We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Wednesday Workout Update with this breaking news: Today marks the two year anniversary of my hitting the 100 pound weight loss milestone.
TWO YEARS.
One HUNDRED pounds.
And I haven't gained it all back! Not even close!! You better believe I'm celebrating!!!
Let's face it, if everyone just lost weight and kept it off, there would be a lot less discussion (and profit made) on dieting. But the truth of it is that losing weight is only the beginning. Keeping it off? That's a whole 'nother story. And while this year has been a challenging one for me, what with losing my favorite form of exercise to an injury, and stress eating over my mother's shocking cancer diagnosis (she just went through her third set of tests since her surgery and is doing fantastic, I'm happy to report!), I still fit into most of my "new" clothes, with the exception of some pants. Yeah, things were looser a year ago, but hey - all things considered, this is pretty darn good. And with the advent of running getting closer and closer, it can only get better. Today, I'm celebrating the fact that I still have a normal-sized body...two years and counting!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Food Neutral
The paleo diet is going round blogland right now, with Helen and Biz, among others, trying it. I have to say that I'm a bit envious of them, because I've seen it work with a lot of people. However, I'm not envious enough to make the effort to try it...and while I could stand to lose some weight (my clothes are telling me so), I had to think on WHY, exactly, I'm not willing to give it a try.
For one, can't figure out how to make eating Greek yogurt twice a day fit into the paleo plan. Seriously, on many days, I have yogurt and my homemade granola for breakfast AND dinner. I really have gotten out of the habit of preparing an evening meal with Jeff traveling so much. And yes, much of this is laziness based on not wanting to bother with cooking for just me, but it's also made me see something: I've become, for the most part, food neutral. Over the past few months, I've realized that I just don't get very excited about food. Sure, a Scotty P's chili cheeseburger sounds great, but I live over three hours from that restaurant, and I don't want one bad enough to either try and recreate it myself, or try out all the burger joints in town to see if theirs is comparable.
I get hungry, I eat. I keep a stock of basics on hand - Greek yogurt, apples, hard-boiled eggs, granola, chicken - and during the week, this suits me just fine. Occasionally I meet a friend for lunch and I get my salad fix, and on the weekends, we eat a real meal for dinner (and of course frozen yogurt - I'm neutral, not dead!), but otherwise, this is where I'm at, and it's comfortable. Sure, paleo might make me lose it faster, and I'll be the first to admit, that is VERY appealing, but it's a lot more work than I am willing to put into it at the moment.
So while I'm super proud of the work that my friends are putting into the paleo challenge, and the results they are getting, it's just not for me - right now, anyway. Of course, after all of my protestations about "I'll never run" and "I'll never swim" (but really, I'll never do a tri!), I've learned to never say never about anything, so who knows...
For one, can't figure out how to make eating Greek yogurt twice a day fit into the paleo plan. Seriously, on many days, I have yogurt and my homemade granola for breakfast AND dinner. I really have gotten out of the habit of preparing an evening meal with Jeff traveling so much. And yes, much of this is laziness based on not wanting to bother with cooking for just me, but it's also made me see something: I've become, for the most part, food neutral. Over the past few months, I've realized that I just don't get very excited about food. Sure, a Scotty P's chili cheeseburger sounds great, but I live over three hours from that restaurant, and I don't want one bad enough to either try and recreate it myself, or try out all the burger joints in town to see if theirs is comparable.
I get hungry, I eat. I keep a stock of basics on hand - Greek yogurt, apples, hard-boiled eggs, granola, chicken - and during the week, this suits me just fine. Occasionally I meet a friend for lunch and I get my salad fix, and on the weekends, we eat a real meal for dinner (and of course frozen yogurt - I'm neutral, not dead!), but otherwise, this is where I'm at, and it's comfortable. Sure, paleo might make me lose it faster, and I'll be the first to admit, that is VERY appealing, but it's a lot more work than I am willing to put into it at the moment.
So while I'm super proud of the work that my friends are putting into the paleo challenge, and the results they are getting, it's just not for me - right now, anyway. Of course, after all of my protestations about "I'll never run" and "I'll never swim" (but really, I'll never do a tri!), I've learned to never say never about anything, so who knows...
Friday, November 11, 2011
Friday Mishmash - 11-11-11
First, I have to geek out a bit on today's date - ever since 01-01-01, I've loved the one day a year when the month, day and year numbers all match. And I'm kind of sad knowing that next year (12-12-12!) will be the last time that will happen in my lifetime. I guess I'll have to be content with dates like 11-12-13.
