Beck – WI-down 1 lbs. First NEW LOW since I changed my exercise routine 3 weeks ago. When I talk to my endocrinologist on Wed I’m going to make it a priority to see if he can explain why increasing my exercise [a bit] has such a large impact on me. (weight gain/volatility and fatigue)
NSV: I logged body measurements and I had drops in everything except my waist. (credit!) I’m doing well on the jeans-o-meter too. I have 4 pair of size 16 jeans, each slightly different in size. So I have them ordered from smallest to largest. I started with the largest pair 3 weeks ago when I weighed about what I do now. Since then I’ve quickly been working down the sizes until now I’m wearing the 2nd smallest pair. Even better they are getting loose in the butt. However, the waist is still just right, so until I lose some inches in my waist, I can’t move down to the tiny size 16s.
Exercise – op. Food – op. However, last night I did have 1 1/2 glasses of wine (that weren’t op) after I submitted my post. Oh well.
Layoff news: There was a re-org in December and I was put in an organization that didn’t fit my skills (or my interests for that matter…). But I love working for my boss, so I just decided to see how things settled out before deciding to move elsewhere. Since I heard about the impending layoffs on Tues, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get into the organization that really needs people with my skills. This AM I finally had a meeting with my boss and he agreed I should move. So, he and my ‘new’ boss (who actually hired me into this company), are conspiring to figure out how to make sure the move happens. I feel both very lucky to work with these 2 men, but hopeful that I’ll be able to move to an org that is safer for me. So, that’s the best news I could hope for on a Friday night.
Anne Kudos for making a wise off-plan choice! Hunger may not be an emergency, but a banana is very wise indeed especially when you knew your calories were light anyway. Without the banana, you might have chosen to overeat *unwise* foods… Credit for all the exercise!
Bill Have fun this weekend!!! (and credit for the gym work, esp lunges.) We named our dog 5 years before moving to Maine, without the visions of Maine Moose dancing in our heads. He’s actually a dumb, sweet mutt with a head that’s just a bit over-sized. He reminded me of the Moose character in the Archie comic strips, and so he got a name that meant we just had to move to Maine! I still need to look at Delirious New York myself. It’s in my shopping list waiting for a lazy moment this weekend.
Tera Credit for 75% op and too bad about your hip! Great solution for your reacher! Good luck with your cat – I admire your optimism on the cat retraining! I think I might be able to name such sights for at least one other city – London perhaps? But it is a very exclusive club.
Susan The idea of paintings of people at bus-stops is brilliant. I think a series of those might sell exceptionally well. Don’t toss that idea aside too quickly. It is fun to talk about nyc… Good luck with hypnosis! It may very well help – and if it does great! If it doesn’t help, I don’t think it can hurt anything. So why fret?
davidette CREDIT for a successful week with DD! I think your plan for next weekend seems very reasonable. I’d recommend making ‘reasonable choices’ your mantra for the weekend.
Robin back at ya girl! Relax and do the best you can until you can get your routine back again.
Sorry but a-fib got me again earlier this week. I let myself get dehydrated and went into a-fib again. Dr. uped my med so I have been off work for over a week. Doing better now...hope to go back to work on monday.
Good news though...even though I have been having medical problems I have now lost 14 lbs and am almost to the place where I first started. That is kodos for me. Will check in tomorrow...meds do make me tired so I take them at night and they are starting to work. Have a wonderful night.
I've been on a non-stop work fest this week. Some March "Break". I've spent every day doing something in the ceramic studio, making glazes and slips, loading and unloading the kiln, being conscientious. I'll say credit moi for this even though it's my job to do this.
And since I was at the school I took advantage of it and worked on some prints. I did a colour woodblock reduction print on mylar. It was a complicated experiment. You use wood carving tools and start a design carved into the flat side of a plank of wood and then you print it in the lightest colour you will use. Then you carve away the parts of the wood block that you want to stay that colour in your print. For example, if you printed a baby blue sky, on the block you would carve away the sky so you can't print that part again. And this is what you do after every colour you print. So I did this four times, printed onto mylar (a weird translucent "paper" that's more plastic than paper, and I totally forgot that but it all came back when I found my prints still wet and sticky. if it was paper they'd be dry by now. O well. I also worked on several other prints so all is not lost).
