. I am back into everything I had that was too small for me when we got rid of our house and moved into the RV - I'd made the rule for myself that I would never again buy anything larger than a medium or a size 10, so for a while I didn't have too much to wear. Now I have LOTS of choices. Some of my things are still a bit more snug than I desire, but I am getting there.
I am also doing the No Sweets September Challenge that one of my nieces invited me to participate in through FaceBook. I am enjoying that and despite having made 3 different birthday cakes, two ice cream cakes and one cheesecake, for my older sister whose birthday was this last week, I have not even done any taste testing. So I'm happy that the whole issue of sugary treats is totally off the table, so to speak, for me, and not only that, I found that I am able to bake and work with these things and not even wish I could eat them. One small complicating factor is that since I didn't taste test anything, and didn't use any recipes, well, I guess I am flying without a net. Good. I like risk taking and adventure. And so I guess I share that with the consumers (literally) of my efforts.
When I came back out to Iowa after a break back on the East Coast in the summer (to get my head right and to recover from some family and grief burnout), I realized that there was no way I could spend the lengthy (hopefully) amount of time with my ill sister and be able to navigate the emotional land mines that populate extended family dynamics. I know I will anger people. That apparently has already happened, as one of my brothers stopped by to ask why I am pissed at his wife and three of his grown daughters. What? I know nothing about that, and actually like them all very much. But, whatever.
Doing the fitness, the controlled eating, helps me have a level of control in this crazy, sick (literally) place where I am a prisoner due to the love and compassion I have for my sister. It is a no-win situation in that respect. But I can control my own body on so many levels, and I choose to do that. It makes me happy....and healthy.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Let the Games Begin
So yesterday the Body Transformation Challenge started for Dave and I. We went to get weighed and measured, and to get body fat computed and photos taken around 6 pm. Who knew the Fairfield Nutrition store was just a front for the Herbalife company. Well, it is. And the entire contest is basically their way of getting more customers. OK, so that is my cynical view point.
The lady at my sister's church who gave me the cutout notice of the Body Transformation Challenge, and told me she had lost 40 pounds already, told me that she does Herbalife and that traditionally, Herbalife people fair better in the challenge than others. My response to her was that I knew how to do herbalife without the Herbalife. And it may be true that Herbalife people do better than others in this challenge but it may well be due to the frequent support group meetings that are held, that the others don't attend. I would be interested in seeing a good study done where each group got equal amounts of coaching and group support, where one eats (drinks, consumes, whatever) Herbalife and the other eats a healthy whole food diet, or even to compare other gimmicky things in the same league as Herbalife.
The other thing that ticked me off last night was that body fat was computed not by a pinch test or combination of taping and pinching and weight/height, but apparently by choosing one of three categories of occupation: Office, Nurse, Laborer. Bullshit on that. That is not scientific. Apparently that factors in with the height and weight (and my guess, gender) to determine body fat composition. The Herbalife lady said the scale can detect, from my bare feet, through electrons, what my body fat content is. Really? Can that be? Hmmmmmmm.....
Regardless, I weighed more than I thought. The caveat though is that I am getting into almost all my smallest clothes....and we are talking size 10 and 8 here. But, that weight is not what I want to weigh. I want to take off at least 20 and maybe up to 30. And when what you're doing isn't working, you have to try something else.
Thus, this contest to formalize a timeline.
The lady at my sister's church who gave me the cutout notice of the Body Transformation Challenge, and told me she had lost 40 pounds already, told me that she does Herbalife and that traditionally, Herbalife people fair better in the challenge than others. My response to her was that I knew how to do herbalife without the Herbalife. And it may be true that Herbalife people do better than others in this challenge but it may well be due to the frequent support group meetings that are held, that the others don't attend. I would be interested in seeing a good study done where each group got equal amounts of coaching and group support, where one eats (drinks, consumes, whatever) Herbalife and the other eats a healthy whole food diet, or even to compare other gimmicky things in the same league as Herbalife.
The other thing that ticked me off last night was that body fat was computed not by a pinch test or combination of taping and pinching and weight/height, but apparently by choosing one of three categories of occupation: Office, Nurse, Laborer. Bullshit on that. That is not scientific. Apparently that factors in with the height and weight (and my guess, gender) to determine body fat composition. The Herbalife lady said the scale can detect, from my bare feet, through electrons, what my body fat content is. Really? Can that be? Hmmmmmmm.....
Regardless, I weighed more than I thought. The caveat though is that I am getting into almost all my smallest clothes....and we are talking size 10 and 8 here. But, that weight is not what I want to weigh. I want to take off at least 20 and maybe up to 30. And when what you're doing isn't working, you have to try something else.
Thus, this contest to formalize a timeline.
Monday, September 1, 2014
No Sweets September
My niece who just visited her parents (and us) over Labor Day weekend, sent me a FaceBook invitation for a No Sweets September challenge. Hell yes, I responded. Why not? I am just about straddling the fence (progress from standing on the next to top rung, thinking, wavering) on the lifestyle change to quit sugar sweets forever.
So a month? Hell yes. Lets get it on.
