[Meg]

I typed the date and realized it's Valentine's Day week. Yikes! After 30 years of being married, it's a challenge to come up with a new idea for V-Day. Do any of you have plans for the day?

I'm off to the gym after another mug of coffee. Yesterday must have been Bad Form Day, probably because the gym is still packed with newbies. There was one woman around my age who was enthusiastically slinging weights around in all directions with no purpose and I really debated whether I should try to strike up a conversation. But I learned, back when I worked there as a PT, that people do not want to be told that they're doing an exercise incorrectly or even dangerously, no matter how gently or kindly you say it. So I kept my mouth closed and my eyes averted.

This week starts my long hours at my spa job because the other front desk person quit. Until we hire a replacement, I'll be covering her hours as well as mine. And even after we find someone, it will take weeks to train them on our horrible, user-UNfriendly software. I know it was six weeks until I was comfortable being on my own. The bright side of long hours is that I lose weight on the days that I work because there literally isn't time or opportunity to eat, unless I was going to dive into the chocolate kisses on the front desk and I've vowed not to go there!

Enough blathering about me! How are all of you today? Has all the snow melted where you are? Do you have to deal with V-Day candy? What's new and exciting??

[Kery]

'Morning maintainers!

Good luck with the extra work, Meg, and I bet those chocolates won't get you. It's true that being active is probably one of the surest methods to not eat; when there's no time, there's just no time... I guess I'll be in the same boat soon: not only is the competitive exam in one month, but I've also decided to accept the graphic-design job a former schoolmate has offered me, because extra money will be welcome very soon. But in truth, I love being busy. I thrive on being busy.

I hadn't even paid attention to Valentine's Day. Actually, on the 14th, I'll be in the nearest theatre house to see Hamlet, and now I remember I chose that date on purpose, months ago, hoping that there'd be less people (every couple being at the restaurant to celebrate, and not in a theatre seat for a 4-hours plays ).

I've also just realized that, about 2 hours ago, I've passed on an offer by a colleague at work to come with them in the kitchen to eat pancakes, saying "no thanks, I'm not hungry". I mean. Pancakes? Me? Not hungry? Wow. It feels... very weird. (And I'm still not hungry, although it's noon. I swear, that chocolate-flavoured muesli I buy in Germany is akin to manna, and for less calories than your average French chocolate-flavoured breakfast cereal...)

Oh yeah, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed: tomorrow morning, I resume weight-lifting, and I hope the sports teachers who take care of the campus sports center are not on strike this week as well, else I'll be very very frustrated. ^^;

[WardHog]

Good Monday morning! I am trying not to think ahead too much - I have birthday parties to attend on Friday and Sunday, with V-Day sandwiched in between. Then my son's birthday on Monday, for which we're making cupcakes for his class. Too many temptations ...

[Mudpie]

I'm still dog sitting. My body really wants to stretch and lift weights but there's just no time/place to do it here.

I also want to cook some "real" food but it'll all have to wait until Thursday when I'm back home.

My DH's birthday is on the 12th so we have combined Valentine's and the birthday into BVD (yes I did that on purpose). It involves chocolate and this year I've bought both my box and his. I vowed that I will eat this really really great Belgian chocolate one piece at a time, one per day.

We also have a special meal planned at home on the 14th. Again I'm in charge (when ever am I not?) so wer'e having marinated grilled steak, dilled fresh green beans, and hot fresh whole wheat baugettes. And one glass of red wine each. Paaarty!

It's supposed to rain several days this week and hit in the low teens for temps. That's unheard of in Toronto in February. I'm thrilled ! There will be parking and room for more than one car going down the streets! Hooray!

Have a great Monday all!

Dagmar

[Shannon in ATL]

Good morning everyone.

DH and I are going to actually be able to celebrate Valentine's Day this year - last year we DSS on V-Day overnight, and a death in the family the next day, the two years before we also had DSS overnight. Mom is going to keep him for Valentine's Day this year because she says she doesn't have any plans and this way we can do something. I'm a little suspecting that plans will change at the last minute as they often do, but I am right now cautiously optimistic that we can do something. No idea what we will do, though!