And then I went to the City Art Teachers' meeting last night. All the other teachers just accepted me as one of them, even though I have yet to see the inside of a classroom. Seems the course I am going to teach has got them all talking. Stretch'n'Sketch: yoga + drawing. Go figure. (I teach the drawing not the yoga.)
Tomorrow I pick up my new glasses and on Monday I get a haircut all in preparation for the Governor General's vernissage on Wed morning. Still need shoes and jewelry. My ensemble is almost complete.
And with the frenzy of activity my food has become not so great. I skip meals, I don't plan, I use sugar to get from here to there--old survival habits. I really forget all about food when I am so consumed by my work and then I come up for air and I overeat. I need more automatic portable healthy foods.
Classes start again on Monday. My routine will reassert itself and so will my food prep. This weekend will be spent getting ready for the week and this will begin with my food.
Nice to be back Becksters! Hope you all have a great weekend.
Went for a long, two hour bike ride this morning. It was nice. Forgot my sunscreen and had a close encounter with a car, but I suspect there is no lasting damage from either. I also wiped myself out pretty well, and used it as an excuse to eat more than I planned. Not much more, but maybe 400 calories. I think I'm going to have to plan better next time. I almost never eat unplanned cauliflower, if you guys know what I mean.
Tomorrow starts the usual weekend chaos. New low on the scale this morning.
RobinW Enjoy your wine and your lurking. Looking forward to seeing you back soon.
Bill Nice job on the gym, the dreaded lunges, and the improving demographics in your gym. I'll miss your daily posts, and will look forward to Monday.
Tera Be nice to yourself! Nice job on attaching the reacher.
Susan I do my food plan the night before each day, and it includes my standard portion sizes. If I plan chicken breast, broccoli and rice for dinner, I know exactly how much of each I'll eat, unless I go off plan. I put that much on my plate and then just eat that. Hunger really doesn't enter the equation most of the time. I have about 3 standard breakfasts, either a sandwich or leftovers for lunch, and about 5-6 standard dinners, and the usual snacks (fruit, yogurt, latte, small granola bars or 100 cal packs). I eat out only maybe twice a week. It is pretty much a matter of routine now.
davidette Nice work on your week with DD.
It is easy to be motivated if you are doing what you like to do, meeting a friend or taking a class in your case. I just like to run.
ChinaMaine Congrats on the new low and the impressive range of 16s. I'm afraid I'm one of those people who picks a style and buys 3 colors so I don't have to pick another style.
Sounds like you are taking some positive steps to help keep your job safe.
Chris Take care of yourself and hope you feel better soon. Nice job on the 14 pounds. Any news about your DH's situation?
onebyone Sounds like you are very busy, and I think it sounds like a good plan to get some portable healthy food to have with you.
chinamaine new low! Hope your endocrinologist has some answers for you soon. dwindling jean size! I just squeezed back in my smallest jeans a few days ago and wore them all through dinner. It wasn't pretty, or comfortable, but it was satisfying! Glad to hear you have bosses who appreciate you.
onebyone Stretch'n'Sketch - what a novel idea! Can't wait to hear more about it! Have fun finishing off your ensemble, picking out jewelry should be a fun way to express your artistic sense. putting your fears behind you. You seem to know exactly what you need to do : "more automatic portable healthy foods"; get those freezer bags out and fill them up; don't overplan, just do it! Even if they aren't the best choices, they are undoubtedly healthier and more satisfying than anything you can grab on the run.
anne new low! Someone here said "making a big deal out of the little things" is essential to our success, and a new low is no little thing so don't forget to give yourself a big CREDIT!
Getting plenty of reinforcement for eating out healthy habits; dinner out tonight, my plan is in place. This a.m. it's the gym for step class and in the afternoon my yoga teacher friend has asked me to be her partner to teach a class on partner yoga. I'm not really comfortable in front of the room, but I'm trying to look at it differently; should be lots of laffs for everyone!
