I am nursing an injured cat. I’m not sure but I think he got hit by a car last night. He came home with a bloody face and general unhappiness and unwellness. I have been getting water and baby food chicken into him with a syringe, and I have set him up here in the office to keep him away from the dog and so I can monitor him. He seems a little fiestier tonight. He’s a great cat, very beautiful, and very affectionate. He’s moving around a bit now, and wants out of this room, so that’s reassuring. I’ll set the alarm again for the middle of the night to get more water into him and make sure he’s settled.
Indulgent weekend with Loverboy…last night was the anniversary of the night we met, and he decided we needed to mark the occasion at one of the nicer restaurants in town. It was a wonderful meal, very well done but not huge portions, healthful food….then today we went to a greasy spoon for breakfast. Almost the full days calorie allotment in one meal. Bacon, sausage, eggs, homefries….that really adds up! However, I did walk 80 minutes tonight, not enough to balance things out but it has to help, right?
Tomorrow is going to mark the beginning of a long, long week.
Loverboy has a cold and is dosing himself with that fine old Canadian remedy - neocitron & rye, having a hot bath and then will probably collapse into bed. Talk about irony -I’m all energetic and playful tonight!
Dog and I had an eventful walk earlier this evening…I let him say hello to another dog, and somehow they got their collars linked. Two big, panicky dogs, and two frantic owners trying to unlink them….we’ll probably end up on youtube.
I do like seeing that exercise ticker advance…40 minutes last night, 60 minutes tonight. I am up into some big numbers. Yay me!
And, the calorie count today is really low. Double yay!
{later} Well, it was low before the pate and cheese and wine in front of Law & Order and Without a Trace. Damn.
I am so tired. I just want to fall into bed, but I have to head out with the dog in a minute. I am going to do the short 20 minute route, and then come home and crash in front of the tv for a bit. Tomorrow I am booked into meetings from 9am to 6pm, and the one over lunch will not be fun. I think my boss is bringing me along to deflect some of the heat our latest project is getting from this group.  I think it’s a good strategy and I can handle it, but it is draining and requires being on high alert the whole meeting.
Loverboy comes tomorrow night and I want to be able to stay awake for a little while once he arrives. Usually he gets here, I get a hug and then I almost fall over from exhaustion. He is very understanding and comforting but I know he feels ignored. After all, he had a long week too plus he drives 3 hours to get here. Nothing is ever easy, is it?
Had an ok day, although the brownie I had at my late meeting pushed me over the magic number again. I could have had a piece of fruit. But no, I took that little chocolate thing. It was little, the caterers really stretch the food…lol…but I didn’t need it. Didn’t help me stay awake.
Still, have made some progress. Snack of apple instead of chocolate chip cookie, although according to the food log program there are less calories in the cookie than the apple…what’s the point of that?
Am about to give up on my goal of 2400 minutes of exercise in one month, cause the math is just not going to work, and set a new one for the next month. 2,000 minutes for the next month. That’s still pretty good, I think, if I can hit that. Well, maybe I’ll wait and see how close I get by the 20th. And stay off the scale. I confess, I did get on it today and I have lost that pound again. But don’t worry. I am sure I will find it soon.
Tomorrow I can do my measurements and see if there is any change there. I really hope so. I need some good indicators, I am getting discouraged.
Not really a good day. Car is making strange - revving up, idling down fast, power fluctuating…this cannot be good. Will take it to the car place tomorrow. Hate having to deal with things like this.
Had to attend a fancy dinner tonight with my boss, it was worthwhile but the food was very plentiful. Simple but too much of it. Especially the roast potatoes. I hardly ever eat potatoes but I love how this place does them. So again, over my 1700 magic number. However, did go for a 60 minute walk when I got home. Even though it is SNOWING AGAIN. Yes. Unbelievable.
OK, going to have a hot bath and go to bed. Need a good night’s sleep.
Will NOT get on the scale.
k, got a little too free with the olive oil at lunchtime which pushed me over my limit. Fine. I am not going to beat myself up about this. I am going to go for a walk, make some phone calls, get an early night in. Keep everybody happy.
I may have to scale back the walking a bit, until the weather warms up and I can wear good supportive shoes. My ankles and arches are starting to stiffen up every morning. This could be a problem. Well, if it stays dry I can probably go out in shoes tomorrow, just have to watch for the ice patches in the shade.
Alright, out into the freaky cold again. When will this end?
{later} Whew. 90 minutes - I am just over halfway to my goal, with 10 days left…I will have to clock some long hours this weekend to make it. Starting to think I am going to fall short. It took me a couple of weeks to work up to the 90 minute walk, and then I skipped a couple of days in there, so I am not sure I can make the math work.  Well, still proud of the fact that I have logged 1,220 minutes of exercise since March 19. And if you don’t think walking my dog counts as exercise, check out the pix…lol. We hoof it, let me tell you. (Wait, wrong animal.)
