Not feeling happy, though. I'm at 162.9, after eating a couple helpings of ham and having a couple persimmons because of my celebratory mood. That's enough, after a fairly sedentary indoors day, to add two pounds. I didn't even need to drink or eat cookies or cheese.
The bitter cold continues. The gym will open in about 10 minutes. I really should go downtown, but I'm still cringing at the idea of walking around a lot outside without a good reason. I suspect this will be another fairly confined day after this morning trip to the gym and one errand.
I often read this thread and cheer you folks on in my head. Glad to hear about Pepper, Alice, and sorry to hear you're sick, JZJ.
I've been doing well weight-wise. At my last physical, my LDL was high (but all my other numbers were good) so the doctor (in a letter) recommended I lose weight. My BMI was already decent, but I was fine with becoming a bit thinner, so I dropped about 10 pounds, down to around 127 plus or minus a couple lbs.
I've taken some other steps to reign in LDL, including bumping up my steps to 15K daily, eating more nuts & EVOO, taking metamucil, and drinking about 4 oz (a small juice glass) of red wine each day.
The hardest step I've taken is eating more than once a day (I've read that the insulin response is what triggers the liver to take in LDL). This is a work in progress and I find it really tough to eat more than once a day without overeating. I lost the weight before seriously adopting this change, so now maintenance is more of a struggle. I may need to find some sort of compromise approach.
Anyway, I wish you all the best and hope you reach all your goals of various sorts in 2018!
Last night, the kids were all home. We played games and I fixed a great meal and they stayed up well past midnight while DH and I slept. Dinner was pork loin done in the crock pot with the most amazing roasted vegetables. Everyone raved about them. And it was so easy, so they'll become a new standard. Sweet potatoes, red peppers, poblano pepper, jalapeņos, black beans and corn with salt, chili powder, cumin and paprika. Really yummy.
So to get through today with out too much overeating and tomorrow the diet begins. But I have a dozen or so coming for lasagna for our annual birthday party.
Since Friday I have had some kind of bug - cold or flu or ?? But it has taken away my appetite. How crazy is that, to be happy about being sick. I started the new year at 123.5, exactly the weight I want. There is a First Day hike I have to skip, but I'll make up for it as soon as I'm well.
Thanks for all of your well wishes for Pepper. He's doing okay right now, although I still have to determine if he's eating enough to gain weight.
Stepped on the scale today for my first "official" weight of 2018. 136.4.
That surprised me. I thought I had eaten enough extra dessert stuff over the holidays to be up over 140 lbs. I was relieved that it wasn't so.
I didn't make any resolutions. I am changing a habit instead. I am going to drink one bottle of water for every caffeinated beverage I have in a day. Did that yesterday and have started on it today.
I'm back at work today and the day will drag long into the evening - dogsit starting - but I'm determined to cut down on my caffeine so will try to avoid having anything but water after 1 p.m.
Well, I'm back up a few pounds after Christmas. I suspect most of that came from the Fri-Mon of New Years weekend, as I actually did pretty good the week of Christmas. I was on vacation from the 22nd through yesterday, just got back into the office today. I exercised every day last week, but decided to take off yesterday for NYD. I napped everyday last week, relaxed. I'm feeling pretty mellow today. Got up, exercised, fixed dinners for the week in my Instant Pot while I was outside in the garage on the stationary bike.
I started a new 30 day yoga challenge that is on the Yoga with Adriene channel today. I'm going to cut the hour of cardio I had worked up to over the last few months back down to the 45 minutes I started with so I have time for the 25-35 minutes of yoga along with it. I usually have about 15-20 spare minutes (when I get up in time) and have used it for shorter yoga in the past, but lately I've been oversleeping and not using it at all. So, the plan is to get back to my regularly scheduled wake time, do the yoga, 45 minutes cardio, shower, Headspace. I am good about it on days when we have DSS, not as good about it on normal days.
Long, cold day here, too. I hate the first day back after vacation.