It's bright and sunny here but cold. I'm expecting the temp to rise... hope it does. I'm off soon to go get my glasses and some shoes...hope I can find some I like that I can afford.
I got on the scale and it said.... 260. If I told you what I thought and said to myself seeing that number again, well, it wouldn't be nice. So. I feel kind of defeated. I don't seem to be able to juggle over-the-top-busy, which happens often in my life, and sticking to a foodplan. And this kind of thinking makes me feel desperate and that's a sabotaging thought in itself.
Beck does mention several times that we have to make our plans a priority. I can't tell you how often I have come here to say I have come to the same conclusion yet again. Wonder when I'll really get it? Hmmmm. Perhaps I am being too harsh. I can do that. This is a new day. I just have to say that all those thoughts of fad dieting, and eating "only fish and veggies" (my form of extreme Ideal dieting taken from a "lose a dress size in a week diet" I did once and I lost 12lbs that, of course, returned many times over... but it worked my brain says! O sabotaging thought be gone) are back this morning. I think I'm tired. I need a day off and I'm taking it, once I get my glasses and maybe my shoes and do some work on my print... scholarship submissions are due at the end of the week... it just never ends.
But that's later. For now I will go and enjoy the Sun and that it's Saturday, my favorite day.
Extra Credit: again bringing brown rice sushi to friends' house for dinner instead of accepting their usual fare of refined carbs and steak. Asking for a modest sized piece of cake (it being dessert night) and not a second piece though I was tempted. Finding a way to carry my reacher everywhere and then using it in the gym locker room!
WI: up 3 (sigh)
Dinner and movie at friends' house got us back late. When we arrived, B discovered Internet mysteriously turned off. I was agitated, so played some zenerchi while waiting for him to get done with tech support.
Did pool yesterday and discovered that I am addicted. It definitely puts me in my happy place. Today I am not in my happy place. I'm disapointed to find myself back up to 220 and really wish my scale had the fat% measuring electronics to observe when the weight doesn't say what I want. Pain level is getting me down too.
I talked B into trying something new. His work schedule is somewhat flexible, and he likes to put in all the hours he can Monday-Thursday to get a half-day on Friday. I've been doing some thinking about our sleep needs and beginning to think we need somewhat more than 8 hours on average. For a week we are going to go to bed at 9:30 and not set the alarm, waking up whenever we do. I expect we'll find ourselves better rested, more cheerful and more effective.
Susan: I do hope to put my comic up where friends can see it. Some of the panels are a little rushed, and my creative control was limited by the group, but I think I did a pretty good job... good enough to consider developing my comic art skills to work toward a 2nd job. I will certainly post here when I have a link.
I'm looking forward to your report about hypnosis. I've always considered it to be something similar to meditation - only with a professional guide. I hope it goes well for you.
Davidette: and for another successful offspring visit! (For some reason it didn't feel right to call your daughter a "child".)
ChinaMaine: for doctor's appointment. I hope you get to the bottom of your fatigue problems quickly.
Amazing how much difference can exist between "size 16"s, isn't it? for progressively smaller 16s! for being (mostly) OP!
Hooray for the job news! Please keep us informed on the job move.
I could name maybe one or two sights for London, though that might be different if I lived closer to it. Every other town I can recognize as much as New York, I've been to.
Chris: Yikes about the a-fib. It sounds like your doctor is very responsive though. for the 14 pound drop!
onebyone: Credit vou indeed! Realize that even though it's "your job" you still have a choice in the matter. You chose to accept the job. You chose to follow through. You also chose to make the most of it!
I don't think I've ever seen a block print on Mylar before... is the support shiny like a Mylar balloon? What type of paint do you use?
Quote:
I need more automatic portable healthy foods.
Good call. You know what you need to do - you really do. In your clearer moments, you see it all. Act on those moments, not the feelings of frustration. Accept that you still had a lesson to learn - then learn it. Do it differently next time. I have faith in you to work this out, O Creative One.