Ok, I have added a new ticker - number of days at 1700 cals or less. I know that is not a very low number, but if I am maintaining the 60+ minutes of walking exercise, and if it is true (as my fitness software is telling me) that my metabolism is such that I use 1900 a day without exercise, then if I have the math correct I should start losing a pound a week. I will be ecstatic to see that, after all these weeks of bouncing around and taking 4 months to lose 4 pounds. One pound a week would be a phenomenal rate.
I also am going to see my doctor and make sure that there is nothing wrong with my thyroid, and that I don’t have diabetes or anything else that might be affecting my metabolism.
My diet doesn’t need a lot of tweaking except to start making martinis and wine special occasion drinks, not nightly indulgences. Herbal sleepytime tea and decaf green tea, perrier water…those will have to become the nightly tipples of choice. This way when I do have the party or social night it will be part of the treat. My wine cellar will start to look much better, too. It is hard to put together a collection when you are sampling the bottles too frequently.
Oherwise, I am really getting annoyed with myself. Ok - out for the nightly walk. That dog better be in the mood to make tracks!
I have to be honest - I have moved the weight ticker back up! And I have deleted the lose 10 lbs by April 20th goal - not going to happen. I know why too - anyone who looks at my recycling bin would know why! I am drinking way too much wine - sometimes a whole bottle a night, but averaging 1/2 bottle a night, plus several martinis a week. This started as a sleep aid about a 2 years ago and has been creeping up. Partly because I love wine, and have been learning about it, going to tastings, joining wine clubs, etc. (none of which tend to serve low-fat, veggie fare, either). It has lost its ’special occasion’ feeling and become an everyday drink. Well, depending on what food log program you check, a bottle of wine has between 500 - 650 calories. That’s the equivalent of TWO or THREE chocolate bars. I wouldn’t eat that before bed to help me sleep. No wonder my middle looks like a bowl of jelly.ÂÂ
Well, wine and martinis are now banished to the weekend social life. No more mid-week tippling. Herbal tea and fizzy water will be the drink of choice.
This is going to be a very depressing couple of hours…I am cleaning out my closet, and any clothing I haven’t worn in a year goes to value village. That will include some very expensive pieces that never fit me…you know that game (well, this will look so good when I lose [insert number here] pounds, which I know will happen immediately, AND it IS on sale).
The result? I have a closet full of too tight, unflattering clothes, some still with the tags on. And to be sure, I will have to try everything on again, just to rub in the fact that I have put on 20 pounds in the last four years. Maybe I can blame 10 lbs each on ex-boyfriend one and two (in reverse chronological order). Kidding, I’m kidding!
Ok, time to get through this psychic junk. Open all the windows and let the cool breeze in.
Then, my son is coming for dinner, and I am going to do a nice dinner with home-made biscuits and cake with fresh strawberries. He gets to take home all the leftovers.
 {later} well, just about what I expected to find behind those closet doors. I filled a big bag and a big bin. A few things I found did fit, surprise surprise, and now I have tons of room in my closet, and a few things that need alterations or mending…who decided that when the hips get bigger the legs get longer? I swear, suddenly all pants have three more inches of length for every size up. Now I have a pile of ironing to do. ugh. That wasn’t in the plan…lol
I am going to have to fit in more exercise if I am going to meet my April 20 goal of 2400 minutes in a month. I have been doing 60 minutes a day of walking 5-6 days a week, and 40 minutes most other days but I have taken a couple of days off. Can’t wait until I get my bike on the road, that will be my morning thing, I think, and with the long walk with the dog every evening I will be able to rack up some time.
I am trying so hard not to fixate on the scale which is NOT MOVING!! I do not get it. I am not pigging out on a regular basis - my calorie intake is running between 1500-1900 per day, I am walking briskly every day for an extended period, I am trying to eat vegetarian as much as possible….this is so, so frustrating and I cannot get hung up on it, I know, but I can’t let it go either.
On the plus side, I think my measurements are changing, but I am not even sure about that. Maybe I held the tape very loosely at the beginning and now I am just faking the inches off by squeezing the tape…aargh.
I know that in the past weight training has really helped change my body even when the numbers on the scale moved very slowly…I have to introduce more discipline and devote 30 minutes a day to that. That sounds so simple.
It is so quiet. Loverboy is gone…left this morning very early, off to visit family. We only had a few hours together last night as I didn’t get home from work until 9:30, went for my walk (only 40 minutes b/c it was freaky cold again) and then I was so drained I couldn’t stay awake.
I was so excited by the thought of having this w/e to myself that I had several different plans in mind…now I am so tired I am going to give myself today to just relax, veg, roll around and not feel guilty about anything. I have the immense treat of a four day weekend (yay!!!) and I need to take advantage of it. Since the weather is keeping me home, I was thinking about painting the bedroom, re-organizing the basement, yada yada yade….nope. Going to sit on the couch and stare at the wall and enjoy the quiet. And when that gets too strenuous I will take a nap!
{later} I slept most of the day! Drifted in and out of dreamland, thought it was about 1 pm when I finally got around to getting up and was shocked to see it was after 6pm. I am not allowing myself to think of this as a wasted day, rather, it is a day off that I must really have needed. Off in every sense of the word. Well, heading out for a walk…if it is as cold as I suspect it won’t be the long, hilly route…I’m tired of windchill.
