I came in to work on Friday and remember having this page up and reading it and intending to post, but instead getting caught up in all of the stuff I needed to do, and I guess I never posted. Oops.
Bookmark - Oof. It is really, really hard when finances are that tight. Hope you are able to catch up, and hope your cat is feeling good now. Also, kind of curious about your music selection now. =) Hope the cookie baking is super fun, and that you're able to get caught up and rested.
Diane - Yay Body Flow! And productivity! Hope your neck and shoulders are feeling fantastic today.
Had a pretty good weekend. We have a furniture store in town that offers free cookies, and my whole family went and hung out and ate cookies there. (Kinda weird, not my idea, but it was fun.) I did not eat a single cookie. And I wasn't white-knuckling. I just didn't want to. And that is how I know I am at my sweet spot again. I know it won't last, and I already feel myself wanting to indulge in some cheese balls, but it's just an on-the-edge-of-consciousness thing, not a craving, and I hope it just fades back out so I can keep moving forward. Tomorrow is weigh-in day. I hope I will continue to make progress, but am bracing myself for my weight being either the same as last week or slightly higher because last week's drop was pretty significant. We shall see.
A productive week awaits! Gonna run today. I had a good run last Friday. We will see what awaits today.
Okay, eating is still awkward with the tender scar tissue in there, but soft foods are better than no foods, and if I have to live on crust-less/veggie-less sandwiches, oatmeal, yogurt, and pasta for a little while, then CARB ME UP. I actually managed to eat a turkey/mustard/cheese on whole wheat (sans crust) yesterday, cut into really tiny pieces, and I felt SO much better afterward.
Also, I've lost 12 pounds in the 2 weeks since Halloween. I am not thrilled with how it came off, but it's a nice little jump start for getting back into things, I suppose. My year-end goal is just another 11 pounds from where I am now. I know I'll probably bounce back up a bit when I start eating again, but I'm hoping my dental issues have not derailed me so far that I can't get close to my New Year's goal. I plan on joining another step-bet for December, to keep me on track.
Laurie: Glad you are feeling so strong and on track!! Way to go! Just hold on to it as best as you can as we head into the dangerous time of year!!
Mandy: Well, baby steps! At least the stitches are out and you can get a little nourishment now. Hopefully it will all heal very quickly. Oh, and even though it wasn't the easiest way to do it, it is good to have a little jump start. I think you're goal is good going up to the new year.
For me, I didn't have a very successful food weekend. I can kind of feel the mojo going away. I'll keep working out and all, but I'll need to focus on logging my food. The holiday distraction is starting for me and I'm just going to have to fight it!
Thanks, Laurie. I make pretty good money, and I get paid again tomorrow, so I'm alright. A large chunk of it will just be going to owes for a while...but it's ok. I'm paying off a whack of stuff this year so I can move at the end of June, and it will be worth it. I'll be trying leaving myself a bit more over the next couple of weeks, though. Kitty is doing very well, thanks.
That not-craving-but-on-the-edge-of-consciousness place is dangerous for me. I get overconfident and think "hey, it would be nice to just..." and then, more often than not, end up face deep in cake or something. Still, it's a nice feeling while it lasts. I just need to learn the trick of hanging on to it.
Congrats on stitch-freedom Fera, and I say embrace the loss! Good attitude about being prepared for bounce back gain and just taking it slow and steady. Good you got SOMETHING out of this miserable time.
Slashnl - hang in there! I've been trying to focus on nice holiday outfits and activities, and meals rather than treats - I don't generally cook, as I'm single and lazy, so I do a lot of frozen things or quick stuff, but I'm planning to pick up a roast chicken this weekend for a nice proper meal, and looking forward to that as a way of curtailing my tendency to dive into a bag (or ten) of chips at the weekend. Still, it's tough.
I had a pretty good weekend - probably in part because I couldn't afford to go buy more food than what was in my house. Baking was good. I've not scarfed the cookies. I've had one or two a day, and they were fun to make. I'll take the rest into my students after I get them iced. Gym is still not really happening...but I started using a yoga app, called yoga rebel, with short yogaish workouts on it, and that's something.
Mandy - So glad your stitches are out and that you can eat again! Woo hoo! Glad you got that jump start, involuntary though it may have been. It's all clear sledding from here! (Okay, maybe not clear sledding, but it is nice to be headed in the right direction.)
Diane - Let's make sure the powder is dry and the muskets are functioning, cuz it's going to be a long battle. But you're right -- the strategy and the prep are key. I am considering what I need to do. I hate tracking, but I might start again. I may also do some meal planning. Glad it looks like your neck pain is now a memory.
Bookmark - Yay for payday! That yoga app sounds great. I think I might download it. There's an empty space close to my office where I might be able to do a few minutes of yoga on days that I just can't slip out. Woot for creative solutions!