No Candy November update: I had a good first week, but on Monday evening, I met my running club coaches for dinner and an end-of-season planning session. We were at a bakery/deli that has really good cookies. BIG, good cookies. Which were all around me. Now, I know that a cookie isn't candy, but the kind that I would have gotten (chocolate chip) was candy-like, and I decided to not get one. Not easy, and I'm not sure why, after doing well for a week, the candy/sugar craving hit me so hard. When I got home that night, I ended up drinking a Dr. Pepper 10 (yes, we laughed at their commercial and actually bought some), which was enough to satisfy my sweet craving (should be, since the second ingredient listed is HFCS). While I rarely drink sodas anymore (even diet), they do help me in a pinch. And I was definitely feeling a pinch earlier in the week.
Thanks to all myenablers commenters (love you guys!), I decided to go ahead and take Thursdays off from the pool, starting yesterday. Felt pretty dang good to not have snooze guilt. I went for another walk around the scary statues in the afternoon - wore my Newton running shoes, and let my mind go where my legs couldn't - yet.
I am probably the last person to know this, but just in case you haven't tried it, type "do a barrel roll" into Google search and watch what happens. Fun!
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We have been looking to buy a new camera, and last weekend while we were wandering around Best Buy, I checked out their video cameras. Y'all. When did they get to be so small??? Back in the day, we borrowed a behemoth video camera that you had to rest on your shoulder - this thing held VHS tapes and was heavy! Now? The video cameras are the size of a toilet paper tube! And so inexpensive!!! I wanted to buy one just because, but our new camera will have decent video capabilities, so we really won't need a separate video camera until we have a grandchild (oh yes, I just went there)(not that THAT is in the near future at all)(but babies are happening all around me and I want to claim one, dang it).
Pinterest Pin of the Week:
Finally, it's the return of Fashion Friday! I only worked one day this week - James Avery likes to ease us into working, which is fine with me. The big deal about this picture is that I'm wearing real shoes! No flip flops. My ankle is finally down to a manageable size, although after a few hours in the shoes, my foot/ankle had swollen up around the strap. Still, it felt good to wear nice clothes again.
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No Candy November update: I had a good first week, but on Monday evening, I met my running club coaches for dinner and an end-of-season planning session. We were at a bakery/deli that has really good cookies. BIG, good cookies. Which were all around me. Now, I know that a cookie isn't candy, but the kind that I would have gotten (chocolate chip) was candy-like, and I decided to not get one. Not easy, and I'm not sure why, after doing well for a week, the candy/sugar craving hit me so hard. When I got home that night, I ended up drinking a Dr. Pepper 10 (yes, we laughed at their commercial and actually bought some), which was enough to satisfy my sweet craving (should be, since the second ingredient listed is HFCS). While I rarely drink sodas anymore (even diet), they do help me in a pinch. And I was definitely feeling a pinch earlier in the week.
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Thanks to all my
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I am probably the last person to know this, but just in case you haven't tried it, type "do a barrel roll" into Google search and watch what happens. Fun!
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We have been looking to buy a new camera, and last weekend while we were wandering around Best Buy, I checked out their video cameras. Y'all. When did they get to be so small??? Back in the day, we borrowed a behemoth video camera that you had to rest on your shoulder - this thing held VHS tapes and was heavy! Now? The video cameras are the size of a toilet paper tube! And so inexpensive!!! I wanted to buy one just because, but our new camera will have decent video capabilities, so we really won't need a separate video camera until we have a grandchild (oh yes, I just went there)(not that THAT is in the near future at all)(but babies are happening all around me and I want to claim one, dang it).
Wish I was bold enough to bring a toilet paper tube into Best Buy to take a comparison shot, but you'll have to take my word for it...
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Pinterest Pin of the Week:
Not sure why the fish are in the bathtub to begin with, but this picture makes me laugh!
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Finally, it's the return of Fashion Friday! I only worked one day this week - James Avery likes to ease us into working, which is fine with me. The big deal about this picture is that I'm wearing real shoes! No flip flops. My ankle is finally down to a manageable size, although after a few hours in the shoes, my foot/ankle had swollen up around the strap. Still, it felt good to wear nice clothes again.
Top that I bought in California last April; new dress pants; real shoes. :)
The top has an elastic waist and then a peplum-type drop - I like it because it hides my stomach, which I am not very fond of right now. Running should take care of that (and can't come soon enough!).
Thank you to all of our Veterans on this day (and really, every day); I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wednesday Workout Update - It Ain't Easy Being Me
I had a hard time getting myself to the pool on Thursday - it was dark, windy and cold when my alarm went off, and my bed was warm and comfortable. Jeff had left half a pot of coffee before he went to work - I could throw on my sweats, settle in with coffee and the newspaper, and have a nice morning. Plus I was feeling fat. Last thing you want to do is exercise, right? (that kind of rationalization sounded perfectly sane early in the morning, I swear!) So I stayed home and relaxed.