And guess what? Two friends (at least at the first look within 12 hours of my response) have joined in too. One of them was just put on meds for Type 2 Diabetes. She said she'd been trying to manage it herself but her Doc said no more. I gave her encouragement. She needs to know others are out there who don't eat processed foods as a matter of routine. People who don't eat bread and still enjoy eating. People who don't nibble on junk all day, or at all. People who try, every day like a smoker trying to quit, to get at least half the daily intake of food to be fresh veggies and fruit.
Good stuff.
To try is to aim.
To succeed is to do it.
So a month? Hell yes. Lets get it on.
And guess what? Two friends (at least at the first look within 12 hours of my response) have joined in too. One of them was just put on meds for Type 2 Diabetes. She said she'd been trying to manage it herself but her Doc said no more. I gave her encouragement. She needs to know others are out there who don't eat processed foods as a matter of routine. People who don't eat bread and still enjoy eating. People who don't nibble on junk all day, or at all. People who try, every day like a smoker trying to quit, to get at least half the daily intake of food to be fresh veggies and fruit.
Good stuff.
To try is to aim.
To succeed is to do it.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Morning Run...and My Confession of Junk Food Junking
This morning I ran from where I am staying, house sitting for friends, to my sister's house. It is about 4 miles or so one way. As I jogged leisurely by a house where a couple were enjoying their morning coffee on the porch, I waved. They waved back and the gentleman who was perhaps ten years older than me, offered words of encouragement, "Hang in there! You can do it! Just keep putting on foot in front of the other."
I had no doubt that I could do it. I don't think I've ever had any doubt that I could do it (finish a run that I started). I guess I must look old, tired or too fat. That has to be why people say things like that to me. BECAUSE they do. This is not the first time. I never cease to be surprised when it happens though. I try to assess what I must look like. I wonder if my face looks pained or strained, if my gait looks shuffled or awkward.
Sometimes people have offered that kind of encouragement to me while I've been in the midst of a 15 miler. I laugh inwardly thinking, if they only knew.
Sometimes I want to make a snotty remark, but then, nothing is gained by that kind of negative energy. And they mean well.
I guess I need to lose some more weight and then see if I get remarks like that.
Motivation to get 20 pounds off.
For some reason I am tired today though. When I am tired, sometimes I lose my discipline.
Oops. I have to confess. I just ate three cookie bars from the refrigerator. Yesterday I had an ice cream cone, followed by a piece of fudge. Does it count if I through the rest of the fudge in the trash? Several pieces? The day before that I had a thin slice of chocolate cake with ice cream - my niece had made it about a week before and I found it in my sister's basement refrigerator. It wasn't even fresh anymore. The cake, the fudge, the ice cream....none of those really even tasted good. The cookie bars did though. They are the classic cookie bars that my mother makes as comfort goodies for all our family get together.
So what's up with my behavior? I need to figure this out. I just signed up for a weight loss challenge, under the pseudonym of a body transformation challenge, and here I go sabotaging the effort before I even get started.
Well, I am going to be honest about this kind of thing and see if I can't figure this out. I do agree I am tired. I've had nightmares (or stress dreams, I guess, if those qualify as nightmares) two nights in a row. I think that the stress of being back here in Iowa and taking care of my sister....and the issues my aging parents are having, are starting to wear on me.
What to do? I need to get a handle on this.
I had no doubt that I could do it. I don't think I've ever had any doubt that I could do it (finish a run that I started). I guess I must look old, tired or too fat. That has to be why people say things like that to me. BECAUSE they do. This is not the first time. I never cease to be surprised when it happens though. I try to assess what I must look like. I wonder if my face looks pained or strained, if my gait looks shuffled or awkward.
Sometimes people have offered that kind of encouragement to me while I've been in the midst of a 15 miler. I laugh inwardly thinking, if they only knew.
Sometimes I want to make a snotty remark, but then, nothing is gained by that kind of negative energy. And they mean well.
I guess I need to lose some more weight and then see if I get remarks like that.
Motivation to get 20 pounds off.
For some reason I am tired today though. When I am tired, sometimes I lose my discipline.
Oops. I have to confess. I just ate three cookie bars from the refrigerator. Yesterday I had an ice cream cone, followed by a piece of fudge. Does it count if I through the rest of the fudge in the trash? Several pieces? The day before that I had a thin slice of chocolate cake with ice cream - my niece had made it about a week before and I found it in my sister's basement refrigerator. It wasn't even fresh anymore. The cake, the fudge, the ice cream....none of those really even tasted good. The cookie bars did though. They are the classic cookie bars that my mother makes as comfort goodies for all our family get together.
So what's up with my behavior? I need to figure this out. I just signed up for a weight loss challenge, under the pseudonym of a body transformation challenge, and here I go sabotaging the effort before I even get started.
Well, I am going to be honest about this kind of thing and see if I can't figure this out. I do agree I am tired. I've had nightmares (or stress dreams, I guess, if those qualify as nightmares) two nights in a row. I think that the stress of being back here in Iowa and taking care of my sister....and the issues my aging parents are having, are starting to wear on me.
