This one is going to be SHORT. Swear.
I'm becoming more aware all the time that there are people who are following my progress. Or my attempts at progress. It is SO NICE to know that there are people out there that want me to be successful at this! And I don't want to let you down. Progress has been miserably slow the past month, and I can't imagine that that's real fun to tune in to and read, so I am really going to try harder. Really.
Today I went swimming on my lunch break. It. felt. awesome. It was the boost I needed.. the kick-in-the-pants jump-start to my momentum.
Confession: I did have a Mountain Dew today. But I figured it was a small price to pay in order to keep my job, as they seem to frown upon naps there.
The hope is that after I get a wonderful night's sleep tonight, tomorrow I'll have even more energy and sleepiness won't be such a battle. I hope tomorrow is nice.. I'm planning to walk on my lunch break.
I'm sorry this post is late and contains so little info. That might be the norm for a while. This next weekend we're going to a family reunion in Wisconsin, and the Wednesday after we head down south for a ten day vacation! I will post if/when I can. If I can't, I'll just post my two-week post-vacation results.
Thanks again for tuning in, I really appreciate the support. :)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Week Eight. Week Nine. Can these two not count?
Well. So. How are you, I am fine.
I so don't want to write this blog.
It would be different if I had some BIG NEWS to report! Instead I'm stuck here on this plateau, which isn't so much a plateau as it is me just taking a two-week long breather on the side of a mountain. See, and that's just it.. I feel like I could have had progress to report but instead I have to sit here and tell you that the scale didn't go down from lack of effort. In a lot of ways, it's a bummer to be held accountable (in the form of a blog) for my weight goals! But it's also exactly what I need.
So what went wrong..? Well, I hardly even count this last week. I put in almost 80 hours, and it was all I could do to make it through the day. It wasn't so bad at first, but by Saturday I was eating whatever I could get my hands on. But the problem lies in that second sentence. I've had busy weeks before (granted, never this busy) but I have been able to successfully maintain a healthy diet. For me, a huge part of it is in the preparation the night before. I have to prepare my meals, or at least decide in advance what I will buy for lunch. But leaving the house at 6:30 and coming home at 10 didn't leave me much time or desire for grocery shopping, cooking, planning, or anything really, unless it involved my face mushed into a cozy pillow.
I'm looking at another long week. I'm sure it won't be as rough as last week since the conversion happens tomorrow afternoon and the bulk of the work I had to do was in preparation for the conversion. However, I am more determined than ever to find ways over the little speedbumps that I keep stalling out on. I bought hearts of romaine, spinach, bell peppers, strawberries and grapes. I am going to make salads in advance and put them in individual containers. Then in the morning I will be able to just grab one and go. And if you have never tried a salad consisting of hearts of romaine, spinach, chicken or tuna, bell peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, green grapes, almonds, and roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette, you must try one. You will see why I want one almost every day. Ooh, as long as we're on the subject, I also heartily recommend homemade breakfast sandwiches. I make an egg english muffin almost every morning, and it's so fast and easy! Just get a ceramic bowl with a very small base (or large coffee mug) and crack an organic egg into it and stir it a bit with a fork. Cover it with a paper towl and put it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Flip it over and put it back in for another 20-30 seconds. You will have a perfectly delicious fried egg that is the exact size of your english muffin. I like the wheat english muffins (I think they say Light or something?). They are soft and have amazing flavor. I toast one, put my egg on it, and then use Hellman's mayo made with olive oil. Okay, so I'm not a purist. I'll use any way possible to get some of the good fats in. One egg muffin is around 220 calories, but it depends on how much mayo you use. Pair it up with an apple or pear or grapes and you've got a quick and filling breakfast. (If you want to make it with cheese, sprinkle a little cheddar into your egg before you cook it. It just takes a little longer in the microwave. It's also a few more calories, of course.)
Sorry, not sure when this turned into a cooking blog.
Remember two weeks ago when I pumped my fist in the air and declared that I WOULD be working out and posting about it to boot? Let's just say that Newton wasn't kidding around when he was talking about objects at rest remaining at rest. I am the dictionary definition of inertia, and I have hit a total mental roadblock on finding momentum.