I weighed myself this morning and am at my redline, 5 pounds more than I weighed last Wednesday. I'm not completely surprised - I started exercising again last week after my two week break, and any change in exercise pattern typically makes me hold a couple of pounds of water... I also had the two birthday dinners and the bridal shower last week, so I know I ate a lot of junk. My mom pours salt into everything she cooks, so I probably ate more salt on Saturday alone than I normally eat in a week now... And, to top it off, I haven't been drinking nearly enough water lately. So, I'm working hard to not panic until I give it a week or so to settle back down. Rationally, I know I didn' t eat 17,500 more calories than I burned last week. I'm going to drink lots of water this week and work hard at keeping to my calorie budget. I won't be surprised if I come out of this week with a pound or so up, but as I was approaching my low redline at the beginning of last week that pound won't be so bad. Or so I keep telling myself.

Good Monday everybody!

[WaterRat]

Ha! Valentine's Day? My sollution - send DH out of town. Really, he has a card stuck in his luggage, but we don't usually do much more than that even if he's home. When we went out to dinner on Sat, we designated that dinner as celebrating my birthday and our anniversary (both in Jan) as well as Valentine's day. It was a very nice meal, and definitely satisfied my craving for a nice meal in a really nice restaurant.

So now I'm alone for the next two weeks. I have a plan for this week - food and exercise both. I just need to be accountable to myself. And of course, since their chief heat source is gone, I have to contend with cats looking to me for sitting on,sleeping with, etc.

Meg - be sure not to be so efficient that your employer thinks they can get along without hiring someone else!

[paperclippy]

Good morning everyone! My bad news for today is that today I am at the highest weight I have been since hitting goal 3 years ago. I ate crap last night. As much as I love the fact that the cooking club I'm in has introduced me to a lot of great new friends, sometimes I wish I had never joined. My willpower is okay in general, but not when faced with an entire tray of beignets, a big cake, and a pile of pralines.

On the upside, Saturday the weather was just good enough that I biked to the gym (10 miles). It took me an hour, so I have a ways to go still to be in good shape for my triathlon. The wind was really powerful, and it almost knocked me over a couple times. I went over two bridges, both in the last half mile of my ride, and going uphill with the wind pushing me back down was brutal! In any case I made it to the gym, went swimming, then called DH to come pick me up.

Today it's supposed to be 58 this afternoon, so I am planning on my run. I hope it doesn't rain! If it does I might just go out anyway. Starting this week I am no longer a slave to the weather. If the weather is bad, I'm bringing my gym bag to work and working out at lunch time. No excuses!!!

I have some friends coming into town this weekend so we're going out with them for V-day. It's a tapas restaurant so I'm hoping I can try a lot of different things without actually eating too much. Having houseguests will make my weekend workout basically not happen though so I need to be sure I work out a lot during the week.

[alinnell]

Good morning everyone.

I had a nice weekend, although due to all the rain we didn't get out to hit any golf balls. DH wants me to hit a few more clubs on the driving range before we decide on a new set for me. Last weekend I actually hit my old clubs better than all the newfangled ones we have around the house (DH's, DS's and a few strays from friends).

This morning I got up and did my usual routine and got to work and was just settling in when a doozy of a headache hit and now my tummy is upset. I'd go home, but DH is out in the field and I'd have to lock the place up and then how would we get deliveries? I hope he comes back soon.

DS had his black belt pre-test on Friday and passed with only a few comments here and there to work on a few things. He's got 3 weeks to brush up on those things before the real test on the 28th.

[Megan1982]

Hi everyone,

I'm at a very nice hotel for the next 2 days and I'm glad that the hotel's gym is very well stocked. I did my cardio this morning (the meeting didn't start until 9:00 - seriously, I had hours of free time!) and have a decent selection of free weights, yoga balls, and resistance bands so I have the resources/will go do a strength training workout tonight. Oh, the meeting is going ok so far also. (I will admit I did not want to come to this one - this annual meeting always has the potential to be productive and helpful and further work goals and projects, but usually falls very short of that potential.) I've really been struggling with food so of course I picked a business meeting to get "back on plan" - I don't get my logic either - but I ate healthy things I had brought and ignored the pastries etc. this morning.