What to do? I need to get a handle on this.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Body Transformation Challenge
I just signed up for the Body Transformation Challenge in Fairfield, Iowa. Fairfield is where I grew up and where all my siblings and folks still live. I am here indefinitely, staying days with my sister who has Stage 4 cancer. I talked about that a bit in the last post.
I think part of why I am so aware of my physical well being is because of my sister's health. Also, because my best friend dating back to Junior High School, died of cancer a couple years ago. It was when I flew to Houston to see her, when she was still doing well and still working, that I was introduced to the idea that what we eat really does make a difference to our health, particularly in regard to chronic diseases and cancer. My friend had told me not to consume any dairy products that weren't organic, and to ensure my daughter did the same. Her oncologist had told her that when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years earlier. But now it was back - metastasized. Breast cancer ran in my mother's side of the family.
I started making changes then. I'd always been a runner, but now I started thinking and reading more about nutrition.
So, I've been contemplating going for a 50 miler and losing 20-30 pounds.
When a lady handed me a piece of paper containing information about the Jefferson County Park and Recreation Body Transformation Challenge, I felt it was fortuitous. Why shy away from a public contest that would add the support (and pressure) of the group/the public to help me lose that weight, or some of it. I've been stuck at where I am for a couple of years now.
So if what you are doing isn't working, try something else.
So I signed up.
Weigh in is between Sept 2-6, with photographs. Ugh. :) The contest is up right before Thanksgiving. That is good timing too, don't you think?
So I am going for it.
I think part of why I am so aware of my physical well being is because of my sister's health. Also, because my best friend dating back to Junior High School, died of cancer a couple years ago. It was when I flew to Houston to see her, when she was still doing well and still working, that I was introduced to the idea that what we eat really does make a difference to our health, particularly in regard to chronic diseases and cancer. My friend had told me not to consume any dairy products that weren't organic, and to ensure my daughter did the same. Her oncologist had told her that when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years earlier. But now it was back - metastasized. Breast cancer ran in my mother's side of the family.
I started making changes then. I'd always been a runner, but now I started thinking and reading more about nutrition.
So, I've been contemplating going for a 50 miler and losing 20-30 pounds.
When a lady handed me a piece of paper containing information about the Jefferson County Park and Recreation Body Transformation Challenge, I felt it was fortuitous. Why shy away from a public contest that would add the support (and pressure) of the group/the public to help me lose that weight, or some of it. I've been stuck at where I am for a couple of years now.
So if what you are doing isn't working, try something else.
So I signed up.
Weigh in is between Sept 2-6, with photographs. Ugh. :) The contest is up right before Thanksgiving. That is good timing too, don't you think?
So I am going for it.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Ramping Up for 50 Miler
I have been absent here since February. I have been absent in a lot of ways since February. I totally changed my life. My husband and I sold our house and gave away everything in it to our kids or to thrift shops. We got rid of our vehicles and lawn care equipment. We'd bought a 38 foot toy hauler 5th wheel and a dually, 6 speed manual Dodge diesel puller. Those two items now make up our home.
But to top that off, I ended up quitting my job, not with the two month notice I'd given (though I'd been honest about my plans and shared my progress with my bosses for the previous 6 months), I ended up leaving within 2 days (with their good wishes) when my mother was deathly ill, along with my older sister having stage 4 cancer. I have two other sisters who live near them. They all live in Iowa and I lived in Maryland. Those other two sisters were exhausted from trying to care for both. So that is why I left for Iowa with two days notice. I drove straight through (still had a Vette which we since gave to one of our sons) to the University of Iowa hospital, where my mother had taken a turn for the better while enroute. Two days later I was able to take her to her home and after two weeks, she was pretty much over the hump.
Then I switched care to my older sister. I'd planned to return to Maryland to tie up loose ends and help my husband move the RV to Iowa but on the day I was to leave, my brother-in-law called in hospice for my sister. People often wait too long to call in hospice and the family all struggles trying to care for the sick member and each other. I just couldn't get back in my car and drive away at that time.
So I stayed. I lived with my parents at night and spent the days with my sister. She could still be at home but not left alone for very long. She was not in pain and was still mobile. We went for rides in the car to parks and just out exploring, we put puzzles together, and eventually she started scrap booking (to get memories organized for her 5 kids) and I started sewing. We had a nice little routine going.
During those couple of months, I planned to run the 16 mile bike trail around the town of Fairfield where nearly all of my side of the family lives.
Yeah. You bet I got it done. I was a hurting pup when I finished it, but I did every step of it. My husband rode his bike alongside. He is so awesome to me. He'd joined me with the RV in April sometime and we'd set it up on one of my other sister's farms since no campgrounds
were open until the end of May.
Despite my best intentions, I started falling off with the exercise and more importantly, my eating discipline while in Iowa. Did you know that they deep fat fry nearly everything in little towns like this in the midwest? And staying in the RV, set up on the farm really didn't make for easy cooking of my own; we were over run by ants for a while, we had flies everywhere, knats, the nearby smell of a hog confinement barn, then the smell of hog waste spread on the nearby fields....and I would come back to the RV after sometimes 12 hour days with my sister. And while with my sister, there was virtually nothing healthy ever in the fridge. And lots of comfort foods brought in the house. Lots of different kinds of ice cream. Lots of cakes. Lots of chocolate and other candy. Yikes. I succumbed. Tired and upset. Burnt out.
