Feeding Company

A brief conversation with Karyl over at Big Girls Gotta Eat got me thinking today, so I thought I’d share.

She’s attempting the Paleo way of eating as well and in one of her posts, she mentioned cooking for company.  It got me thinking – what do you do when someone comes to visit?  Do you cook what you think/know they’ll enjoy? Or do you stick with what you’re trying to do for yourself?

On the one hand, it might seem selfish to cook what you need to eat rather than make something that’s traditionally served when friends/family come over.  On the other, what if you use this opportunity as a chance to show others how eating better can be so delicious?

This past weekend, we picked up an extra kid – our nephew, who literally just turned 8 (as in, today!).  We’ll call him Gavin.  Gavin lives with his dad (my brother-in-law) and they are quite the bachelor duo.  Lots of processed foods in their home.  Let’s just say I once witnessed him eating Lays BBQ chips and drinking a DrPepper.  For breakfast.

I’d always joked that if Gavin came to stay with us, it would be like a week of detox for him!  No soda, no chips, no candy, minimal sugar, lots of fruits and veggies!  What on earth would happen to him? How would he react?

This past Saturday, we were meeting with Gavin, our middle son Ryan and my mother-in-law for lunch. Ryan had been with her for two weeks and we were meeting near a midway point for us to get him back. At the end of lunch, Gavin decided he wanted to come stay with us for a while.

I was not prepared for this at all!

My first instinct was to go to the store and buy some things to make him comfortable – maybe some soda and chips, some chocolate chip waffles?  And then it hit me.  We don’t need to support the bad food choices he’s been making (or had made for him).  Instead, I decided to show him how yummy good food can be.

The first night, I made hamburgers. I threw mushrooms, onion, garlic and cilantro into my mini-prep and chopped them up before adding them to the ground beef and making patties.  I served the burgers with sweet potato fries.  He wasn’t a fan of the fries, but he chowed down on that burger!

I’ve been going with that method since then.  I serve him what we’re eating and let him eat what he wants.  And you know what?  He’s trying a lot of new foods. No pressure.  He’s even discovered he loves almond milk! 

Today, however, is his birthday, so I let him pick what would be for dinner and dessert.

We’re having pizza and chocolate cake.  Dominos Pizza.  Good ol’ Betty Crocker cake mix with vanilla icing.  I considered making these things myself – making the healthier versions, etc – but I think everyone should get to splurge on their birthday.  God knows I do it every year!

Stats Update

As promised… here we go:

Weight: 238.6lbs (+2lbs)

Waist: 49.0″ (-0.5″)

Chest: 44.0″ (no change)

Hips: 49.0″ (-1.0″ ???)

Right thigh: 23.5″ (no change)

——

So… Interesting. 

Up 2 pounds, but some good changes elsewhere.  I’m attributing that to continuing to move more, even if it hasn’t been scheduled exercise. I still park at the other end of the lot at work and walk in.  I’m still more active in the AM than I used to be at home. The “hip” measurement cracked me up.  A good portion of my “hips” when I measure is actually overhang belly fat.  So… perhaps this means the gut is shrinking a bit?  (If I was to measure under the belly, ya’ll would think I was a skinny mini, if you saw no other measurements.  I have no backside, no hips.)

I think I’ll hit the gym tonight, if my husband is up for it.  He’s off work tonight, so he’s going to spend part of his day trying to repair our fence.  He may be exhausted.  At the very least, we’ll hit the pool. If we do that… I’ll walk there. 🙂

Eye on…what?

Oh, hey. It’s me again.  Anyone still around??

I haven’t posted in almost two weeks.  That’s bad.  I think it’s been akin to not wanting to get on the scale at the doctor’s office because I don’t want to get berated for not doing what I should. 

On Monday, July 9th, I threw out my back.  I’d had a nice, vigorous workout the day before at the gym, and then somehow I threw out my back by drying off after my shower.  Yeah.  I didn’t believe it at first, either.  I tried to fight it.  After about 2 minutes, I just had to lie on the bed and wait for my husband.  Oh my gosh, I was in so much pain. 