...any chance we'll get to see images of the block prints when they're dry?
Anne: for biking! for new low!
And gosh... I guess I'm done. Better get on with Saturday then.
angelmomma210, hope you and your husband are continuing to do better
Tera, don't pay attention to the upward motion...if I remember correctly, you had such a big drop that there is bound to be some bouncing around. It is only a number to assist you, not control you....good for you on bringing the sushi!
onebyone, same for you, scale is only a number to assist you, stay with the plan! Good for you for planning a day off...I find I am most vulnerable when I am tired...pay attention to your needs...you can't take care of anything else until you take care of you.
davidette, surely your yoga friend wouldn't want to expose you to ridicule...give yourself a break! Isn't it the case, we are our own worst enemies?!?!
ChinaMaine, congrats on the new low! Wahoo on the jeans! Do you do any pilates? The pilates exercises are great for the core (middle). Sounds like you are really valued by your employers.
I felt confident enough to lower my weight number here. I know, only supposed to weigh yourself once, but I couldn't believe it so weighed myself...5 times during a period of 3 hours in the am before I ate. Once I actually weighed 153, but that one is too unbelievable to even consider. I am realizing that I need to be careful that I don't eat too little in my excitement with losing. I know my appetite is decreasing, and while I need to listen to hunger signals, I need to also eat enough to maintain my strength and body needs. Today I was really tired, and I think it might have been due to the weight loss and perhaps eating too little and too narrowly. Need to balance my carbs, protein, fats more carefully.
Happy weekend all!
Susan
PS just read the following in a blog by Tracey Reifkind that I follow occasionally. She was once overweight, but now keeps her weight under control with yoga and kettlebells. Thought you might find it interesting.
"When someone who eats too much compares themselves with someone who drinks too much (or uses drugs), what is often said is, "You can always stop drinking, but you can't stop eating...you have to eat!", implying that is harder to stop overeating than it is to stop drinking alcohol because you can live without alcohol, but you can't live without food.....partly true.....the part that you have to eat, not that one is easier than the other. Overeaters need to be abstinent from a behavior that is triggered by emotions, and emotion could be triggered by a certain food or a situation.....emotions trigger behaviors like overeating and, I'm assuming, drinking alcohol.
"We have to think about abstaining from a "behavior", not "food".....food is not the problem, eating is....how we eat food is....and how do we eat? For me the habit is eating compulsively, and what that means to me is, whatever the emotional reasons are, there's a good possibility when I shove that first bite of food in my mouth when I'm not physically hungry can trigger binge eating. If I can just keep myself from taking that first compulsive bite, then no trigger, no binge......
"The biggest part of abstaining from the first compulsive bite is to be able to recognize the first compulsive bite!"
Last edited by jivingandthriving; 03-21-2009 at 09:45 PM.
Beck – WI-down .5 lbs. Another new low! Food – op / Exercise – op. I planned on walking 45 minutes on the lake today and did 70 minutes instead. Also worked in the garage – getting it back into shape after a winter of neglect. I have a codicil on all my food plans, if I burn more than 750 calories in exercise, I can add 200 calories to my food plan; I’m doing it today. Since my plan was already light by 100 calories, I am able to bolster my plan by a total of 300 calories. Seems huge… I enjoyed a big piece of pizza after I got home from our walk and just had a bowl of rice pudding and strawberries. Am op at just under 2200 calories.
angelmomma I’m terribly sorry about the a-fib, and hope you can get back to work Monday. Credit for losing 14 lbs under such trying circumstances.
one by one Too bad about going off plan – or not even having time to make one. I hope you can get back in a routine soon. Too bad about hitting 260 again. But this is a new day, so seize it! Make your plans, and your health, a priority. I can’t wait to hear about your morning at the Governor Generals…
Anne on the new low – you snuck that one in. Credit for the work that got you there! Sorry about the off-plan eating, but I’m glad you enjoyed your ride. BTW – forgot to say good luck with the increased hours!
davidette I can’t wait to hear about your class! I think you’re wise to try to take a different perspective on teaching. I find I gain so much when I move outside my comfort zone. If you can laugh at yourself (in a joyous ‘isn’t this funny!’ way) then everyone in the class will enjoy it. And so will you! for developing good eating out habits! LOL on wearing your smallest jeans.