Exhausted.
So that is my whaaaaaaa, whaaaaa story. And it turned into a breakdown of sorts. I was crying nearly every day, sometimes three times a day. My daughter, back in Maryland, who is tuned into me, and me to her, despite the miles, became upset about my state of mind. She was homesick for me, and me for her, and she was feeling left behind. With just having sold the beautiful home we'd lived in for over ten years, she was processing that, but was ok because we had her house sitting for a friend who was in Florida for the winter. When that friend came back, our daughter didn't feel comfortable with her house anymore - 40 years age difference. With my breaking down everyday, and our daughter feeling homeless, we decided to return to Maryland for a few weeks, with the RV. Initially I was going to send my husband back, with the RV, to help our daughter. I was going to stay with my folks for that time period. But when talking to the hospice bereavement counselor, he told me not to be left behind. He was right. I think I'd have become no good to anyone if that had happened.
So I went back. Friends of my sister, along with a couple family members, created a schedule to stay with her while I was gone. While gone, I had surgery, something that I had scheduled months earlier but had postponed twice due to my mother and my sister's illnesses.
Now I am back in Iowa caring for my sister after a two month absence. I am back to running, hiking, and now we are even kayaking, having purchased two kayaks while on the East Coast. But I can tell my endurance is not what it was, and of course, my weight, from all that nasty fried food and desserts, is up. Oh, and I should admit I started drinking dark beers. Talk about calories. I think I will go back to wine. Red, red wine.
I have a NUTRiBULLETt now, and my normal morning routine is this:
I have a glass of water with a half-squeezed fresh lemon in it and a few shakes of cayenne pepper spice. I warm the glass a bit in the microwave and drink it down. That is what "Food Babe" prescribes as a way to rid the body of environmental and lifestyle toxins. It feels calming, serene to me. I nice way to start the day. Then I go for a run or a walk/hike with my camera. Then I put stuff in the NUTRiBULLET, drink it down though leaving it just almost chunky so that, as Food Babe advises, there is some chewing action going on to get the digestive enzymes going.
My NUTRiBULLET use is relatively new. I had bought one (and a dehydrator for thru-hiking food) before selling our house, but had not really gotten started using it. While in Maryland, we'd put the RV on a friend's farm (no pigs, no flies, no knats, no ants) but even so, we stayed in the nine chimney, 1790's era manse the entire time. I'd brought the NUTRiBULLET into the house. Our hosts liked it so we left it with them. I bought another one in Iowa. Yeah, at Walmart. Side story: I've been in Walmart more in my time in Iowa since March 2014 than in the last 30 years. Yeah.
Anyway, so far I've been loading the NUTRiBULLET with kale, some arugula, and whatever else I have handy for veggies. Then some fruit. After a while I started putting some nuts in there, walnuts or pecans. Upon visiting an Amish store in Cantril, Iowa, I bought flax seed and am using it too. I plan to vary what I eat. The NUTRiBULLET has taken over what I used to do for breakfast on the norm (when not eating diner food in Iowa) which was a couple boiled eggs and a piece of fruit and coffee.
As I write this now, like a big dummy, I did neither the water/lemon/cayenne this morning, nor the NUTRiBULLET. Why? Because we just started house sitting, which will be for a couple weeks, in Iowa, at a house next door to my parents, no less. My lemons, cayenne, fresh veggies and all are in the RV, parked in the driveway. I am in my PJs while writing this and don't want to get dressed yet to go out to the RV to get my stuff. Also, I don't want my folks, who are probably sitting on their front porch, to see me. I don't feel like engaging them yet today (it is Sunday morning).
Since back in Iowa, almost one week now, I know I need to set better boundaries than I had last time I was here as a care giver. And those boundaries include not only eating healthier, getting more regular exercise, but also having my necessary privacy. My folks have called early in the morning three times this past week, and again this morning. I've not answered. If anyone knocks on the door, I don't plan to answer. Everyone's intentions are good. But I need more quiet time.
So, this is a long blog. After a long absence. And a long introduction to my intentions to ramp up for a 50 mile run. Along the way towards the ramp up, I will take off 20 pounds. At that time, I will assess whether another 10 should come off. I am not sure what I weigh now. Afraid to look. It is such a downer. But I know I have extra blubber that I don't want or need. My sister (the one who is healthy and whose farm our RV was parked on from April to June) weighs between 134 and 138 always. She is careful to stay there. She doesn't really exercise though, nor eat particularly healthy, just calorie watching, I think. But she has the same physique that I have, so I know I wouldn't look skinny with 20 to 30 pounds less. So there is my confession of about how much I THINK I weigh. Yeah. Scary for contemplating a 50 miler. And scary that I ran 16 miles just about three months ago.
And amazing. Yes. I am amazing. I am not going to beat myself up. I am going to get it all done. Take good care of myself.