Halfway through the day, I thought I’d suck it up and get up – the naproxen I’d taken was helping and I thought, “oh, I’m being a wimp. Gotta get my wimp ass out of bed and go help the sitter with the boys.”

I literally couldn’t carry their food from the freezer in the garage back into the house.  I had to call uncle and hand the pizza to the sitter.  I tried to sit on the couch for a bit, but that was too painful, so I went back to bed.

I spent most of Mon in bed.  Then I went to work for 1/2 a day on Tues…came home around 1pm and slept through most of Wed.  Literally.  From Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday night, I’d slept roughly 18 hours. 

By Thursday, I was feeling MUCH better, but still taking it easy.  Thursday night, I played around on the Wii a little bit.  My step counts were horrible for the week and I was trying to do anything to not completely backslide again.

Saturday, we went to the pool and played around at home.  I got in 10,314 steps that day, so I felt pretty dang good. (I also killed one of my pedometers by walking right into the dang pool with it on! Thankfully they gave us two!)

Yesterday, we went to a local fair of sorts – a “Taste of” deal where restaurants and food vendors sell you samples and give out freebies.  We came home with about a dozen small bottles of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (yum!) and drank more Yakult and McDonald’s smoothie samples than anyone ever should (but it was HOT and those were FREE!!). I also raked in a total of 13,608 steps yesterday.  Finally.

My scale numbers, however, have me completely confused. I know I’m having issues with bloating off and on and that’s not helping.  One day the scale says I’m back up to 241lbs, the next it says I’m back down around 237.

The bottom line?  I’m sick of bouncing around in the same area – a set of numbers not that far below my original weight of 245lbs.

I need to get it together.  I need to get back to counting calories, hitting the gym more, etc.  Yes, I need to be careful with my back, but I don’t want to stall out.

 

My husband and I are going on vacation next week. I’m crazy excited!  A whole week WITHOUT ANY CHILDREN. 🙂  Yes, I love my kids, but we both need a break.  Our oldest is headed to camp and the younger two are each going to a grandma’s for the week. 

Last time Rick and I went on vacation together was our honeymoon last year.  We went to Jamaica – all-inclusive, Sandals resort.  We ate and drank and slept and lounged and ate some more.  I left for that trip at my lowest weight in years – 214lbs.  We came back and just got lax and lazy.  We didn’t go to the gym as often, we had gotten accustomed to eating whatever and drinking more than we normally did.  I gained over 30lbs in the past year.  Not good.

In an attempt to not let this vacation turn into a repeat of last year (because, honestly, I can’t afford that, physically!!), I’ve tried to plan some ACTIVE “activities”.

We’re hitting a concert Sunday night locally.  Monday, I have to work – dangit.  I used more days this year than I’d planned and still have a couple I need to use in the future, so I’m just taking off 4 days from work.

Tuesday morning, we have some appointments in town…then we’re headed to San Antonio.  Our hotel is walking distance to just about everything – we will do lots of walking!  Wednesday, we’ll wake up, have breakfast and head up to New Braunfels to go tubing.  Not exactly strenuous, but there’s a decent walk back to return the tube.  Our Keens will come in handy for the water/hike combo!

Wednesday night, we’re meeting up with an old friend of mine from childhood. I can’t wait!  Yes, I’d rather not look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy when I arrive, but it doesn’t matter. I haven’t seen him in about 16 years. We recently reconnected and I’m just looking forward to having a few drinks and a few laughs.

Thursday morning, we’re going on a 2 hour bike tour!  I love my husband for agreeing to these crazy things.  I’ve been keeping an eye on Groupon and Living Social for the past month or so, looking for deals we can use on our trip. I found the tubing deal and this bike tour deal.  2 hours on “beach cruisers”, so it won’t be killer, but it will be a great way to see Austin.