Also, it was Thursday. I seem to have a problem with getting to the pool on Thursdays. It'sprobably definitely a mental thing, because I've already planned on having Tuesday and Thursday as my running days (once I can start running again) and Monday, Wednesday and Friday being my pool days. Anyway, last Thursday I skipped swimming to ride my bike. This Thursday, once it lightened up outside, I decided to go for a walk, just to test out the legs. I ended up waiting and walking in the evening while Jeff did his run - we went to the scary statue park, where I did three loops around the statues. It took me 31 minutes - fast, I was not, but then again, I am not cleared for brisk walking at the moment, so this was enough. It felt great! Just like old times...well, except for the whole "not running" part.
The funny thing about that walk was that on Saturday, I realized that my shins were a little sore. REALLY? I'm gonna have to go through that all over again?!? Crum. Obviously swimming does not work quite the same leg muscles as walking...which means that I'll get to enjoy the thrill of sore muscles along with lungs that will, no doubt, be screaming for mercy, once I get back to running. Rats, rats, rats - I forgot that my conditioning is gone.
And then, this was the scene yesterday:
6:45 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze.
6:50 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, think about getting up.
6:55 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, try to come up with reasons why it's OK to skip pool today.
7:00 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, notice that it's light outside. Shoot. Darkness was my excuse last week.
7:05 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, bargain with self. You don't have to go to the pool, but you do have to get up. Decide to give it a few more minutes of contemplation.
7:10 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, but actually get out of bed. Feed cats, let Paco outside, check online weather for thunderstorm, because then for sure I wouldn't have to go to pool. Shoot. Weather clear for now.
7:15 am - alarm goes off. Me: oops, forgot to turn the damn thing off. Sigh. Might as well put swimsuit on, but I don't have to go to the pool if I don't want to.
7:30 am - Me: in car, driving to pool. Promise self nap after, as reward for going.
Seriously, WHY OH WHY do I do this??? Well, I know why. It's because I got out of the habit of getting up every stinking weekday and (to quote Nike) just DOING it. I was afraid that my time off due to the surgery and recovery would result in this...the return of lazy Shelley. I swear, that bitch just bides her time, waiting to come out...and she has returned with a vengeance. I didn't spend most of my adult life overweight just because I ate too much - there was that little matter of zero exercise as well. And you know how some bodies have "muscle memory"? I swear mine has "sedentary memory" and would go back to that lifestyle if given half a chance. What a thing to have to fight - ME.
Also, it was Thursday. I seem to have a problem with getting to the pool on Thursdays. It's
The funny thing about that walk was that on Saturday, I realized that my shins were a little sore. REALLY? I'm gonna have to go through that all over again?!? Crum. Obviously swimming does not work quite the same leg muscles as walking...which means that I'll get to enjoy the thrill of sore muscles along with lungs that will, no doubt, be screaming for mercy, once I get back to running. Rats, rats, rats - I forgot that my conditioning is gone.
And then, this was the scene yesterday:
6:45 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze.
6:50 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, think about getting up.
6:55 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, try to come up with reasons why it's OK to skip pool today.
7:00 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, notice that it's light outside. Shoot. Darkness was my excuse last week.
7:05 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, bargain with self. You don't have to go to the pool, but you do have to get up. Decide to give it a few more minutes of contemplation.
7:10 am - alarm goes off. Me: hit snooze, but actually get out of bed. Feed cats, let Paco outside, check online weather for thunderstorm, because then for sure I wouldn't have to go to pool. Shoot. Weather clear for now.
7:15 am - alarm goes off. Me: oops, forgot to turn the damn thing off. Sigh. Might as well put swimsuit on, but I don't have to go to the pool if I don't want to.
7:30 am - Me: in car, driving to pool. Promise self nap after, as reward for going.
Seriously, WHY OH WHY do I do this??? Well, I know why. It's because I got out of the habit of getting up every stinking weekday and (to quote Nike) just DOING it. I was afraid that my time off due to the surgery and recovery would result in this...the return of lazy Shelley. I swear, that bitch just bides her time, waiting to come out...and she has returned with a vengeance. I didn't spend most of my adult life overweight just because I ate too much - there was that little matter of zero exercise as well. And you know how some bodies have "muscle memory"? I swear mine has "sedentary memory" and would go back to that lifestyle if given half a chance. What a thing to have to fight - ME.