Tera Credit tu for bringing brown rice sushi to your friends – that’s great planning! for being addicted to the pool! It sounds like you need to find a way to measure something in addition to your weight – which clearly can go up and down in ways that don’t reflect your true progress. I know I feel dejected when the scale goes up, and I'm working really hard. I think you’ll be better able to handle it if you find an alternate way to judge your progress. Hmmm – I use body measurements (waist, hips, etc), and how clothes fit (pants-o-meter, etc). You could do those or buy one of those body fat measurement do-hickeys for a reward gift. In any case, this uptick of the scale is temporary – I’m sure of it. Re – sleep: I never use an alarm unless I need to. If I sleep late, then I work late… Whenever I use an alarm, I end up being exhausted because I cut off sleep I need. But I work at home so, my situation is not typical. Good luck!
Susan I’m glad you posted your new [lower] weight. It may go up and down, but I believe your hard work will ensure this number is just the beginning of even lower numbers. You are smart to watch your calories to make sure they are high enough. I went through a phase over a few weeks where I was eating 1400-1600 calories when Beck’ computations suggested I eat 2000. I have a hard time being hungry enough to eat 2000 calories, but I made a decision to be sure I never eat less than 1600…
I was just thinking about Pilates today… I’ve learned in the last 2 months that I have to change my exercise routines extremely gradually – but it’s something I’d like to try. Does it help with balance too? I want to be more flexible and balanced, as well as more muscled. My fatigue resulted in my really losing a lot of function, and I think those three things need to be at the core of what I do. (I know cardio is best from a pure weight-loss perspective, but I’m thinking in terms of overall health…) BTW: love your snippet about ‘abstaining from a ‘behavior’. It’s dead-on.
Coaches/Buddies I hate weekends. I simply don't know how to plan for them.
So DH wakes up this morning, and tells me he needs to go to the clinic. He has pinkeye, which he almost certainly picked up somehow from DD's case two weeks ago now. Anyway, he took DD to Itty Bitty sports at 8, while I dealt with the boy, who couldn't decide if he was hungry, tired or poopy. Then DH & DD swing home, I get both kids, and have to haul DD off to a make-up gymnastics class with DS in tow. DH brings home lunch--Subway, very reasonable. Then we have a BBQ at a friend's that I want to go to, but both children desperately needed a nap, and DH was disinvited due to the pinkeye. I veg for about an hour, then get kids packed back up, and into the car. We go to the BBQ, but I don't get a chance to eat anything but a couple handfuls of chips because, guess, I'm dealing with my children, and it was a grill-your-own thing. Not happening. So home, baths, bedtime for kids. It is now 7 pm, and I'm non-stop almost all day. Kids in bed, and I'm off to Walmart to pick up pajamas for the boy, and an el cheapo girlie bike for DD so she can do the kid's race at my bike race in April. Drove through an In-and-Out for a burger on the way home.
Tomorrow will be almost as bad. His and hers runs (hopefully), groceries, museum, bike riding for the chicklet. DH should be more help tomorrow since he'll be done being contagious.
I'm open to suggestions. I'm seriously thinking of keeping peanut butter sandwiches around. I'm having trouble dealing with anything that is even slightly perishable, since the car heats to something ridiculous in the AZ sunshine, frying eggs, baking bread, what have you possible in there; anything requiring two hands, since I'm always dealing with one or the other of the kids, forget even thinking about sitting except at supper; and anything the least bit good, or DD will whine and pitch a fit and carry on about how she wants it, never mind that if it's halfway healthy she has her own.