And hopefully we’ll burn enough calories that I won’t feel guilty with the drinking we will likely do Thurs night.

Friday, more hiking/tubing with my brother and his wife – they’re taking off for the day and I can’t wait to spend the day with them!  They’re both very active and I usually worry about keeping up, but I think Rick and I are both doing better than we have in a while.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to drive back on Friday night because our oldest has to be picked up from camp bright and early on Saturday!  Back to reality… *sigh*

I’m excited about our little trip – I feel like I’ve injected enough physical fun to keep it from being a complete lounge/drink/eat vacation. 

 

Once again, I’m rambling. 

I want to get motivated again.  I think I’m feeling stuck in a rut and hopefully a vacation will invigorate me.

Also?  Why the heck is it so hard to find a bathing suit in JULY!??!  I was so bummed when I found the perfect one-piece bathing suit at Torrid only to find out they were completely out of my size both in store and online.  The back up options I’d chosen were also sold out.  So were the suits I liked at Lane Bryant!  grrrr.

I was really hoping for a cute one piece.  Looks like I’ll be rockin’ the tankini down the river and praying to God I don’t fall out of my tube and lose my draws!  🙂

Slurpee

Okay, I may be a little behind the times because I’ve been avoiding 7-11 since mid-May (I was addicted to their nasty breakfast sandwiches and Monsters!), but I happened to pop into one today (because where else can you get $5 cash back on a purchase?) and I discovered something awesome.

That right thurr is a SUGAR FREE MANGO SLURPEE, people. I mean, I know it’s not calorie free (20 cals per 8oz), but it’s insanely better than the alternative.  And sometimes – like, oh, I don’t know, when it’s106 degrees outside – you need a cold, frosty treat.  Something you can grab on the go, easy-peasy-like.  (I think this heat is killing off my brain cells…)

And popping into 7-11 for the occasional sugar free slurpee is insanely better than what I was doing – going in 2-4 times/week for a breakfast sandwich and a monster!

Funny thing is, when I ran into 7-11 today, I had every intention of grabbing some caffeinated treat – a jolt for my system!  I went to bed late last night (for no good reason) and we have date night tonight, so I was trying to convince myself I would need it.  But I know full well I’m going to have a diet DrPepper at the movie later, so why add more caffeine now?  I don’t actually need it.  I might be a little stressed out at work today, dragging a bit, etc.  But the morning walk I went on jazzed me up more than a Monster ever has (and I didn’t get the shakes from it after, either).

I was a tad bummed yesterday because we had our work weight loss challenge…and I came in SECOND.  Yeah, I know.  How stupid am I for beating myself up about second place?? According to the girl’s scale that runs this thing, I lost 3.14% of my body weight in a month.  I missed 1st place by .14%.  Grr.  So close!

That’s what I needed the $5 for, by the way – entering another month’s worth of the challenge.  I hate that we’re weighing in on 7/26 next month because I’ll be on vacation. I was kinda hoping that would be my out (rather than saying, “I’m kinda broke and would rather spend that $5 on something else…”).  But instead, J (the girl leading it) said, “Oh, just weigh in that Monday since you’ll be here – that’s fine!”  Dangit. LOL

But, in all honesty, I could use the competitive motivation.  She lost 3.28%, so now my goal is 3.5% so I can (hopefully) nail it next month. That’s just 1lb more than I lost the month prior.  I can do that. Right?  Right. 

 

Of course, I’m feeling poo-tastic right now because I feel the cramps and crankiness coming on… it’s almost that time of the month.  This is always the worst for me.  But I made it through last month! I can do it again. AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN… yep yep.  A treat here and there, but I’m not going to dive face first into a carton of Ben & Jerry’s.  Gotta stay strong!

Also? These milk ads are hilarious. Why have I not seen these before today??