I weighed in today. Not surprisingly, I am only down 2/10 of a pound over the last week. Not really complaining. But a little bit. I am so much closer to my goal than I have been in a really long time, and I actually want to get there. But I need to not be impatient. I need to take a deep breath and just keep swimming.
Hope everyone has a great day! I am lifting this evening, and I am going to ROCK it. I also ate some candy yesterday. Just a few "fun size" bars. Not a big deal, and not that rare of an occurrence. But going to try to go sugar-free for the next few days, with the exception of the 90-calorie fiber one treat I eat every day (and that is not just an indulgence, but a necessity). I would like to see some progress the upcoming week. Considering weighing daily for a while, but worried that it will throw me off if I start doing that.
Apparently they missed a stitch, and that stitch has been the culprit in some of my remaining pain. It came out on it's own this morning and I was lucky I didn't swallow it!
Mouth is still fairly tender, but I am able to eat some meat, if I shred it in tiny pieces and mix it with a little mayo and mustard, like a 'salad'... tuna and turkey have both worked. And if I just eat it out of the bowl without crackers or bread, it keeps me from going into carb overload. YAY! I never thought I'd miss veggies, but I do.
This whole hunger/not eating situation is getting more and more difficult to endure with TOM around the corner and cravings kicking in. Trying to see it as a blessing in disguise, since I crave things like chips and buttery salty popcorn, and anything with gooey melty cheese (pizza, fried mozzarella sticks, etc) during TOM and can't currently eat those things. Leftover Halloween candy is still not a temptation because I can't eat it (mostly snickers, and peanut M&Ms). I've been drinking coffee with extra sweet creamer in it to help some of the cravings.
In other news, I'm celebrating a small victory. For the first time in his short little 1 year life, my son is napping in his crib. It took an hour and a half, and lots of tears (mine and his) but he finally went down, and has stayed asleep for almost 2 hours. Poor little dude, he needed it. And as much as I enjoy it when he naps on me, I think it's time to break that habit. Mommy and Daddy can't be his napping place every afternoon anymore. Gonna keep trying every day, with the same routine, and hopefully it will get easier. This mom thing, it covers the whole spectrum of emotions every single day.
Mandy - Glad you were able to get rid of the stitch and that you are able to enjoy real food now. It is bittersweet that your baby is sleeping in the crib now. You can't always and forever give an afternoon to a baby nap, but it is wonderful to snuggle a baby in this way.
I am just doing a short check-in today. Day 2 of my candy-free streak has commenced. I decided yesterday it's just a little variety that I need in the afternoon. I intended to bring my Fiber One snack in with me today for a later afternoon snack, but forgot. So I will just deal with it, but try to remember for tomorrow. This whole afternoon calorie blast thing is going to be a struggle for a while, I'm afraid.
Hope everyone is having a fantastic day gearing up for Thanksgiving and the holidays!
Hi all! Just a quick post today. I've decided to take a break on workouts until after Thanksgiving week. I still have pain in my back/neck and now I feel like it is a pinched nerve. I haven't been to the doctor, it is just a self-diagnosis. Everything I've read about it sounds like what I have, and there isn't much of a treatment for it, except resting it. So, I'm done for now. I need it to feel better and I think the workouts might be making it worse.
Not excited about it, but I'm really tired of the pain. So, taking a break.
Diane - I had hoped you were through with the shoulder/neck pain. I'm so sorry! I think you're making the right choice, though. Maybe you can capture the time to work on other aspects of achieving your goal -- like journaling or meal planning or meditating or whatever. Or you can just chill. You work so hard all of the time, that might be nice. Really hope that this gets behind you very soon.
Didn't run yesterday. I did well on not eating extra in the afternoon, but my husband was supposed to make dinner, and he didn't, so we ordered pizza. (He's really reliable about making dinner when he's scheduled, usually). So, by the time 7:00 rolled around, I had only consumed about 200 calories, and I was really hungry, and I overate pizza and was miserable. I went for a long walk, and felt better after that, but man. When am I going to start making good choices so I enjoy my food and don't feel awful after I eat? **sigh**
I brought my afternoon snack in, and resisted the temptation to eat it in the car this morning. Hopefully, this will be the first in a long line of days where I make good food choices and am able to get some good exercise in.
Laurie: I guess it is always a battle. We just have to try each day to be good about food choices. I think it is just too easy to fall into a bad choice. Dang it! But here you go today with being on the right track!!!
And, yeah, I thought I was better, but then working out all last week might have set me back. I am trying not to be upset about it, and just accepting that I'll be starting again. I am trying hard to not overeat and give in too much in the other way!! That will be my struggle.