So in preparation for this weightlifting tournament, I've decided to give up sweets and all alcohol save 1 glass of wine a week. Until April 18. I really need to kick myself into shape (this isn't just about weightlifting, this is about all those darn pounds I haven't gotten off). I can think of 2 occasions - valentine's and a friend's birthday - where I might make exception to have a sweet. But part of me doesn't even want to. So yeah... come on body. I can't keep thinking about getting my body where I want it to be - I need to DO it!

Meg, you sound so busy! I have total faith that you'll stay out of those chocolates. You've ignored them so long already!

Jessica, I can totally understand your frustration - so many social events involve food, lots of it, and food that's not always good for you. But of course you want to hang out with your friends and don't want to avoid seeing them due to food... I'm still working on that one myself. It's tough!

Dagmar, I'm envious of this Belgian chocolate you always talk about. (Oh right... I'm not supposed to be thinking about sweets right now).

Kery, I hope you get to lift tomorrow!

For V-Day BF and I are redeeming a lobster-gram certificate I was given for my birthday last year. Mmm I can't wait, I love lobster so much!

Back to my conference...check in later. Have a great Monday all!

[traveling michele]

Good morning everyone!
Everyone has such nice plans for Valentine's Day.
I do as well. Dh, dd and I are going to the wine country Friday and staying overnight in a great hotel/spa. Food will be somewhat of a challenge but I should be able to make good choices and they have an awesome gym that we used last time! I made our dinner reservations late so we will be sure to have time to go to the gym and get cleaned up before dinner.

I had a bad weekend foodwise as it was my dd's birthday and we ended up with two very decadent meals out. I thought we would just have one and I splurged but we ended up eating out yesterday too. It was a really nice and expensive restaurant that we hadn't been to before-- I made some decent choices and some not so decent (dessert!) and I'm up 2 pounds today. Besides the weight, I am just dragging. I am coming to realize that when I eat poorly, my energy is totally zapped. Beyond belief. I hope it is enough of a realization (along with the excess weight) to chose better when we do go out!

Last week I missed 3 days of working out which is unlike me. I forced myself to go Saturday and Sunday even though dh tried to lure me into taking a nap with him yesterday! So, now I'm sore and I have boot camp class tonight. Did anyone see Desperate Housewives last night? Gabbi and Edie went to a boot camp class and it was hilarious! Thank goodness my intructor isn't that tough-- although I totally thought he was until I saw that!

My dd turned 14 yesterday (hence the birthday celebrations). My dh had his birthday last week so we made cake and cupcakes-- tons left and I am staying far away.

I am still eating my Belgian chocolates from when dh went to Belgium. I am eating one per day and am very proud of that. The old me would have polished off the box in a few days if that.

My dh normally travels most of the time for work. We are used to it because it has always been that way. However, his company has almost eliminated travel and I think it is going to be a huge adjustment for us. I find it very easy to stick to my diet and exercise plans when he is gone but very hard when he is around trying to sabotage me (not really-- but it seems that way).
I am feeling the urge to eat and eat and eat and I think it is just stress. I need to journal my food as I always do better when I do and I can never find the time for it. I wrote it down here so I will do it!

[lilybelle]

Hi everyone, I made it to the gym today and took my 19 month old grandson with me. I have decided to finally quit messing around and kick this extra 6 lbs. that I am carrying. I am now doing at least a full hour of cardio per day. Alternating the treadmill, stairstepper, exercise bike and elliptical and really giving it 100%. All this intense exercise is helping me to want to eat proper so not to waste all my hard work. I'm still alternating days of doing my upper and lower body weight workouts too. I have been coming home each day with my hair wet and clothes pretty gross and wet. I may need to start showering and changing at the gym. I always have griped about not liking to drink water, but with my increased workouts I'm actually craving water!