Monday, November 7, 2011
No Candy November
My declaration and my goal...why?
I know that if I tried something as stringent as no sugar, I'd fail - but no candy? I can do this. In fact, I am doing this - the morning of November 1st, I put up my container of Dove dark chocolate Promises for the month, and even though I usually have one or two pieces in the evening, I've been OK without. And in case you're wondering, I did help myself toseveral many a bunch of pieces of Halloween candy...so I kinda went into this on candy overload. I look at this as hitting the reset button - getting back to the healthier side of eating that I prefer to be on. Overall, it's not a huge thing, but it was becoming significant enough that I needed to do something about it.
By the way, I got this idea after watching Merry do 30 days of no sugar in October (how much do I love that she timed it to end so she could eat Halloween candy?) - she made it look easy, and that was giving up ALL sugar. I'm just giving up candy, so it should be a piece of cake. Which I can have, because it's not candy! All kidding aside, I'm not gonna have cake. Now pie? That's another story...but hey, it's not candy!
- Two bags of candy corn purchased and consumed last month (Jeff helped, but still...)
- Candy toppings on my frozen yogurt - yummy, but I never used to do that
- I've found myself eating candy, without hesitation, over the last couple of months - I used to at least consider it before shoving it into my mouth!
- Self-preservation - I'm starting work today at James Avery and there is a big candy bowl in the staff area. I didn't get into it last year, and I need to make sure that I don't do it again this year.
I know that if I tried something as stringent as no sugar, I'd fail - but no candy? I can do this. In fact, I am doing this - the morning of November 1st, I put up my container of Dove dark chocolate Promises for the month, and even though I usually have one or two pieces in the evening, I've been OK without. And in case you're wondering, I did help myself to
By the way, I got this idea after watching Merry do 30 days of no sugar in October (how much do I love that she timed it to end so she could eat Halloween candy?) - she made it look easy, and that was giving up ALL sugar. I'm just giving up candy, so it should be a piece of cake. Which I can have, because it's not candy! All kidding aside, I'm not gonna have cake. Now pie? That's another story...but hey, it's not candy!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Friday Mishmash
Getting serious here for a minute - backstory is that a couple of weeks ago, there was a murder in our town. A knife and a gun were used. Arrested was an 18-year-old high school senior, who basically did this because he wanted to kill someone - he had no connection to the couple that he attacked. So on Halloween night, among all of the cute and fun trick-or-treaters, we answered the door to one lone boy, holding a fake bloody knife and wearing a dark hooded costume pulled low over his face. He was looking down and didn't say anything. I tried to peek under to see his face and he just ducked down further. I ended up tossing some candy into his bag and shut the door, but I've been disturbed ever since. Not only was this creepy, but it was bad judgement, in my opinion, to act that way, especially after what had happened. I realize he is probably just a clueless teenager, but sometimes, they need to be clued in. And I'm mad at myself for not confronting the young man and saying something. Sorry, I know this isn't the usual stuff I write about, but it's been bothering me. Would you have said something?
OK, in happy fun things, I got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday - I feel like a new woman! Of course, I spent the week leading up to the appointment trying to figure out if I should keep the curly style, or go to a more sleek, blow-dried look for winter. Luckily, my hairdresser worked her magic, and while I left with it dried straight, I will also be able to do curls, if I want.
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I had my four week post-op follow-up appointment on Wednesday, and overall my doctor is pleased with my progress. He did notice that some scar tissue is building up on one of my incisions and demonstrated, painfully, how he wanted me to do some massage to break it up. He said my range of motion is pretty good but now I need to do some runner's stretches (the one where you have your foot on the ground behind you and lunge forward) to improve it. As for running, well, he thinks I'm more likely to be about another four weeks away from it, and honestly, I'm not surprised given how much it still hurts. I'm OK with that - but if it goes beyond four weeks, then heads are gonna roll! ;)
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OK, in happy fun things, I got my hair cut and highlighted yesterday - I feel like a new woman! Of course, I spent the week leading up to the appointment trying to figure out if I should keep the curly style, or go to a more sleek, blow-dried look for winter. Luckily, my hairdresser worked her magic, and while I left with it dried straight, I will also be able to do curls, if I want.
Still fairly long, which I like.
I got highlights AND lowlights this time - supposedly more of a natural look, and also helps to cover the gray, which is becoming quite prominent, dang it.