 

Omg…now I know why… because people are crazy and can’t take a joke!! hahahaha http://vegansaurus.com/post/7577302507/guest-post-milk-board-hates-women Wow. Just wow.

I hate women when they’re acting like bitches, too, people.  Granted, I understand the drama behind the milk industry and vegans/PETA, etc… I do.  But I still think the ads are funny.  Poor guys!

Personal Best & Yummy Food

The GCC challenge for this past weekend was to beat your previous Personal Best step count in one day.  My previous PB was 19,314 (or something like that).  And guess what?  I SMOKED it!

Tada!

It wasn’t easy!  I thought I had a plan in place that would knock it out by dinner, but boy was I wrong!  I played some Wii Just Dance with my kiddo in the AM, I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes, I took an hour long Zumba class, I walked to/from the pool after lunch, I even walked in place at the laundromat (long story – washer temporarily broken!) and played some more Just Dance that night.  By the time the boys were in bed, I was exhausted.  And I’d hit 18k steps. 

Rick told me to come lay down with him so I could rest for a bit. I said no.  I told him if I laid down, I’d fall asleep…and I’d be SO MAD at myself if I got THIS CLOSE only to pass out!!  No no… a rest on the couch while he rubbed my feet (because he’s the best husband ever!) was enough. I didn’t want to lose what little steam I had left.

He went to work and I went to do my usual Wii Fit/Just Dance stuff. I wasn’t feeling it.  Never mind the fact that the stupid Wii Fit said I was up 1.2lbs and wanted to know why (screw you, Wii Fit!! I’m full of water and I’m dog tired!!), my feet were sore,  my legs were tired… I just wanted to get it over with!

So, instead, I watched some mindless TV and walked/jogged in place.

Before I knew it, I was at 20,025 steps!  I sat down for a bit to rest.

And then something got into me… I wanted to hit 21k. I didn’t need to, I just wanted to.  No one was pushing me – I was just pushing myself.  I got up and did some high steps for the rest of the show – decided to just stop when the show was over.  10pm came and – voila! – 21,032. I went to bed feeling pretty damn proud of myself.

Funny thing is, no one else on my team set a new PB.  In fact, of my friends at work that I’ve spoken to, none of them have, either.  Everyone’s had some excuse or stopped short or whatever.  This makes me even more proud of myself and my determination. And I’m thankful that my husband supported me in this mini-challenge rather than talking me into quitting!

 

Meanwhile, I’ve had a pretty good food weekend.  We had date night Saturday night, so there were some less-than-stellar food choices made, but I still ate my veggies and tried to be “good”!

Yesterday was a food-tastic day.  Saturday AM I volunteered at Bountiful Baskets (juggling produce can be quite a work out!) and when I was done, I came home with my crazy-good haul.  Tomatoes, celery, onions, cherries, mangos, nectarines, lettuce, cantaloupe, blueberries, potatoes!  So much goodness!  And this time around, I ordered their Organic 9-grain bread.  OMG, so delicious. And only 65 calories/slice – not too shabby.

I also bought some raspberries and kiwi at the store on Friday… plus we still had some plums & apricots leftover from last week’s basket.  Our fridge is full of whole-food goodness.  It may sound dumb, but it makes me so happy!  And I love it when my kids beg for fruit for dessert – that puts a big smile on my face.  I want SO badly for our children to grow up making better food choices than I was making in my younger days. 

Rick and I had some berri-licious smoothies before the gym yesterday.  After the gym, I had a sandwich (roasted chicken, spinach, cheddar and bbq sauce grilled on 9-grain bread) and fruit.  Then a yogurt (I was starving!).  Had some fruit for a snack later in the afternoon. 

For dinner, I made hamburgers.  I threw about 1/3 of an onion, 3 mushrooms and a few basil leaves into my mini food processor (gotta hide the veggies from the kids sometimes! haha) and then mixed them into some 93/7 ground beef.  Added some Mrs. Dash, breadcrumbs and an egg… mix mix mix… then I let that all rest for a bit while I tried my hand at a fruit tart.