Oh, but it's so easy, right? Now it's your turn to shake your fist in the air at me, hopefully in encouragement, and shout at your computer screen, "Just START! You'll see how easy it is to keep going!".. but believe me, I'm saying it right along with you. I just cannot seem to find the time. I know, I know, if you want to get something done, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. So let me just say that this week, I'm going to figure out what those excuses are, legitimate or not, and find someway around them. For example, one of the things that hinders me from working out in the evening is that I hate to go in the basement when Jett is sleeping upstairs for fear that I'll be on the treadmill and I won't hear him wake up and start crying. It's a sub-conscious thing, for the most part. But my solution is that I'm going to buy another baby monitor. Our first one broke, and I haven't taken the time to replace it until now. Once I have a baby monitor, I won't have that as a roadblock anymore. Another excuse: I drive two hours a day. I've been over this already. I don't think this one is so much an excuse as it is just a mental anguish of mine.. oh to have a whole two hours more in every single day! I can hardly imagine it! Surely then I'd have time to exercise.. and do all the other eleventy billion things that I can't get done...... right? If I'm totally honest with myself, I can admit that the two hours I spend driving are some of the best hours of my day. It's the time I unwind, relax, think, daydream, speculate, resolve, and curse out other drivers. Although I'm getting better about that last part. I'm just kidding... I'm getting worse. NOT my point. I get more done during those two hours than I realize. The time that I spend unwinding in my car after work is time that I don't have to spend unwinding at home. And the nice thing about the car ride is that it's a pre-determined length of time and then I'm done, as opposed to unwinding at home where time always gets away from me and suddenly it's time to go to bed and I haven't exercised yet. So.. solutions: well, I have a couple of grand ideas that I'm hoping to implement, and soon. First of all, assuming that I get out of work at a decent time this week, I am going to commit to staying off the computer until I have exercised for the evening. Because let's face it, I can stay entertained on the computer for hours. If I ever sit down on my computer first, I should know by know that I won't end up exercising. So that's going to be my first commitment. Secondly, I'm going to start walking on my lunch breaks. I can eat while working, so now I will get at least a half hour of walking in per day. This is contingent on the weather, of course. But this is something simple that I can implement. And hey, while we're at it, let me commit to this: if I have to cancel my walk due to inclement weather, I'll climb up and down the stairs for a bit. How's that? Finally, and this is my favorite one of all, there is a pool on campus just a few minutes from where I work, and it's open to the public. My co-worker Lisa and I are going to attempt to go swimming on an extended lunch hour at least twice a week. I'm so excited! I won't be able to start this until next week, which is a huge bummer, but I'll do my walking in the meantime.
So there we have it.. tackled a few issues, got a little determination back. Let's see if we can get some momentum this week. Shooting for big numbers now!
I so don't want to write this blog.
It would be different if I had some BIG NEWS to report! Instead I'm stuck here on this plateau, which isn't so much a plateau as it is me just taking a two-week long breather on the side of a mountain. See, and that's just it.. I feel like I could have had progress to report but instead I have to sit here and tell you that the scale didn't go down from lack of effort. In a lot of ways, it's a bummer to be held accountable (in the form of a blog) for my weight goals! But it's also exactly what I need.
So what went wrong..? Well, I hardly even count this last week. I put in almost 80 hours, and it was all I could do to make it through the day. It wasn't so bad at first, but by Saturday I was eating whatever I could get my hands on. But the problem lies in that second sentence. I've had busy weeks before (granted, never this busy) but I have been able to successfully maintain a healthy diet. For me, a huge part of it is in the preparation the night before. I have to prepare my meals, or at least decide in advance what I will buy for lunch. But leaving the house at 6:30 and coming home at 10 didn't leave me much time or desire for grocery shopping, cooking, planning, or anything really, unless it involved my face mushed into a cozy pillow.
I'm looking at another long week. I'm sure it won't be as rough as last week since the conversion happens tomorrow afternoon and the bulk of the work I had to do was in preparation for the conversion. However, I am more determined than ever to find ways over the little speedbumps that I keep stalling out on. I bought hearts of romaine, spinach, bell peppers, strawberries and grapes. I am going to make salads in advance and put them in individual containers. Then in the morning I will be able to just grab one and go. And if you have never tried a salad consisting of hearts of romaine, spinach, chicken or tuna, bell peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, green grapes, almonds, and roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette, you must try one. You will see why I want one almost every day. Ooh, as long as we're on the subject, I also heartily recommend homemade breakfast sandwiches. I make an egg english muffin almost every morning, and it's so fast and easy! Just get a ceramic bowl with a very small base (or large coffee mug) and crack an organic egg into it and stir it a bit with a fork. Cover it with a paper towl and put it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Flip it over and put it back in for another 20-30 seconds. You will have a perfectly delicious fried egg that is the exact size of your english muffin. I like the wheat english muffins (I think they say Light or something?). They are soft and have amazing flavor. I toast one, put my egg on it, and then use Hellman's mayo made with olive oil. Okay, so I'm not a purist. I'll use any way possible to get some of the good fats in. One egg muffin is around 220 calories, but it depends on how much mayo you use. Pair it up with an apple or pear or grapes and you've got a quick and filling breakfast. (If you want to make it with cheese, sprinkle a little cheddar into your egg before you cook it. It just takes a little longer in the microwave. It's also a few more calories, of course.)
