Sore and stiff Sunday, all over my body. But what did I expect after yesterday's lengthy stint in the gym? This means my weight will probably be up on Monday.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Spinach and mushroom egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with apple slices; blackberries & yogurt
Lunch: Spring mix salad with roasted vegetables, chunks of beef and half an avocado
Snack: Bag of freeze-dried Fuji apples (from CVS, and nowhere near as good as Bare Fruit apple chips)
Dinner: About a cup of chicken broth, miso-glazed salmon, cannellini beans with escarole, and braised broccoli rabe
Dessert: Cinnamon roll Quest bar

This felt like a big dinner. I won't be surprised when my weight is up tomorrow morning.

At the gym: 30 minutes on the upright stationery bike, random hills, upped the resistance to eight. Then some leg work: 4x12 one-legged leg presses at 20 lbs, 3x12 seated barbell calf raises with a 50-lb barbell alternating with 3x12 close-grip chest presses.

Monday, with me in my Ralph Lauren pinstripe suit, presenting on WebEx (done -- it was okay, though I was a wreck and fumbling with the slide deck) and then taking a candidate to the company cafeteria for a job interview and luncheon. I've been up since 4:05 AM as I needed to work my weak leg in the gym before this long day began.

Weigh-in: 142.9. Not as bad as I thought, but still up.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with apple slices; blackberries & yogurt
Snack: MacIntosh apple
Lunch: Spring mix salad, roasted asparagus, steamed green beans, tuna & black olives
Dinner: Ham,, braised broccoli rabe, steamed green beans
Dessert: Strawberry cheesecake Quest bar

At the gym: 20 minutes on the upright stationary bike, resistance at eight, random hills; then Workout 1C of Strong Curves.

Back after my cruise and feeling oh so fluffy... of course I stepped on the scale. Damage but not terrible, assuming it doesn't continue upwards as it levels out. Hopefully it will come off as fast as it went on... ha ha....

Saef-- I thought your mom went home. Is she back?

Michele, yes, my mother went home, but then returned for Easter weekend. She stayed on a few days later than planned so someone would be at home when the carpenters were working on the floor. I needed help to move furniture, and then I needed to go into the office at work all day, so her assistance was invaluable. But she left again last Friday.

Tuesday, when all it took to change my mood this morning was to get outside, into air that was soft and damp and finally, springlike.

No weigh-in.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; cantaloupe & yogurt
Lunch: Spring mix salad with cold asparagus, walnuts, half an avocado, Goat cheese and Craisins
Snack: Freeze-dried Fuji apples, a little styrofoam-ish in texture
Dinner: Ham, collard greens, steamed green beans, sauteed mushrooms
Dessert: Chocolate brownie Quest bar


At the gym: 30 minutes on Cybex arc trainer, hands-free, hill intervals, resistance at five. Then a couple experimental exercises: I did four negative chinups (jump to the bar, hold and then lower down slowly -- the last of the four wasn't that great) and six consecutive full-length, on-my-toes pushups. This meant that I am getting my upper body strength back gradually. But oh, that withered leg.

Physical therapy: 12 minutes hill program on Cybex elliptical; 4x15 bodyweight squats, neck circles & neck stretching in-between; 4x12 balance board tilt back & forth, alternating with 4x12 crunches; Alternating single-leg curls 4x12 and single-leg extensions 4x12; Calf stretches & raises on a separate board which I swear he called a "Smith"

Been doing my tiny weight workouts for two weeks now and my bum feels it most. But my abs are coming back nicely - there's firmness when I squeeze my ribcage.

Dagmar :strong:

Wednesday, feeling elated by spring but disappointed that I got up slightly too late to get to the gym before heading off to work. But the pollen is not my friend. I keep dabbing at the corners of my eyes to catch runny mascara.

Weigh-in: 142 even, pre-intake and pre-outtake

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; cantaloupe & yogurt
Lunch: Spring mix salad with raw and roasted vegetables, tuna, chickpeas and sunflower seeds
Dinner: Collard greens, escarole and cannellini beans
Dessert: Peanut Butter Supreme Quest bar

Today's Exercise:

20 minutes Cybex arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance at six; then Workout 1A of Strong Curves. Finally, I can bench press a pair of 30-lb dumbbells again, and my rowing has gone up to 35-lb dumbbell. But my injured leg gets tired even from climbing four shallow steps at the end of the workout.

Saef-- are you back to your office now?

Great job Dagmar on your bum and abs! My legs got a great workout on the cruise-- all the steps we took-- 357 floors according to my fitbit, plus the bike in the gym.... went back to yoga Monday and Tuesday and my hamstrings are feeling it-- nothing stretches them like yoga does!

I'm holding steady at 138 lbs. Waay too much caffeine though :coffee: and not enough sleep as a result. :tired: And all sorts of sugary food cravings to avoid the crash in the evening. I have found a place to buy big fruit platters cheaply and am snacking on those instead of candy.

I'm so looking forward to working less at "retirement" so I can cut the caffeine and sleep about 7 hours every night. That will be wonderful. 7 more years of this is hard to think about. :stress:

Dagmar :yawn:

Dagmar, that's great that you're feeling stronger in your core and your glutes. And I can relate to your overcaffeinated feelings. My hands are a bit shaky right now, and I'm going to regret having woken early for breakfast at 5:30 AM. It's difficult to hold on tight till noon for lunch. I think our weird hours trick our stomachs into feeling hungry all of the time.

It's Thursday, and I find myself busy at work and depressed by capitalism, its pressure on keeping operating expenses low (which means not paying workers much, cutting benefits and asking them to do more) and that with my liking for a certain standard of living, there's no escaping it.