Diane - When is the day when we will find this to be simple and routine? Hard to accept that the answer is "never." Hope you enjoy your time away, as much as you can, and that you heal quickly and thoroughly.
I almost never eat until about 11:30 or later. I usually spend my mornings slamming liquids, trying to make sure I get in an appropriate daily amount. But I was hungry this morning, and I ate about 300 calories. That's usually my sum total prior to dinner, when I allow myself to eat a bit more (sometimes too much more). But I have decided I am going to have a relaxed day with food - a "cheat day," if you will. Those often don't work out well for me, as I have a hard time getting back on track. But I am feeling some fatigue with trying so hard every day, and hope that just chilling today will be helpful. Going to try to get in a run as well.
Laurie: I think a day off is a good thing. But, you're right, it is hard to get back to it. I've actually noticed that although I am missing my workouts, I also remember how nice and relaxed it can be in the mornings when I'm not hustling off to the gym!! I will get back to it, but I can see why it took so much effort to start and to stay dedicated to it!!
Still having some pain in my neck/back. I think it is getting better, but I can still feel it. Maybe this next week will get it cleared up. One can hope! Have a good weekend!
Hey all! It's been a few days since I checked in... mostly because the only opportunity I've had to be on the computer is when my kiddo is napping, and I've been taking care of things around the house instead of parking my booty in front of the computer.
I had a chunk of tooth come out of one of the surgical sites, so what I thought (and the surgeon thought) was a good covering of healing scar tissue... was actually a bone shard or a tooth shard leftover from a difficult wisdom tooth that came out in chunks. So, I now have a weird hole in the roof of my mouth by my upper left molars, right where the stitches that were driving me nuts were located. It doesn't hurt, but I'm terrified that I'm gonna get food stuck up in there and it get infected. I rinse with salt water religiously after I eat anything, just in case.
Eating is... weird now. I've gone so long without eating solid food, that I can't eat much when I do sit and eat without feeling queasy. And a lot of times I don't really feel hungry until the evening. So, I'm actually going back into the intermittent fasting that worked so well for me in the past without really meaning to! Hoping I can keep going with my weight loss after I get over the TOM/real food again water bump I'm currently fighting with.
I joined a step bet, too! It will run from Dec 6 to Jan 15 and I'm hoping the monetary motivation will once again do good things for me and help me to fight the holiday weight gain by keeping me moving! I'm hoping to be able to walk in the afternoons when my kiddo is napping and also again when hubby is done with work.
I am busy in the kitchen today preparing multiple desserts for a charity dessert auction going on at the church, and I'm not able to eat any of it, which is a blessing and a curse. I'll lick the spoons and be happy.
Diane - It is tough to stay on the exercise train. It does take a lot of effort, and does deprive us of things we enjoy -- even if it is just the ability to chill in the mornings. Glad you are enjoying the reprieve. Hope the healing is fast and permanent, and can't wait to hear about the progress once you're back to the gym.
Mandy - Oof. The tooth nightmare is never gonna end! Good idea on the salt rinse. Glad you're feeling well enough to crank out the desserts, even if the eating thing isn't entirely resolved. I think IF is a fantastic idea. I am doing sort of a modified IF, and it really is a pretty good system for me.
Had a relaxed food weekend. Probably too relaxed. And now struggling to get my food back in line. Yesterday, I didn't eat too much, but I sort of snacked all day instead of eating anything nutritious. I had Fiber One brownies, chips, toast, and popcorn. That was it. No real protein. Made me feel a bit queasy all day to just eat carbs. But it was all right. I am now enjoying some herbal tea, trying to get my water in, and ignoring the cake a coworker brought in. I am going to focus on routine, trying to make sure I can be productive at work, deal with the Thanksgiving situation, get my work-outs in, and not get too anxious about food. Meaning -- I am going to try to stay on track nutritionally without either white-knuckling the food situation or giving in. I am going to try to employ breathing routines, meditation, and mindfulness. Sounds kind of New Agey, but I am still looking for the sustainability thing.
I met with the trainer at my gym on Saturday. We had taken some measurements and done a weigh-in back in July. He was quite impressed with my progress. I am going to try to do it again in three months, and I would like to be down another thirty pounds by that time. Hopefully, it will give me something to focus on. It will be another trainer challenge!
Mandy: Sorry for all the tooth issues!! I can't wait until you get back to normal. It has to be such a struggle. I'm sure that you are ready for normalcy!
Laurie: Getting to be tough to stay on plan with all the crazy weekend activities. I am struggling with keeping on track.
Hopefully, everything will be better and I'll be going back to the gym next Monday. I don't feel 100%yet, but maybe the rest of the week away from work and having a relaxing Thanksgiving will help!