Sorry, not sure when this turned into a cooking blog.
Remember two weeks ago when I pumped my fist in the air and declared that I WOULD be working out and posting about it to boot? Let's just say that Newton wasn't kidding around when he was talking about objects at rest remaining at rest. I am the dictionary definition of inertia, and I have hit a total mental roadblock on finding momentum.
Oh, but it's so easy, right? Now it's your turn to shake your fist in the air at me, hopefully in encouragement, and shout at your computer screen, "Just START! You'll see how easy it is to keep going!".. but believe me, I'm saying it right along with you. I just cannot seem to find the time. I know, I know, if you want to get something done, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse. So let me just say that this week, I'm going to figure out what those excuses are, legitimate or not, and find someway around them. For example, one of the things that hinders me from working out in the evening is that I hate to go in the basement when Jett is sleeping upstairs for fear that I'll be on the treadmill and I won't hear him wake up and start crying. It's a sub-conscious thing, for the most part. But my solution is that I'm going to buy another baby monitor. Our first one broke, and I haven't taken the time to replace it until now. Once I have a baby monitor, I won't have that as a roadblock anymore. Another excuse: I drive two hours a day. I've been over this already. I don't think this one is so much an excuse as it is just a mental anguish of mine.. oh to have a whole two hours more in every single day! I can hardly imagine it! Surely then I'd have time to exercise.. and do all the other eleventy billion things that I can't get done...... right? If I'm totally honest with myself, I can admit that the two hours I spend driving are some of the best hours of my day. It's the time I unwind, relax, think, daydream, speculate, resolve, and curse out other drivers. Although I'm getting better about that last part. I'm just kidding... I'm getting worse. NOT my point. I get more done during those two hours than I realize. The time that I spend unwinding in my car after work is time that I don't have to spend unwinding at home. And the nice thing about the car ride is that it's a pre-determined length of time and then I'm done, as opposed to unwinding at home where time always gets away from me and suddenly it's time to go to bed and I haven't exercised yet. So.. solutions: well, I have a couple of grand ideas that I'm hoping to implement, and soon. First of all, assuming that I get out of work at a decent time this week, I am going to commit to staying off the computer until I have exercised for the evening. Because let's face it, I can stay entertained on the computer for hours. If I ever sit down on my computer first, I should know by know that I won't end up exercising. So that's going to be my first commitment. Secondly, I'm going to start walking on my lunch breaks. I can eat while working, so now I will get at least a half hour of walking in per day. This is contingent on the weather, of course. But this is something simple that I can implement. And hey, while we're at it, let me commit to this: if I have to cancel my walk due to inclement weather, I'll climb up and down the stairs for a bit. How's that? Finally, and this is my favorite one of all, there is a pool on campus just a few minutes from where I work, and it's open to the public. My co-worker Lisa and I are going to attempt to go swimming on an extended lunch hour at least twice a week. I'm so excited! I won't be able to start this until next week, which is a huge bummer, but I'll do my walking in the meantime.
So there we have it.. tackled a few issues, got a little determination back. Let's see if we can get some momentum this week. Shooting for big numbers now!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Update coming soon..
I haven't abandoned this project altogether, I'm just really busy this week! I'll post this weekend with my two week progress. Not to spoil the surprise, but it's nothing to write home about. or post in a blog about. sighh.
See you soon!
See you soon!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Week seven.
Well, kids. Week seven is over. This week I lost 2.87%! Such a relief. I can't say that I even had the best week, but I tried not to let little failures turn into big ones. I'm not sure why that's such a difficult mindset for me to attain.
One thing I'm disappointed about is the fact that I continue to find it so difficult to find time to exercise. Earlier this week I had just finished blogging about how I was going to do my first run, but then Jett woke up. It took an hour to get him back down, and then the night was shot. It makes it especially difficult when Jason is working such long hours, because the only time I can start exercising is after Jett is fast asleep.
Another reason it's difficult is because I drive two hours a day. I have to leave the house by 7 a.m. and I don't get home until 5:30 at the earliest. sighh.. excuses, excuses. This week, I'm going to step out on a limb and guarantee that I will exercise at least ONE DAY. If I can make it work one day, then maybe I'll get some momentum and I won't feel so discouraged.
I've been at this for seven weeks now and lost 8.07%. That means I only have about 12 weeks to go at this pace. That's doable.. right? New mini-goal: in four weeks we go on vacation, so by then I would like to have lost 15% total. Game on. I WILL blog later in the week when I exercise. No more excuses. Until then!