No weigh-in today, but I'm hungry at 9:30 AM.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; blackberries & yogurt
Snack: Small, cold, unsatisfying runt apple
Lunch: Mixed greens salad, roasted vegetables, half an avocado, goat cheese, walnuts and Craisins
Snack: Quest S'mores bar (oh, how I fought myself, trying not to eat this at this time)
Dinner: Chicken leg quarter, broccoli rabe, collard greens

Physical therapy: 12 minutes steady cardio program on Cybex elliptical; 3x12 leg press alternating with 3x12 calf raises; leg curls 4x12 and leg extensions 4x12; 3x12 weighted step ups (just 10 lb dumbbells) alternating with 3x15 crunches; lying down side adduction and abducation with weights on my ankles 4x12;

At the gym: Pilates mat class, where I was complimented at how much I managed to do. But standing up on knees is painful, and balancing on one foot doing kickbacks is nearly impossible. My balance has been severely compromised.

Weigh-in this morning, first one since leaving for Sedona, an ignominious 130.6. I hereby pledge to weigh daily for the next month, to get re-acclimated to the highs and lows, seeing fluctuations without getting so distressed. But even if I spend every day this next month berating myself, mental self-flagellation is better than putting my head in the sand and pretending like I'm not gaining. Several of my dress pants are too tight to wear comfortably, which is a huge problem because I'm about to go to a professional conference for 5 days. I will have to pack, and wear, my more forgiving skirts and dresses in lieu of my pantsuits, which I hate.

As always, I will remind myself that I can't drown by falling in the water, but only by staying there. I renew my commitments to: at least 8 ounces of water 5x/day, no added sugar, no seconds except on vegetables, and minimal carbs on M-W-F.

Michele, yes, I'm back at the office for two days a week, which is what I was doing before my accident. It feels good to socialize and wear nice clothes, but I've had to abandon a lot of cute shoes that are unsafe for me to walk in or that don't fit well because my left foot has swollen up about one size.

Andrea, good on you for making a pledge to yourself. Where's the conference? Any chance to escape the hotel & ballrooms on a side field trip to refresh your mind?

It's Friday and I feel profoundly tired in mind and body, a feeling exacerbated by the gray rainy skies.

At the gym, there were runners on treadmills. They're prepping for a four-mile local race on Sunday. A race in which, last year, I participated. This year, I can't even walk very far. Last year, I was berating myself for how slowly I run. This year, I can only dream of being where I was at in April 2014.

Weigh-in today: 141 even, pre-intake and pre-outtake

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; blackberries & yogurt
Snack: Bag of Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries and bananas
Lunch: Mixed greens salad, roasted vegetables, cannellini beans, half an avocado, walnuts
Dinner: Chicken leg quarter, broccoli rabe, collard greens
Dessert: Coconut Cashew Quest bar

Today's Exercise:

At the gym: 20 minutes Cybex arc trainer, hill intervals, resistance increased to seven; then Workout 1B of Strong Curves. Last week, this workout exhausted me and left me sore all over, not in a good way, so I lowered the weights considerably on the weighted step-ups, to accommodate my weak leg, and also on the 45 degree hyperextension.

Saef-- I know you are frustrated when you look at where you were a year ago, but try to focus on where you were a month or two ago. You've come so far.

Andrea-- I am right with you. My post-cruise weight seems to be sticking. I'll update my ticker tomorrow as that is my weigh-in day. My dh wasn't excited to cruise the first time-- he thought there wouldn't be much to do. Quite the opposite! There is so much to do that it is hard to fit it all in! You could do nothing all day but we tend to stay very busy! And then when you are in port, you can explore, do excursions, etc. Dh now loves cruising! It's worth trying....

I had to give dh good news/ bad news this morning. He asked for the bad news first-- which was someone backed into his parked truck in front of our house yesterday. The good news was she was honest and left a note. Now I've got to deal with insurance, quotes, etc. to repair. I've also got other "personal stuff" to fit in today while I'm at work-- call my doctor to see why he refused to refill my thyroid pills, call the pet sitter to see if she can come by some days... etc.... I better get to real work first!!

Weekend plans for y'all?

A warm Saturday, in which I walked home from the gym wearing just a sweater over sweaty workout clothes, and paused at a stone bridge to look down into the Bronx River, where there were two red-eared slider turtles sunning themselves on a rock.

No weigh-in this morning.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; blueberries with cinnamon & yogurt
Lunch: Chicken leg quarter and mixed greens salad with roasted vegetables and walnuts
Dinner: Ham & navy bean soup
Dessert: Quest Vanilla Almond bar

Today's Exercise:

At the gym: 20 minutes stationary bike, hill intervals, resistance increased to eight; then Workout 1C of Strong Curves, followed by a Pilates mat class. This was too much. When I was done, I knew that I overdid it and I walked home slowly, glad for my cane.

An uncertain Sunday, as I waver between working for a few hours and being lazy. One results in tension and self-pity, which makes me want to eat, and the other results in a "treat myself" mentality, which makes me want to eat.

No weigh-in this morning.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Ham and broccoli egg bake; steel-cut oatmeal with mashed bananas; blackberries with yogurt
Lunch: Chicken leg quarter and mixed greens salad with roasted vegetables and pistachios
Dinner: Miso-glazed salmon, roasted broccoli, steamed green beans
Dessert: Peanut butter chocolate Quest bar


Today's Exercise:

At the gym: 30 minutes on the recumbent bike again, because I wanted to increase the resistance, and it was tough doing the hill program cranked up to eight. Did 3 negative chin ups and 10x inverted rows on Smith machine. Then left leg press 4x12 at 20 lbs, barbell calf raises at 50 lb, 4x12; seated hip abductions with a band (which I think was too loose) 3x30; and finally, some hip thrusts, 3x20, the first just bodyweight, the other sets with a 4KG kettlebell. I was able to walk off from this workout feeling okay.