As for Valentines' day, my DH is taking me to dinner and then to our usual Karaoke club. Some of you may remember that I won the poetry contest last year with writing about my XH. This year my poem is about my son and the mess he's endured with his recent breakup. I think my poem will take first place again this year. It is awesome, if I do say so myself.

Meg, good luck with all those extra work hours.

Michele, my DH works away from home 7 days on/7 days off. I always eat healthier and exercise more on the weeks he is gone. He's never had any weight problem and is always the first one saying "let's just order Pizza tonite".

Allison, do you plan to play on a women's golf league this year?

Jessica, I am a good cook, but I really have never been very interested in baking sweets. (I do love to eat them though). I struggle with my SD watching the chefs on TV making all these elaborate desserts and it makes me want to bake a cake and eat about 1/2 of it.

Shannon, my weight can fluctuate greatly too with water retention. I noticed today that all my bones that were prominent before are finally once again prominent and I don't seem puffy at all now.

Good news on the duplex situation, my son's landlord called today and Brittany and her XH have vacated Shane's duplex. The landlord will meet with me tomorrow to give me the keys. (I'm still gonna have the locks changed and give her a set of the new keys). We're gonna do a walkthrough to assess any damage that may have occured.

Tomorrow morning is the funeral for my girl's classmate. I will be attending the funeral with the girls.

[traveling michele]

Lily-- that is great news on the apartment!
I hope the condition of it is manageable and you are done with them!!

[Meg]

Gooooo, Lily! You'll kick those six pound's butt in no time. Eating and exercise go hand-in-hand for me too. When one is good, the other is too. And it works the other way too: no gym = off-plan eating.

Megan, don't you just love a hotel with a good exercise room? I still dream about the one at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara. It was heaven's own exercise room. With lemongrass scented towels and a minifridge full of bottled water.

Michele, DH and I have always wanted to visit wine country so I can't wait for your trip review!

to everyone else! Today starts the crazy week at work, plus I have to run errands for the spa at Office Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond before work. But I'm determined not to let it affect the gym so it's time to jump into my gym clothes and hit the road. Have a wonderful day!

[Kery]

Lily, that's pretty good news regarding the apartment. Did the landlord say anything about its current condition? I hope you won't have any bad surprise tomorrow (and good call on having the locks changed, you never know...).

Megan, good luck on preparing for the tournament.

The weights room was open this morning, so I managed to go.Well, alright, I hesitated for a few minutes: I had a class to attend from 8 to 10, the teacher was unfortunately absent due to the heavy wind/rain problems (or so we think), and so we found ourselves stranded at 8:15 without even an open library to work in... and the weights room opening at 10 only. But I stopped telling myself "I should just go back home to work, I can always come back later on", because I very well knew I just wouldn't go out again in the rain. Of course, the annoying thing is that I'm totally out of shape (you never realize it until you're actually there, huh...) regarding what I used to be able to lift, and I'm frustrated. The good thing is that I don't regret one little bit going to lift; too bad for my revisions, but a sound mind in a sound body is definitely true, and now I feel even more ready than before to tackle my school work.

Speaking of which... off to revise I go!

[paperclippy]

Allison, I hope you feel better!

Megan - yeah, when your social network is a gourmet cooking club, social events ALWAYS involve food! Good luck with your no sweets plan!

Michele - good luck eating well with your DH around! Maybe if he's around more he can adapt to your eating habits instead of the other way around?

Lily - glad to hear they vacated the apartment!

Meg, good luck with your crazy week!

Kery, I'm with you. Every time I slack off on working out for a little while I'm shocked at how much harder it is than I remembered.

Today I'm starting something new. I'm going to work out at lunchtime. I brought my gym clothes and a towel so I can take a shower afterwards. I'm hoping to do a 2 mile run on the treadmill. Our office gym is pretty small -- one treadmill, one elliptical, one recumbent bike, a weight machine (bowflex-type), dumbbells, and a swiss ball. I'm hoping if I go in right at noon I can grab the treadmill before other people show up.

Back to work!