I didn’t use a recipe and I can’t even really recall exactly what I did, but it didn’t hold together all that well, so I’ll just post my picture and tell you it was delicious!  Messy, but so good!  I made it with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.  Oatmeal/brown sugar topping. Nom nom nom.

Back to dinner!  After the tart/pie thing was done cooking and sitting out to cool, I put the oven on broil and turned my bowl o’ meat into 6 patties (4 for me and the kids, 1 for Rick to have at work overnight and 1 for me to have lunch today!).  These were less than 1/4lb, but I smashed ’em out thin and they were delicious.

My kids make fun of me when I’m taking pictures of my food…

Once again, the bread from BB made an appearance.  Topped with cheese, tomato, spinach, mustard and ketchup… this burger was probably one of the best I’ve had in a while.  Can’t wait for lunch!

This morning’s breakfast was also a winner.  Scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes and swiss. 

I’m having fun with food. I’m enjoying the good stuff so much more. Today, I packed myself another burger and nectarine for lunch, cucumber salad and a string cheese for one snack, yogurt and almonds for the other snack.  Just looking at those foods makes me happy.  I don’t care how silly that sounds! 🙂

 

This morning, I got on the scale and proceeded to try really hard to NOT mentally beat myself up. I’ve been doing SO well, I don’t care if the number on the scale doesn’t always reflect it. 

To prove to myself that I’m making progress, I bust out the measuring tape.  There’s already a difference just since last week.  I’m not recording my measurements more than once/month, but it was such a boost to see that I am slimming down, even if the numbers on the scale don’t always say so.

I want to go for my physical later this year and have the doc go, “Wow, that Lap Band has really helped” and then just smile and tell him I did it on my own.

Zumba Zumba!

The Zumba classes at my gym fill up pretty quickly.  Usually, if I’m hoping to join in on a class, I’ll either reserve my spot in advance ($1/reservation) or I’ll show up early.

Yesterday, I didn’t do either.

We’d had some drama with the kids and I was contemplating not going whatsoever.  But I know I need to stop making excuses. I explained to our boys how important it was (for the millionth time) to behave at the Kids Club or they’d get da BOOT. (No, but, seriously – they’ll kick you out of the gym for the day if your kid gets out of control – it’s happened to us before. If it happens twice in a 6 week period – I think that was the timeframe – you’re suspended from the Kids Club for something like a month. Don’t want that to happen!!)

We walked in around 5:18pm and I half-jokingly asked if there were any spots still open for the 5:30pm Zumba class.

There were!

I hadn’t planned for that!  I had thoroughly expected to be stuck with a treadmill/elliptical/weights sorta routine and didn’t bring a bottle of water with me (because I could hit the fountain if in the main gym).  NO MORE EXCUSES – I drank as much water as I could stand and headed to class.

The woman that’s been teaching the class for a while left for the summer to spend time with family in Brazil.  I wasn’t sure who was teaching and didn’t really care – a new instructor might mean I’d look less lost than usual!

In walked Jason.  Ex-football pro (so he says! didn’t get a last name to check!), fit, lean.  He was ready to GO! 

Class was a blast.  A little less booty-shaking than usual, but a lot more toning (read: sooo many squats & lunges!). I didn’t sweat as much as I usually do (though I still sweat an awful lot!), so I didn’t miss my bottle of water as much as I was worried I would.  I am IN PAIN today, though!! A good pain!  That delicious sore muscle pain that tells you that you really worked it the day before.  My thighs are killin’ me!

I made quite a few bad food choices yesterday, but I’m not going to dwell on that. 

I discovered something delicious today!  Evol Burritos.  Have you ever seen these? Ever tried them? 

Photo credit: http://evolfoods.com

I’d seen them before, but avoided them because I considered them too pricy. ($3.80/burrito at Kroger)  Today, this one – the Cilantro Lime Chicken burrito – caught my eye.  I should never go shopping while hungry!