I got asked at Walmart if I was buying gifts for my grandchildren, sigh, and then at the In-and-Out they asked me if I'd be eating in my car, hello, fast food, drive through, rub it in why don't you. So I'm feeling very old and pitiful tonight. Yeah, and fat. I got the fries too. They smelled good, and my resistance was down to zero.
davidette The partner role in partner yoga sounds cool. I bet it feels nice to be asked. Are you going to do it?
onebyone Thanks for the reminder about making plans a priority. Now if we can figure out how to do that.
Tera Wow on your extra credit. I am so envious of your sleeping in. I think my sister and I are going to meet in Vegas in May and that will be my first opportunity in years.
Chris Sending you and your DH happy thoughts...
Susan Congrats on your low. Interesting thoughts on the blog.
ChinaMaine I think bumping your calories on big exercise days is smart. I try to do that myself.
Time to fall into bed, and do it all again tomorrow. I could write a plan for tomorrow, but have essentially zero idea of what we'll really do, so it's the numbers thing for me. 450 meals/150 snacks times 3. Plan done.
onebyone Re: "I can't tell you how often I have come here to say I have come to the same conclusion yet again. Wonder when I'll really get it?"
From This Year I Will by M.J. Ryan:
Quote:
...recognize that you actually are not right back where you started. You now have a wealth of information and experience from the previous attempts, no matter how many those may be, to draw on this time......take heart, the neuropathways you grew by practicing the new behaviors are still there. So starting over is at least a wee bit easier."
I've reassured myself from this concept so many times, hope it brings you a little consolation. Everytime we pick ourselves up and try again, we are getting a little bit closer to our goal.
tera planning ahead with sushi, working out that resistance muscle with second piece of cake! pool addiction.
jivingand thriving I have to constantly remind myself that this is about creating healthy habits, weight loss is just a side effect. Planning daily with diet software helps me keep my carb/protein/fat ratio and overall caloric intake in line.
Thanks for sharing the blog (BTW what are kettlebells?). I agree food is not the problem, behavior is, with this caveat: I personally find there is a strong element of chemical / hormone interaction in that refined carbohydrates and sugars stimulate cravings. If I minimize their consumption, my compulsive eating seems to evaporate!
chinamaine ANOTHER new low! Way to go. Especially considering your fatigue issues, I think you are very wise to compensate for workouts with extra calories, I know you are making wise food choices too Yoga has increased my flexibility and balance very quickly, but DD's WiiFit is great fun and fantastic for balance.
anne Your schedule continues to amaze me; what you accomplish in one day is phenomenal. And the clueless comment from the WalMart employee amazes me even more, but some people are just that, clueless. (I once got asked if I was my older sister's mother!) A peanut butter sandwich (Ezekiel 7 grain bread + SmartBalance PB, 1 TBSP + Polaner all fruit jelly) is my main "car" food for those days I can't sit still for lunch. I consider it a treat! Hope you get to treat yourself to Vegas in May, you deserve it.
The partner yoga class went great! For yoga, this group was absolutely raucous! Lots of giggling and chitchat. I'm very proud of myself; I would have begged out in the past but after praising jivingand thriving for breaking out of her comfort zone with self-hyponosis, how could I ignore this opportunity? I'm glad I did. Thanks for all the encouragement!
BTW I completely ignored the chocolate kisses available for the yoga class
86% OP (Food, Supplements, 3FC, Electronics, Bed, Careful movement) Oh, well. Forgot my AI last night.
Extra Credit: Got to the pool on an unplanned trip! Had a breakthrough afterward about the exercise.
I am SO addicted to the pool. Makes me happy. I get mopey when I don't get to go. I was positively giddy when we stopped at Chipotle afterward to use my coupon for a free burrito bowl! (Woo, Bill, free food!)
Anyway, about the breakthrough... the lightbulb came on. I don't have to exercise. I must if I want to be fit. The more fit I want to be, the higher a priority exercise must be. It's my choice how important my health is to me.
It's not about gritting my teeth and forcing myself to do it. It's about finding the exercise I can get addicted to... those things I enjoy for their own sakes. Then getting moving becomes a priority without teeth gritting. Thanks, Anne, for being an example.
WI: down 2
Susan: Thanks for the quote. for making the new low "official" and for recognizing something to work on.