Oh, one last thing. My best friend told me about her mom's success using a diet that focuses on changing eating habits for life. I guess I should call it a lifestyle change, not a diet. She avoids processed foods and eats whole, fresh foods. I can't remember what the exact amount lost is, but it was somewhere in the 30-40 lb range. So if you happen to read this - nice work, Karen N.! It's motivating to all of us, but particularly to those of us who are trying to make the same kind of lifestyle change. I would imagine that you feel as great as you look. Thanks for the reminder that this is very doable.
One thing I'm disappointed about is the fact that I continue to find it so difficult to find time to exercise. Earlier this week I had just finished blogging about how I was going to do my first run, but then Jett woke up. It took an hour to get him back down, and then the night was shot. It makes it especially difficult when Jason is working such long hours, because the only time I can start exercising is after Jett is fast asleep.
Another reason it's difficult is because I drive two hours a day. I have to leave the house by 7 a.m. and I don't get home until 5:30 at the earliest. sighh.. excuses, excuses. This week, I'm going to step out on a limb and guarantee that I will exercise at least ONE DAY. If I can make it work one day, then maybe I'll get some momentum and I won't feel so discouraged.
I've been at this for seven weeks now and lost 8.07%. That means I only have about 12 weeks to go at this pace. That's doable.. right? New mini-goal: in four weeks we go on vacation, so by then I would like to have lost 15% total. Game on. I WILL blog later in the week when I exercise. No more excuses. Until then!
Oh, one last thing. My best friend told me about her mom's success using a diet that focuses on changing eating habits for life. I guess I should call it a lifestyle change, not a diet. She avoids processed foods and eats whole, fresh foods. I can't remember what the exact amount lost is, but it was somewhere in the 30-40 lb range. So if you happen to read this - nice work, Karen N.! It's motivating to all of us, but particularly to those of us who are trying to make the same kind of lifestyle change. I would imagine that you feel as great as you look. Thanks for the reminder that this is very doable.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Fresh start..
Today went well! A couple of cool things happened today:
1. Apparently there is a Subway right up the road from where I work. Now I'm normally not a big fan of Subway, but they are quickly becoming one of the only places I can eat out for lunch. (Although there's an Extreme Pita even closer.) Anyway, this Subway is so new that it doesn't even stink up the whole block yet, so it's not half bad. I had the new chicken salad sandwich today, it was pretty good.
2. Someone planted a seed in my head that I need to run a marathon. I have no idea how I'll ever find the time to train for a marathon or even a half-marathon, but I like this plan. I'm going to do the 9 week program for n00bs, after which I should [allegedly] be able to run a 5k. After that, I'm going to go up 10% a week and hopefully I'll be in good enough shape by September to attempt the half in DL. My knees have taken a beating in the past, not so much from running but from wearing high heels, so I am committed to starting out slow this time. My first run begins in t-4 minutes or as soon as Jett is sound asleep, whichever is later. I haven't heard much in the past ten minutes though..
3. I successfully passed up sugar, dairy, and flour today. I don't feel better yet.. in fact, if anything, my body is really not impressed by this new, and less fun, change. Hopefully tomorrow is a little better.
4. I remembered to take my vitamins. hahh. Alright, even I'm bored with this blog. Off to attempt my first run! Don't care how I do as long as I don't end up with rugburn on my forehead. Wish me luck.
1. Apparently there is a Subway right up the road from where I work. Now I'm normally not a big fan of Subway, but they are quickly becoming one of the only places I can eat out for lunch. (Although there's an Extreme Pita even closer.) Anyway, this Subway is so new that it doesn't even stink up the whole block yet, so it's not half bad. I had the new chicken salad sandwich today, it was pretty good.
2. Someone planted a seed in my head that I need to run a marathon. I have no idea how I'll ever find the time to train for a marathon or even a half-marathon, but I like this plan. I'm going to do the 9 week program for n00bs, after which I should [allegedly] be able to run a 5k. After that, I'm going to go up 10% a week and hopefully I'll be in good enough shape by September to attempt the half in DL. My knees have taken a beating in the past, not so much from running but from wearing high heels, so I am committed to starting out slow this time. My first run begins in t-4 minutes or as soon as Jett is sound asleep, whichever is later. I haven't heard much in the past ten minutes though..
3. I successfully passed up sugar, dairy, and flour today. I don't feel better yet.. in fact, if anything, my body is really not impressed by this new, and less fun, change. Hopefully tomorrow is a little better.
4. I remembered to take my vitamins. hahh. Alright, even I'm bored with this blog. Off to attempt my first run! Don't care how I do as long as I don't end up with rugburn on my forehead. Wish me luck.
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