I read the package and decided I wanted to give it a whirl. No hormones, no preservatives, no fake JUNK in this food.  The burritos are a little high in carbs (due to, duhh, the tortilla), but one of these bad boys packs 16g of protein and 4g of fiber.  320 calories.  Not too bad for a burrito.  And I love that I can read the ingredients list and not once find myself saying, “What on earth IS that?” 

—

Yesterday I went to my stepdad’s mom’s funeral.  She died at 102 years old.  ONE HUNDRED AND TWO. That’s crazy.  She was born in 1910.  Just imagine all the changes she’s seen over the years.  Something they pointed out at the funeral yesterday was that in 1920, the average life expectancy for a woman was 51.  She doubled that.

My mom and stepdad married just 4 years ago, so I didn’t get much of a chance to know Grandma L.  She was 98 when I met her.  I got a feel for her personality and stubbornness, but I didn’t really learn her history.

Yesterday, the pastor shared some key notes from her life.  At the age of 96, her car was finally taken from her.  As old as 92, she was still known to disappear for weeks at a time to go on solo camping trips!  She would stay in state parks alone – she loved camping, loved nature, LOVED the water.  My stepdad (her son) runs circles around me at the age of 71, I can only guess she would have done the same.

I want to be that energetic when I’m older.  If I were to start where I am now – never getting stronger, leaner, healthier – and continue on the path I was on, I would likely not be able to get off the couch by age 71.  I don’t want that.  People like my stepdad and his mother encourage me to be better, do more.

My husband and I are going to Austin/San Antonio this summer for a few days (sans kiddos!) and I’ve been trying to think up some physical activities for us while we’re there.  Swimming, biking, maybe some kayaking? I don’t want to wear us out, but I don’t want to just drink and lounge around the whole time, either. I want to explore and enjoy things I’ve been skipping out on in the past.  I’m tempted to go on this cool-sounding bike tour, but I haven’t ridden a bike in years!  They say you never ride for stretches of more than 20 minutes at a time.  Wonder if we should take a chance!

One month down! (Weight/Measurement Check In!)

Not too bad for the first month!  Here we go…

• Weight: 236.6lb (7.4lb loss)
• Waist: 49.5″ (0.5″ loss)
• Hips: 50″ (0.5″ loss)
• Chest: 44.0″ (1.5″ loss!!)
• Right thigh: 23.5″ (0.25″ loss)

Roughly 1.7lbs/week average. I’ll take it! Pretty excited about that 1.5″ lost from my chest, too – I’m built like a block.  True, I want to lose inches from my waist most of all, but that requires those icky ab exercises.  I’m getting there!  I’m slowly starting to incorporate them into my routine.

I’ve noticed that I’m getting more and more steps in daily while trying less.  I’m also a lot more productive these days.  Coincidence? I think not!

As it gets easier to meet my step goals (walking at work, Just Dance/Wii Fit Plus at night, etc), I’ve been adding in more strength and balance exercises.  One of these days I’ll find the Jillian Michaels DVD that came with my 8lb weights and I’ll have to give that a go. (I bought the set over a year ago just because they were the most reasonably priced 8lb weights I could find – I never even checked out the DVD!)

Yes, please! I’d love to look half that good!

19,314

That’s how many steps I took yesterday, according to my pedometer.

I was so excited, I took a picture before passing out…

I played with the kids, I walked a mile on the treadmill, I went to a Zumba class (that was 6k steps right there!), I did some housework and a lil’ Wii Fit before bed. 

19,314 steps. That’s just crazy.

Two weeks ago, I could barely get to the 10k step daily goal.  Now I feel like a slacker if I don’t get there!

I’m finally under 240, too.  Weighed in at 239.6 this morning!  (I feel almost sad that I’m excited about that!)