You're right that I was expecting some "bounce back" but I'd thought I'd done that and resettled at about half way between the new lowest and the weight I had been at. Then I found myself back to that older weight and... well... It's just a temporary point anyway... I wasn't obsessing all day over it, just temporarily experienced a slight dismay.
ChinaMaine: another new low! You're on a roll! My problem with using body measurements is that because of the amount of fat I'm taking off, a decent sized weight difference translates into very little change in the measuring tape either way.
When I was weighing once a week at my mother's, I was able to monitor my fat percentage, which varied a lot depending on how much water was in my system. Often I'd find that when my weight went up, fat% went down. I'm going to get a scale like that "some day." I already have it on my amazon wishlist and as a minigoal reward. I might have to rearrange things though - make it a reward for a closer goal.
Regarding sleep schedules, we are fortunate that our situation is also not typical. His office offers a flexible schedule and all my classes are online this semester.
Anne: FWIW, the people at the registers were making serious customer service gaffs. What business is it of the fast food guy where you eat your food? And no matter how old the person I'd serve in retail looked, I'd never make potentially offensive assumptions (aloud).
Okay, I know that wasn't the real point of the post, but I just wanted to point it out first. All my ideas about keeping an even keel foodwise involves pre-prepping healthy food and carrying it in the car... y'know, the one that bakes bread and spoils fruit? I don't suppose a cooler would help? Maybe you should keep bread dough in the car?
I'll give it some more thought and if I come up with something, post it.
About the sleep experiment... I didn't even consider it sleeping in! All I'm really talking about is making sure we're getting the sleep we need. It involves going to bed early as well as not setting the alarm. If our bodies recuperate in 7 or 8 hours, great! If we need more, we should be getting more. I don't think that should be considered "sleeping in". "Sleeping in" is a luxury... getting enough rest is a necessity.
I think that, as a society, we don't give rest the priority it deserves. We seem to have this attitude that sleeping is a waste of time - at least, I know that in the past I've wished I could cut sleep out of my schedule completely to "accomplish more". Now I'm reading that fatigue may be a contributing factor to being fat - and it makes sense.
I just wish you could find some sanity in your weekend schedule - I feel for you. Really the only idea I have at this point is that you need to "schedule" more breathing room in the future.
Davidette: for yoga and for passing on the chocolate!
And since I've run out of things to write, I'm going to head out.
ChinaMaine....recommend following book for balance. It's geared for seniors, but the exercises are applicable for anyone. It's a paperback, called How to Prevent Falls by Betty, Perkins-Carpenter, PhD. You would want the latest edition, I believe its 2006. Pilates is especially good for the core (abdomen and lower back) but is helpful for balance as well, depending upon the exercise.
I do two balance exercises every morning since I once suffered from vertigo, and I have to work hard to get my balance back. I start with weight on one leg (standing leg), other leg out to side about 5 inches, then raise my arms over my head while I lift the outside leg up against my standing leg in a bent position, sliding it up as high as I can against the standing leg to form triangle of sorts. Hold for 5 counts, then repeat exercise 5 times, switch legs. I'm sure there's a name for this positiion in ballet but I don't know it. It's helpful if you "spot" across the room at something on the wall...it helps with balance. Another exercise is to start with arms up, standing leg firm while other leg is stretched behind, then lift the back leg, toe pointed while spreading arms wide for balance, tilt upper body forward. Hold for 5, return to standing position, repeat 5 x. Hope these help.
Anne, sounds llike a terribly trying day. How about freezing sandwiches so you can just grab one and put it in a cooler? My daughter keeps a cooler in the back of her car for herself and the kids (she lives in Arkansas, another hot spot) and just refreshes the cold packs every day, along with plastic spoons and forks. Also, frozen juices, cheese, yogurt are good.
Davidette, kettlebells are round weights with a handle, originating from Russia, which have become popularized lately. They are good because they are used in exercises that mimic functional activity, swinging and lifting, etc. You need to be very careful of your positioning, as if used improperly, they can engage the back in a bad way. The action comes from the hips and legs.