But to top that off, I ended up quitting my job, not with the two month notice I'd given (though I'd been honest about my plans and shared my progress with my bosses for the previous 6 months), I ended up leaving within 2 days (with their good wishes) when my mother was deathly ill, along with my older sister having stage 4 cancer. I have two other sisters who live near them. They all live in Iowa and I lived in Maryland. Those other two sisters were exhausted from trying to care for both. So that is why I left for Iowa with two days notice. I drove straight through (still had a Vette which we since gave to one of our sons) to the University of Iowa hospital, where my mother had taken a turn for the better while enroute. Two days later I was able to take her to her home and after two weeks, she was pretty much over the hump.
Then I switched care to my older sister. I'd planned to return to Maryland to tie up loose ends and help my husband move the RV to Iowa but on the day I was to leave, my brother-in-law called in hospice for my sister. People often wait too long to call in hospice and the family all struggles trying to care for the sick member and each other. I just couldn't get back in my car and drive away at that time.
So I stayed. I lived with my parents at night and spent the days with my sister. She could still be at home but not left alone for very long. She was not in pain and was still mobile. We went for rides in the car to parks and just out exploring, we put puzzles together, and eventually she started scrap booking (to get memories organized for her 5 kids) and I started sewing. We had a nice little routine going.
During those couple of months, I planned to run the 16 mile bike trail around the town of Fairfield where nearly all of my side of the family lives.
Yeah. You bet I got it done. I was a hurting pup when I finished it, but I did every step of it. My husband rode his bike alongside. He is so awesome to me. He'd joined me with the RV in April sometime and we'd set it up on one of my other sister's farms since no campgrounds
were open until the end of May.
Despite my best intentions, I started falling off with the exercise and more importantly, my eating discipline while in Iowa. Did you know that they deep fat fry nearly everything in little towns like this in the midwest? And staying in the RV, set up on the farm really didn't make for easy cooking of my own; we were over run by ants for a while, we had flies everywhere, knats, the nearby smell of a hog confinement barn, then the smell of hog waste spread on the nearby fields....and I would come back to the RV after sometimes 12 hour days with my sister. And while with my sister, there was virtually nothing healthy ever in the fridge. And lots of comfort foods brought in the house. Lots of different kinds of ice cream. Lots of cakes. Lots of chocolate and other candy. Yikes. I succumbed. Tired and upset. Burnt out.
Exhausted.
So that is my whaaaaaaa, whaaaaa story. And it turned into a breakdown of sorts. I was crying nearly every day, sometimes three times a day. My daughter, back in Maryland, who is tuned into me, and me to her, despite the miles, became upset about my state of mind. She was homesick for me, and me for her, and she was feeling left behind. With just having sold the beautiful home we'd lived in for over ten years, she was processing that, but was ok because we had her house sitting for a friend who was in Florida for the winter. When that friend came back, our daughter didn't feel comfortable with her house anymore - 40 years age difference. With my breaking down everyday, and our daughter feeling homeless, we decided to return to Maryland for a few weeks, with the RV. Initially I was going to send my husband back, with the RV, to help our daughter. I was going to stay with my folks for that time period. But when talking to the hospice bereavement counselor, he told me not to be left behind. He was right. I think I'd have become no good to anyone if that had happened.
So I went back. Friends of my sister, along with a couple family members, created a schedule to stay with her while I was gone. While gone, I had surgery, something that I had scheduled months earlier but had postponed twice due to my mother and my sister's illnesses.
Now I am back in Iowa caring for my sister after a two month absence. I am back to running, hiking, and now we are even kayaking, having purchased two kayaks while on the East Coast. But I can tell my endurance is not what it was, and of course, my weight, from all that nasty fried food and desserts, is up. Oh, and I should admit I started drinking dark beers. Talk about calories. I think I will go back to wine. Red, red wine.
I have a NUTRiBULLETt now, and my normal morning routine is this:
I have a glass of water with a half-squeezed fresh lemon in it and a few shakes of cayenne pepper spice. I warm the glass a bit in the microwave and drink it down. That is what "Food Babe" prescribes as a way to rid the body of environmental and lifestyle toxins. It feels calming, serene to me. I nice way to start the day. Then I go for a run or a walk/hike with my camera. Then I put stuff in the NUTRiBULLET, drink it down though leaving it just almost chunky so that, as Food Babe advises, there is some chewing action going on to get the digestive enzymes going.
My NUTRiBULLET use is relatively new. I had bought one (and a dehydrator for thru-hiking food) before selling our house, but had not really gotten started using it. While in Maryland, we'd put the RV on a friend's farm (no pigs, no flies, no knats, no ants) but even so, we stayed in the nine chimney, 1790's era manse the entire time. I'd brought the NUTRiBULLET into the house. Our hosts liked it so we left it with them. I bought another one in Iowa. Yeah, at Walmart. Side story: I've been in Walmart more in my time in Iowa since March 2014 than in the last 30 years. Yeah.