I’m looking forward to the 18th when I’ll measure and weigh in, etc.  I’m going to wait until I’m down 20lbs before I take another round of pictures.  I think I’ll post my “before” pictures along with my 20lb loss pictures and just go from there – posting a pic every 20lbs.  I thought about monthly pictures, but that might just depress me instead of motivate me.

I just got back from a walk on my lunch break – this heat is for the birds!! Not the most professional look to come back from lunch sweating your ass off!  But I don’t think I can give up my daytime walks altogether – they wake me up and cheer me up, even if I do wind up a mess.  I think the PM break walk will have to wait until cooler days come along, though – it’s only 90 out right now and I barely made it the 1/2 mile loop.  I’ll just stick with the 1/2 mile in the AM and 1/2-1mile (depending) at lunch and make up the rest of it once I’m home and can shower post-walk/Wii/etc.

So, as I mentioned, I went to Zumba yesterday.  Fun times!  I went to a class a few months ago and have wanted to get back into it, but kept making excuses.

NO MORE EXCUSES!

I went yesterday and dragged my guys along.  I was dripping sweat by the end.  Those classes amaze me because I feel like I’m going to die 15 minutes in. Then I tell myself I can make it at least halfway through!  Next thing I know, 40 minutes have passed.  Well it would just be silly to stop now, right? You can’t quit 2/3rds of the way in! 

The first class I took, I intentionally took a spot by the door – just in case I wanted to make a break for it. Yesterday, I went to the opposite side of the room.  If I was going to quit before it was over, it would take a lot of pride swallowing. By 45 minutes in, I was having a blast – my legs were burning and I felt silly as all, but I was having fun.  That’s why I like these classes – they’re FUN.  And it’s not all about doing everything exactly right – it’s about moving your body and having a good time.  Sometimes you need a break from the lunges and walking and weights. 

I went ahead and reserved a spot for today (Mon) and Wednesday at 7:30pm.  The classes are free with my gym membership, but they fill up fast, so if you want to reserve a spot in advance, it costs $1.  Not too bad.

I’m planning to go Sun at noon, and Monday and Wednesdays at 7:30pm each week. If I’m feelin’ froggy, I can add Tues and Thurs at 6:30pm, too.  We’ll see.

I also recently heard about http://bountifulbaskets.org – I’m going to try them out this week!  Check it out and see if they have one in your area. A friend of mine posted the picture of her haul recently and I was amazed!

Curse you, TOM!

It’s that time of the month (TOM) when we women feel bloated and sluggish. It happens to most, if not all, of us.  This time of the month is always my biggest hurdle.  I tell myself I won’t get on the scale for a good week and a half…or I say, “This month, I won’t eat junk food! I can be stronger than that!”  But, inevitably, I eat something I shouldn’t (or several things I shouldn’t) and I get on the scale and curse my hormones, my willpower, etc.

This is the part of the post where I’d love to say, “I’m not doing it this month!” but it’s too late for that already!

I’ve been craving chocolate something fierce.  I haven’t indulged too many times, but the times I have were not good.  I shared a pack of the Hershey Drops – so yummy. And two nights ago, I had an oreo “parfait” from Wendy’s. (That was sickeningly sweet. Somehow, I powered through!! haha) And last night…well… last night my husband and I ordered Dominos. We split an order of stuffed cheesy bread, each had a few slices of a medium pizza (topped with mushrooms, spinach, red peppers and BACON)…and…there were a couple of chocolate lava crunch cakes involved.  Good god. 

And today?  Today, my body HATES me for it.  Not just a little bit.  We’re talking (cover your eyes if you’re squeamish, folks) full on diarrhea madness over here.  Ugh.  I haven’t felt this miserable in months! Add to that the impending period and you have a crampy, tired, miserable Sara. Ugh. 

There’s a silver lining, though.

No, really, there is.