So glad the yoga class went well and that you had a good time. And for resisting the kisses. I agree with you about the chemical element of binges....one taste of sugar and my resolve flies out the window. I become spasmatic at the sight of sugar foods.
Tera, your post snuck in there while I was typing....Yay for the loss! And for the visit to the pool. Water is so invigorating. And yes, exercise is a must...there are gazillions of studies that show exercise affects quality of life at every age. I'm constantly trying to reinforce that with my seniors, some of them in their 90's. Of course, they're the ones that know that, that's why they're in class!
So far a good weekend. Exercised, ate well, maintained at 154. I'm happy. Hope all of you are doing well.
Last edited by jivingandthriving; 03-22-2009 at 11:41 AM.
I can't figure out what to do today. My mind is way way way way way ahead of me at the end of the week already and my submissions for scholarship. I have a few prints to complete for one of the submissions. In order to do that I have to work in the print room at school cause I can't find my brayer (rubber roller) to evenly smooth out ink to ink up my block of wood. *sigh* I also can't afford to buy one so I'm not heading over to the art store on the bus. What I can do is complete a large print as far as I can go with what I have and count on staying late at school Tuesday to do the rest. I can also carve some more lino blocks so I have more choice as to what to print.
I'm kind of in a tizzy and I can't really focus.
And I binge ate yesterday on chips and chocolate, very very poor behaviour. What's up with me anyway? Oh well. The worst of it is I am not sure if the mood has passed so better to put it behind me.
So I made sure to get a proper breakfast in me this morning and I start again. As of now, I am OP once more. It's like I have to be "that bad" to get my over-burdened, over-focused-on-other-things mind's attention back to the food and to eating right by doing the opposite. I think I like the drama of it all. I need to give that up for the peace and calm of one day after another of doing the right thing. I get it for a few months and lose it again and I have stayed at 250-264 for three YEARS now. Wow. That's a lot of time and mental energy spent trying to lose weight and yoyoing back and forth in that range. I don't know how to approach this anymore. I am re-considering the personal trainer actually. I think knowing someone is monitoring my physical body could be helpful. I am able to cover the costs by making sure I do my job at the school in the ceramic room and the summer is coming so I'll have more $ anyway cause I'll be out selling my art in the market again.
I need a different focus.
But that's not today. I think I'll head into the school and do a couple of hours in the ceramic room including making prototypes for what I want to sell in the market this year. I may attempt to deal with the print stuff too. The school is only open until 4:30pm so I can't spend too long and that's a good thing.
Yeah, getting out of here is probably a good idea.
TGIF - Spring edition
I think your plan for next weekend seems very reasonable. I’d recommend making ‘reasonable choices’ your mantra for the weekend. 
back at ya girl! Relax and do the best you can until you can get your routine back again.
Welcome Spring! I missed you!
new low! Hope your endocrinologist has some answers for you soon. 
dwindling jean size! I just squeezed back in my smallest jeans a few days ago and wore them all through dinner. It wasn't pretty, or comfortable, but it was satisfying! Glad to hear you have bosses who appreciate you.
Even if they aren't the best choices, they are undoubtedly healthier and more satisfying than anything you can grab on the run. 
new low! Someone here said "making a big deal out of the little things" is essential to our success, and a new low is no little thing so don't forget to give yourself a big CREDIT! 
Saturday start
If I told you what I thought and said to myself seeing that number again, well, it wouldn't be nice. So. I feel kind of defeated. I don't seem to be able to juggle over-the-top-busy, which happens often in my life, and sticking to a foodplan. And this kind of thinking makes me feel desperate and that's a sabotaging thought in itself.
) are back this morning. I think I'm tired. I need a day off and I'm taking it, once I get my glasses and maybe my shoes and do some work on my print... scholarship submissions are due at the end of the week... it just never ends.
and 
Saturday
Credit for the work that got you there! Sorry about the off-plan eating, but I’m glad you enjoyed your ride. BTW – forgot to say good luck with the increased hours!
Sunday