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I had my four week post-op follow-up appointment on Wednesday, and overall my doctor is pleased with my progress. He did notice that some scar tissue is building up on one of my incisions and demonstrated, painfully, how he wanted me to do some massage to break it up. He said my range of motion is pretty good but now I need to do some runner's stretches (the one where you have your foot on the ground behind you and lunge forward) to improve it. As for running, well, he thinks I'm more likely to be about another four weeks away from it, and honestly, I'm not surprised given how much it still hurts. I'm OK with that - but if it goes beyond four weeks, then heads are gonna roll! ;)
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If you are lucky enough to live near a lucy store, please know that they are having their annual birthday sale on Saturday, with 25% off the entire store, and they will also be giving additional goodies to shoppers. Have I mentioned that I live nowhere NEAR a lucy store? Sadness. But, I will be having a product review and giveaway in the future, so yay for that!
Pinterest Pin of the Week:
In honor of all of us bloggers whose arms could be just a tad bit longer for our self-portraits!
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I am excited to tell you that Fashion Friday will return next week, because beginning Monday, I am starting my seasonal job once again at James Avery, and I get to dress up! Not sure what I'm more excited over - the job, or being able to wear something other than shorts and a swimsuit. Kind of a combination, actually, because I also get to wear the jewelry while I'm there. Win-win!
Have a great weekend!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday Workout Update - Swim, Bike...
No run. Not yet...but I am itching to get out there and go! Another few weeks and hopefully that will be a reality.
The pool has been great - lately the mornings have been quite chilly but the gym has upped the heat to 84 degrees, which makes it pretty easy to slip in. I'm already back up to swimming 100 lengths, which was my minimum before the surgery - except that I'm only doing 40 lengths of backstroke/sidestroke, instead of my usual 60...but who knows, maybe by the end of the week I'll be there. The rest is kickboard, with the other strokes sandwiched in the middle. To be perfectly honest, my ankle does start hurting about midway through my swimming workout, and continues to bother me the rest of the day, so I'll be checking with my doctor later on today (I have another follow up appointment) to see if this is a normal part of the healing.
I also rode my bike last week - pool buddy Nancy wasn't going to be there on Thursday, and since most of what I do right now is kickboard, that can get pretty boring with no one to talk to, so I skipped the pool and went for a bike ride around my neighborhood! It felt good to get on my pretty pink bike - I added some air to her tires and off I went. (I will not mention listening to the torturous cries of one very sad dog who got left behind...but I couldn't chance having to make a quick stop because of him - my goal is to not move backward with this recovery)
After the first couple of tentative pedal rotations, my ankle settled in nicely and I was only bothered a couple of times when I went over a rough bump - but all in all, it was a great way to stretch out my leg muscles. I rode for about 25 minutes - my bike odometer said I covered 4.3 miles. I felt great but decided to stop, going along with my "easing back into exercise" program. Funny thing - I was moving so fast and felt so free while I was riding, but as soon as I got off the bike, I was back to my limping, clompy walk...yep, there's my reality. Oh well. This will all be a thing of the past pretty soon.
It feels good to be moving more. Now, if I could just put on my running shoes (ok, with a matching outfit) and go for a little run, well, that would be amazing.
The pool has been great - lately the mornings have been quite chilly but the gym has upped the heat to 84 degrees, which makes it pretty easy to slip in. I'm already back up to swimming 100 lengths, which was my minimum before the surgery - except that I'm only doing 40 lengths of backstroke/sidestroke, instead of my usual 60...but who knows, maybe by the end of the week I'll be there. The rest is kickboard, with the other strokes sandwiched in the middle. To be perfectly honest, my ankle does start hurting about midway through my swimming workout, and continues to bother me the rest of the day, so I'll be checking with my doctor later on today (I have another follow up appointment) to see if this is a normal part of the healing.
I also rode my bike last week - pool buddy Nancy wasn't going to be there on Thursday, and since most of what I do right now is kickboard, that can get pretty boring with no one to talk to, so I skipped the pool and went for a bike ride around my neighborhood! It felt good to get on my pretty pink bike - I added some air to her tires and off I went. (I will not mention listening to the torturous cries of one very sad dog who got left behind...but I couldn't chance having to make a quick stop because of him - my goal is to not move backward with this recovery)
After the first couple of tentative pedal rotations, my ankle settled in nicely and I was only bothered a couple of times when I went over a rough bump - but all in all, it was a great way to stretch out my leg muscles. I rode for about 25 minutes - my bike odometer said I covered 4.3 miles. I felt great but decided to stop, going along with my "easing back into exercise" program. Funny thing - I was moving so fast and felt so free while I was riding, but as soon as I got off the bike, I was back to my limping, clompy walk...yep, there's my reality. Oh well. This will all be a thing of the past pretty soon.
It feels good to be moving more. Now, if I could just put on my running shoes (ok, with a matching outfit) and go for a little run, well, that would be amazing.
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