I’ve made much healthier choices for every other meal this week.  Normally PMS time is a strap-on-the-feed-bag-and-let’s-go-athon. Mickey D’s for breakfast, Jimmy John’s for lunch, several pieces of candy from the candy bowl, ice cream after dinner (two helpings of dinner!)… And NO EXERCISE.  That was mebefore. Therefore, me now isn’t doing quite so badly.  I got on the scale this morning (against the aforementioned better judgement) and was only up 1.2lbs.  I’m still drinking at least a gallon of water each day, just the occasional caffeinated beverage (had some diet Coke last night with our Dominos extravaganza). And I still did about 30 minutes of Wii Just Dance last night, in addition to walking on 2 of my 3 breaks.

I’ve definitely done worse.

Something I keep hearing over and over echos in my head – “Be kind to yourself.” 

I once saw a post on facebook that said, “If your friends spoke to you the way you speak to yourself, you wouldn’t hang out with them any more.”  How true is that?

I’m not perfect. I never will be.  I’m not going to just eat carrot sticks for four months and marvel at my weight loss only to gain it all back when I stop.

This isn’t about dieting.

This isn’t a crash course in fitness.

These are LIFE CHANGES. This isn’t something I will be doing for six months, a year, two years – I will never be “done” – because the minute I stop, I will be headed right back in the opposite direction.

This is about making better choices, one meal at a time, one day at a time.

Granted, my body is punishing me plenty, but I choose not to punish myself otherwise.  I know I feel better when I make better choices. That’s my reward.

 

Be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up.

Especially during that time of the month (TOM) – because, let’s face it, you’re already moody enough without adding to it, right?  🙂

Coming clean and moving on

I went to see my mom yesterday.  She was doing a lot better than I’d anticipated, so that was a relief.  My sister’s been watching her like a hawk since she got out of surgery, but I really do feel she’ll be fine on her own – my sister leaves Tuesday and my mom lives about an hour away, so quick trips over there aren’t really possible.

Her incisions are so small!  She has four or five little tick marks on her belly.  I told her that her incisions looked even better than Rick’s did after he had the band installed.

After a little chit chat, I said, “Have you walked today?”  And with very little coaxing, she agreed to go for a walk with me.

On that walk, I told her everything I had blogged about in my last entry. We had a good talk about it all.  In that moment, I felt closer to my mom than I have in years. She said she had worried about how I was feeling and she’s proud of me for taking the steps that I’m taking.  I told her I think it’s a shame that people spent the first many years of our lives telling us we were fat when we weren’t…and then telling us as adults that we aren’t fat when we are!  Just…kinda comical.

 

I had a fairly good weekend. We went to a pool party on Saturday, and to prepare myself for the ensuing junk food, I drank a smoothie before we went (1/2 peach, 1c peach yogurt, ice cubes, vanilla protein powder, splash of milk, splash of water). I still had a hot dog and some chips at the party, but I didn’t go crazy.  I tried to stay in the pool most of the time – that helped! 

I’ve been walking at home in addition to walking at work.  Last Wednesday, I popped into the gym to take a Zumba class, but it was full. I thought about staying there to work out, but it seemed so dark and dreary compared the gorgeous day outside, so I went for a 2 mile walk in our neighborhood instead.

I’ve been dancing to the Wii Just Dance about 5 nights/week in addition to walking.  I’m trying to hit my 10k steps/day, but at the very least I want to hit 9k/day.  Yesterday I managed 11.5k!  Best day so far.

I’m soooo close to getting under 240. This morning I weighed in at 240.8lbs.  So a little over 3 lbs in 2 weeks. That’s not too shabby.  I also decided to peek at a couple of measurements now (was going to wait until the month was up) and I’ve lost about 1/2″ in my waist and 3/4″ in my upper thigh so far.  Didn’t check the rest.  Will do that on 6/18.

Kinda sore all over, but I feel great overall.  My shoulder hurts from tossing kids around in the pool on Saturday!  I also joined a little weight loss challenge here in the office that goes from month to month (weigh in the last day of each month).

 

Feeling good!  How about you?