Anyway, so far I've been loading the NUTRiBULLET with kale, some arugula, and whatever else I have handy for veggies. Then some fruit. After a while I started putting some nuts in there, walnuts or pecans. Upon visiting an Amish store in Cantril, Iowa, I bought flax seed and am using it too. I plan to vary what I eat. The NUTRiBULLET has taken over what I used to do for breakfast on the norm (when not eating diner food in Iowa) which was a couple boiled eggs and a piece of fruit and coffee.
As I write this now, like a big dummy, I did neither the water/lemon/cayenne this morning, nor the NUTRiBULLET. Why? Because we just started house sitting, which will be for a couple weeks, in Iowa, at a house next door to my parents, no less. My lemons, cayenne, fresh veggies and all are in the RV, parked in the driveway. I am in my PJs while writing this and don't want to get dressed yet to go out to the RV to get my stuff. Also, I don't want my folks, who are probably sitting on their front porch, to see me. I don't feel like engaging them yet today (it is Sunday morning).
Since back in Iowa, almost one week now, I know I need to set better boundaries than I had last time I was here as a care giver. And those boundaries include not only eating healthier, getting more regular exercise, but also having my necessary privacy. My folks have called early in the morning three times this past week, and again this morning. I've not answered. If anyone knocks on the door, I don't plan to answer. Everyone's intentions are good. But I need more quiet time.
So, this is a long blog. After a long absence. And a long introduction to my intentions to ramp up for a 50 mile run. Along the way towards the ramp up, I will take off 20 pounds. At that time, I will assess whether another 10 should come off. I am not sure what I weigh now. Afraid to look. It is such a downer. But I know I have extra blubber that I don't want or need. My sister (the one who is healthy and whose farm our RV was parked on from April to June) weighs between 134 and 138 always. She is careful to stay there. She doesn't really exercise though, nor eat particularly healthy, just calorie watching, I think. But she has the same physique that I have, so I know I wouldn't look skinny with 20 to 30 pounds less. So there is my confession of about how much I THINK I weigh. Yeah. Scary for contemplating a 50 miler. And scary that I ran 16 miles just about three months ago.
And amazing. Yes. I am amazing. I am not going to beat myself up. I am going to get it all done. Take good care of myself.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Cupid's Undie Run
The Cupid's Undie Run, February 15th, is really just a drinking event for charity, with a short little run to make it interesting. The run was probably less than a mile. The drinking event consisted of two bars in Washington, DC, near Capitol Hill and the Marine Corps Barracks. The bars were about 25 feet apart and only runners (ahem, runners, really?) with wrist bands showing they paid, were allowed into these two bars.
I ended up being the highest fundraiser for our team, Booz Boxers, and that didn't even count the other donations that friends and colleagues made accidentally to other team members. Not that I care that they donated to other team members. I hate soliciting and only did it to help out the team captain, and because it was for a good cause: The Children's Tumor Foundation. But really, there are SO MANY GOOD CAUSES out there that we get solicited for so I hate doing that. I'm good at it though, I admit.
I should work for some foundation. When I get into it, I really get the enthusiasm going. What helped with my donations, I believe, is that I'm older (almost 55) and this run (drinking event) is actually more for the 20's and 30-somethings.
So I came up with a costume that wouldn't show my old lady-ness: a full body unitard, flesh colored, wearing a white pillow slip pinned around my butt like a baby's diaper, and white feather wings on my back, and a red plastic bow and arrow. All but the diapers were bought on Amazon.com. Love Amazon.com. Hate shopping in malls or stores physically, but LOVE perusing Amazon. OK, got off the subject there a bit.
Back to the Cupids Undie Run. I think I was able to raise decent money because I posted pictures of me in my costume just a few days before. I did this on Facebook and sent some via email to colleagues.
It was snowing/sleeting the day of the race, and quite a bit leading up to the race so we were a bit challenged getting there, but as I like to make LemonAid out of lemons, we did snow angles along the run route. That was exhilarating. Hell, the entire run was exhilarating. It was cold. Yes. We were drunk. Yes. Not exactly a fitness event. But then, they plan the run for a cold month, plan it so the costume is your bee vee dee's, your next-to-nothings, and put you in bars for about 2 hours after the last opportunity sign-in to get your wrist bands and there is nothing to do in those NICE WARM BARs but drink and see the freak show. Pretty cool.
I ended up being the highest fundraiser for our team, Booz Boxers, and that didn't even count the other donations that friends and colleagues made accidentally to other team members. Not that I care that they donated to other team members. I hate soliciting and only did it to help out the team captain, and because it was for a good cause: The Children's Tumor Foundation. But really, there are SO MANY GOOD CAUSES out there that we get solicited for so I hate doing that. I'm good at it though, I admit.
I should work for some foundation. When I get into it, I really get the enthusiasm going. What helped with my donations, I believe, is that I'm older (almost 55) and this run (drinking event) is actually more for the 20's and 30-somethings.
So I came up with a costume that wouldn't show my old lady-ness: a full body unitard, flesh colored, wearing a white pillow slip pinned around my butt like a baby's diaper, and white feather wings on my back, and a red plastic bow and arrow. All but the diapers were bought on Amazon.com. Love Amazon.com. Hate shopping in malls or stores physically, but LOVE perusing Amazon. OK, got off the subject there a bit.