We had our annual lasagna birthday bash yesterday. My MIL did two lasagnas, I did one huge one, she brought salad and I did garlic bread. Someone brought cake and ice cream and when the party was over, the cake went in the garbage. IDK, but if you offer to bring a cake, make one. Don't stop at the store for one of those horrible tasting, overly iced monstrosities at the grocery store. Had I been in charge, I had a lovely (yet time consuming) recipe for a white Russian cake from King Arthur Flour. It sounded divine.
Yesterday was spent playing games and relaxing while watching football. Just as it should be. The kids all stayed up late on NYE but DH and I went to bed at our normal time.
Back to work today and I'm faced with huge piles of things to get done. I've accomplished a couple of the big ones with at least two more to do today or tomorrow. Meanwhile I need a manicure. I think it's been 4 or even 5 weeks and last night one nail broke off. I'm getting my hair cut and dyed Thursday, too. So I need to get as much done today as possible. I just popped in for a "break."
Happy new year! Crawling back in from the disaster that was December. The first two weeks were nonstop stress at work to the point where I didn't have time for lunch breaks at all, much less working out on my lunch break, then we went to visit my mom in CA and all the indulgence related to that.
I've been getting back on track since we got home and the high weight I saw of 161 has not been seen again, but I'm still hanging around 158/159, which is about 10lbs more than I was at this time last year.
I don't have any more special events or travel planned any time soon, and work is less crazy now, so I think I can manage to pull myself together and focus on losing weight. Once I get started it's easy to keep going, usually. I didn't manage to put together a workout plan for myself yet. Today I did an hour long yoga podcast which worked out pretty well I think -- I was definitely feeling the burn from a lot of time in lunging positions.
General intent: do exercise that I enjoy, and which increases muscle strength. Include HIIT cardio. I enjoy yoga and pilates, so it makes sense to incorporate them since they do improve strength. Running is out for the winter because I can't run on a treadmill without aggravating plantar fasciitis, but I can do HIIT on the stationary bike or elliptical. I'm thinking of trying for a super basic strength program, like just throwing in push-ups, lat pull-downs, squats, lunges, crunches and back extensions (though pilates would cover that pretty well).
The question: is it worth it to try to find a yoga or pilates class near my office that I could physically leave the office to attend during lunch? Or go right before work? Or should I stick with podcasts and youtube (advantage: free, no commute. disadvantage: if I'm doing it wrong, nobody will tell me)?
I did some searching for local fitness places but there's nothing closer than 5 miles from my office, at which point it doesn't make sense anymore. The closest thing I found was a Pure Barre place that's between my house and my office, but to really work for me to do in the morning they'd need a class at 7, and their morning class is at 6, which is too early. The yoga studio I like is also between my house and my office, but their morning classes aren't until 9:30, and going at lunch would take too long.
Some day, when my kids go to bed later than 7pm, I will be able to do afternoon exercise again and not forego all time with my children for it. In the meantime, if anyone has suggestions for podcasts or apps that do guided yoga or pilates workouts, let me know!
Back at work, and I went from 162.9 yesterday to 163.5 today. This weight gain happened as soon as my mother left and I stayed in nearly every day. I ran errands and of course, I never miss going to the gym and lifting weights. But I wasn't moving much.
I need to re-focus on all the projects that I was advancing before the holidays.
I see some departments cutting employees around me. It's a subtle trimming rather than big cuts. The timing always seems particularly cruel, coming a month before the bonus payouts.
Jessica - check out Yoga With Adriene, she's on YouTube and has her own website called Find What Feels Good. She has a new 30 day program that started yesterday called True, two or three other 30-31 day programs, and a ton of one on videos. I like her a lot.
January started with a bang at work. A manager had an accident in a company car, a long term employee had a heart attack and bypass surgery, another is sick with the flu. Long week already.
Three days into eating better after the holidays. Woo? 😀
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The first two weeks were nonstop stress at work to the point where I didn't have time for lunch breaks at all, much less working out on my lunch break, then we went to visit my mom in CA and all the indulgence related to that.