Back to the Cupids Undie Run. I think I was able to raise decent money because I posted pictures of me in my costume just a few days before. I did this on Facebook and sent some via email to colleagues.
It was snowing/sleeting the day of the race, and quite a bit leading up to the race so we were a bit challenged getting there, but as I like to make LemonAid out of lemons, we did snow angles along the run route. That was exhilarating. Hell, the entire run was exhilarating. It was cold. Yes. We were drunk. Yes. Not exactly a fitness event. But then, they plan the run for a cold month, plan it so the costume is your bee vee dee's, your next-to-nothings, and put you in bars for about 2 hours after the last opportunity sign-in to get your wrist bands and there is nothing to do in those NICE WARM BARs but drink and see the freak show. Pretty cool.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Progress Report
Just got back from a weekend trip where I did a lot of forking off. But Sunday morning, I got back on the program and am already feeling better.
Here's my status from my commitments listed in my last post.
I looked at the Insanity recipes and meal plans and discarded it. It uses too many processed foods for my taste. Not as many as most Americans probably eat, but too many for me. Also, it is not Paleo and I'm mostly a Paleo girl these days. Many people don't think of breads and pastas as 'processed' foods, but they are. I almost never do breads of any kind unless I'm cheating. It's as if my body is allergic to them but not in the traditional sense of getting rashes or other aches or pains. Just fat. That's what happens to me when I eat breads and pastas. I get fat. And hey, that's why I put so much weight on over the holidays. Too much cheating with the processed foods.
I have started eating more salads for dinner again. Today I'm making butternut squash soup. I'm using all fresh ingredients. Some of the ingredients were frozen, but purchased fresh. Yippy! It will taste good tonight. I am using up stuff in the freezer since we are a few weeks out from moving into an RV with a tiny fridge and even tinier freezer.
I am drinking more hot tea in the evening instead of a glass of wine, though when we go out to dinner, I'm still having that glass...or two. This was not a commitment listed in the last post, but one that I think is the right thing to do. Hot tea, especially on cold nights, is soothing. I've learned that I can't do it in the morning though on an empty stomach....or maybe it was that particular brand. For some reason it gave me a slightly nauseous feeling, like I get when I take a vitamin on an empty stomach.
I started the 100 pushup challenge and on the third day I pulled something in my right side and it was painful enough to be a conscious thing for a couple of days, and still mumbling to me a week later at night when I'd roll over in bed. But as of this last Monday, I started again, and now I am bracing my stomach more when I do the pushups. I learned that from the Insanity workout tape my daughter and I did a while back. They talked about tightening up the core, and I don't think they just meant tightening it up by exercising it. They meant tightening it up while exercising. I think that will keep me from pulling something if that makes any sense. Pulling that muscle or straining something, whatever I did,
made me feel old. I almost never, in my life time, have had things like that happen to me. I've always felt I was nearly invincible. Not that I always thought I was strong or fast or that kind of thing. But that I almost never had injuries like all the elite athletes get from training so hard. I have always been a plodder. I get the job, I persevere. I'm still there working out years after others revel in their glory days.
Here's my status from my commitments listed in my last post.
I looked at the Insanity recipes and meal plans and discarded it. It uses too many processed foods for my taste. Not as many as most Americans probably eat, but too many for me. Also, it is not Paleo and I'm mostly a Paleo girl these days. Many people don't think of breads and pastas as 'processed' foods, but they are. I almost never do breads of any kind unless I'm cheating. It's as if my body is allergic to them but not in the traditional sense of getting rashes or other aches or pains. Just fat. That's what happens to me when I eat breads and pastas. I get fat. And hey, that's why I put so much weight on over the holidays. Too much cheating with the processed foods.
I have started eating more salads for dinner again. Today I'm making butternut squash soup. I'm using all fresh ingredients. Some of the ingredients were frozen, but purchased fresh. Yippy! It will taste good tonight. I am using up stuff in the freezer since we are a few weeks out from moving into an RV with a tiny fridge and even tinier freezer.
I am drinking more hot tea in the evening instead of a glass of wine, though when we go out to dinner, I'm still having that glass...or two. This was not a commitment listed in the last post, but one that I think is the right thing to do. Hot tea, especially on cold nights, is soothing. I've learned that I can't do it in the morning though on an empty stomach....or maybe it was that particular brand. For some reason it gave me a slightly nauseous feeling, like I get when I take a vitamin on an empty stomach.
I started the 100 pushup challenge and on the third day I pulled something in my right side and it was painful enough to be a conscious thing for a couple of days, and still mumbling to me a week later at night when I'd roll over in bed. But as of this last Monday, I started again, and now I am bracing my stomach more when I do the pushups. I learned that from the Insanity workout tape my daughter and I did a while back. They talked about tightening up the core, and I don't think they just meant tightening it up by exercising it. They meant tightening it up while exercising. I think that will keep me from pulling something if that makes any sense. Pulling that muscle or straining something, whatever I did,
made me feel old. I almost never, in my life time, have had things like that happen to me. I've always felt I was nearly invincible. Not that I always thought I was strong or fast or that kind of thing. But that I almost never had injuries like all the elite athletes get from training so hard. I have always been a plodder. I get the job, I persevere. I'm still there working out years after others revel in their glory days.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
No Loose-y Goose-y Goals
OK. I can see I was too loosey goosey with my plans in the last post. And no, that isn't cutting it.
Here's the deal:
Tonight: I am going to boil eggs for breakfast the rest of the week.
Tonight: I am going to find the Insanity recipe/eating guide that my daughter bought and study it. Speaking of Insanity, I did the level one Insanity work out with my daughter last Friday and my calves hurt more than since I was in Airborne School in the Army as a 22 year old. I think maybe I even hurt worse than after my 50K. I guess that would be good advertising for Insanity, huh?
Tonight: I will have a light salad for dinner.
Tonight: I am going to buy fresh veggies and roast them for lunches and dinners and research recipes for green smoothies/juices.
Yesterday I started the 100 pushups program and printed it out and put it on my board at work. I am checking each set off, and each day, so I'll stick with that.
Tomorrow: I will check back in with you on my progress. I need to keep myself on this program.
I signed up to do a one mile run in DC on the 15th of February; the Cupid's Undie Run which raises money for the Children's Tumor Foundation. I committed to running in a nude body suit wearing not much else but Depends, wings, and carrying a bow and arrow. I'll wear running shoes, of course. But with all the weight I put on over Christmas, I am not feeling good about my weight, have rolls and blubber when I lean forward, and a general bloated belly when I lean back. My butt and thighs, and arms feel bigger and almost none of my clothes fit. Yuck. I hate this feeling. I haven't been this big and out of shape in about two years.
And just think, I ran a 50K in November. And I want to stretch out my distance to a 70.3 in June.
Here's the deal:
Tonight: I am going to boil eggs for breakfast the rest of the week.
Tonight: I am going to find the Insanity recipe/eating guide that my daughter bought and study it. Speaking of Insanity, I did the level one Insanity work out with my daughter last Friday and my calves hurt more than since I was in Airborne School in the Army as a 22 year old. I think maybe I even hurt worse than after my 50K. I guess that would be good advertising for Insanity, huh?
Tonight: I will have a light salad for dinner.
Tonight: I am going to buy fresh veggies and roast them for lunches and dinners and research recipes for green smoothies/juices.
Yesterday I started the 100 pushups program and printed it out and put it on my board at work. I am checking each set off, and each day, so I'll stick with that.
Tomorrow: I will check back in with you on my progress. I need to keep myself on this program.
I signed up to do a one mile run in DC on the 15th of February; the Cupid's Undie Run which raises money for the Children's Tumor Foundation. I committed to running in a nude body suit wearing not much else but Depends, wings, and carrying a bow and arrow. I'll wear running shoes, of course. But with all the weight I put on over Christmas, I am not feeling good about my weight, have rolls and blubber when I lean forward, and a general bloated belly when I lean back. My butt and thighs, and arms feel bigger and almost none of my clothes fit. Yuck. I hate this feeling. I haven't been this big and out of shape in about two years.
And just think, I ran a 50K in November. And I want to stretch out my distance to a 70.3 in June.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
140 & Swearing Off Sugar
Yes, I am writing "140" on my palms and have it written on my dry erase board at work.
Why?
Because that is what I want to weigh eventually. I haven't given myself a deadline yet, but I do have a plan to get down about 10 pounds over the next month or so. I want to get back, at least to where I was pre-holiday, by Valentine's Day. I don't know what I weighed pre-holiday since I don't normally weigh myself. But I will know by how my clothes fit.
Right now I am about ready to bust out of my beloved NorthFace double lined, waterproof, winter hiking pants....and we can't have that.
I also read some of Food Babe's advise. One of her "rules" was to swear off sugar. To just do it. So I did. I won't be taking the ice cream maker, granite slab for making fudge, and my big-assed KitchenAid with me in the 5th Wheel when we pop smoke in a couple of months. I don't like how I feel when I'm fat. It adds to the stress.
So I choose to be thin. I choose the lifestyle of a runner, an athlete, a slender, fit person. Yes. I choose that. I will be that.
Why?
Because that is what I want to weigh eventually. I haven't given myself a deadline yet, but I do have a plan to get down about 10 pounds over the next month or so. I want to get back, at least to where I was pre-holiday, by Valentine's Day. I don't know what I weighed pre-holiday since I don't normally weigh myself. But I will know by how my clothes fit.
Right now I am about ready to bust out of my beloved NorthFace double lined, waterproof, winter hiking pants....and we can't have that.
I also read some of Food Babe's advise. One of her "rules" was to swear off sugar. To just do it. So I did. I won't be taking the ice cream maker, granite slab for making fudge, and my big-assed KitchenAid with me in the 5th Wheel when we pop smoke in a couple of months. I don't like how I feel when I'm fat. It adds to the stress.
So I choose to be thin. I choose the lifestyle of a runner, an athlete, a slender, fit person. Yes. I choose that. I will be that.
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