I made it back safely and only half a pound heavier from our mini vacation! My MIL is such an amazing cook; it was hard work to keep that gain to 1/2 a pound, I swear. She did show me how to make a couple of Vietnamese dishes (my husby is Vietnamese), and with a few minor changes, they are even pretty darn healthy. Still, I'm very glad to be home. Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of all the leftover road trip goodies without eating them all myself. We NEVER have this much junk food in the house!
I started reading posts last night to get all caught up, and I have to say that I love the idea of loving ourselves as part of a challenge. You couldn't have hit the nail on the head any more accurately for me and what I need. I've always been able to diet when I hated myself. I used dieting as a form of punishment, and I could never see the weight loss at the end as a reward. No matter what I lost, it was never good enough, and therefore, I was never good enough. Well, I've done a lot of work on myself, and while I can't say those days are far behind me, I still don't want to revisit them anytime soon. The thing is, I don't know how to lose weight and love myself at the same time. I've been working at it, though, and with some support and accountability, it feels like I can get there.
I came up with this little mantra for loving myself about a year ago, and it seems like this is the perfect time to dust it off and get back to work:
I am smart and beautiful, and I deserve good things in life.
I deserve to be happy, I deserve to be healthy, and I deserve to be thin.
So, that all said, I'd better go change my shoes and get out the door to the gym before I talk myself back down the stairs to the kitchen instead.
A bit of a stressful day yesterday...having a head cold/sinus thing going on doesn't help. And the hydro went out...for 4 hours...dicey with the sump. So today eventhough it is windy, I am going to bundle up and brave the outdoors for a walk. Will wrap a scarf around my brow to protect it! Quite the fashion vision!
Just popping in to say that yesterday turned out really well. I haven't been to my gym since October, but I did push through that embarrassment and went anyway. I had a great time, and it felt so good to be back.
Today I've decided to focus on loving myself by making sure to incorporate fruits and vegetables into every meal. Since I don't have a job lined up, I'll also be working on drinking a minimum of 64 oz. of water. I love water, but ever since my student teaching in the fall and now substituting, I just got out of the habit of drinking enough. A teaching position should come complete with a bladder of steel. Maybe that was too much info...
Speaking of water... Arabella has a good point about the stainless steel water bottle--not only is it environmentally friendly, but it is also body friendly. Kaylets, I'm still a slave to my plastic bottles, but I clean mine out and reuse them for about a month at a time. I finally live in a place that has curbside recycling, so I'm able to recycle the bottle after I'm through. I like the stainless idea, though. I'll have to look around and see if I can find one small enough to fit in my lunch box to take to school with me.
I'm going to post this and then see if I can get a ticker set up for my Valentine's goal. Have a great day, all!
Good morning, Ceara! Didn't see your post when I started mine. Wow, I am definitely too long-winded. Sorry about your stressful day yesterday. Hope the cold/sinus thing clears up as well as the other problems. And if I were you, I'd wear that scarf over your brow the same as you would a tiara. I personally love your universal fashion statement: "See how brilliant I am to get out here and exercise even though the weather isn't perfect!"
Reading your post reminded me that I didn't put exercise on my To Do list for the day. I'm going to add it right now just so I can check it off later. The things that make me happy...
I'm still snuffly and tired -- I think it's going around. Sure doesn't make life easier but at least I've managed to stay OP nevertheless. Gotta keep goin' or I'll never get there, hey?
Did the walk/circuits/qi qong this morning. Now just work to do. Feh. I want a vacation. A long, long, long vacation.
First writer's group meeting of the year is this evening and I will go even if I feel like going back to bed right now.
Ceara, hope you're feeling better soon. Loving the image of you with scarf around your royal brow -- quite dashing!
qsilver, welcome back from inlawland, and congrats on your triumphant return. Wow -- interesting stuff about dieting to punish yourself and the problem of trying to love yourself and lose weight at the same time.
Here's to meeting our real needs instead of substituting with food
Looks like I've been missing. That's a clue I'm not doing well. I'm on and off the wagon - doing better but not yet securely fastened down. I'm trying really hard to be good to me tonight so I don't eat the house down. It seems like I don't know what to do to take care of me right now.
Glad to see all doing well except for the sniffly stuff. Yes, seems to be the season for that. PT going well and I'm getting back to more things every day. But I think I'm going to just curl up on the couch for a while.
I love the giganto butterfly, Arabella. Don't change a thing. Sorry about the frustrating post loss. I didn't ever see an expired post message and my essays take a long time. Maybe a new restriction, eh?
I went to my writing group last night, despite feeling like I should be working instead. Crazy busy day today and I have to work late tonight in any case. And then didn't sleep well, so I'm getting a late start. Ah well, I'll get through it. And I'm going to be proud of myself for going back to sleep at 5 rather than getting up anyway. Fits with the mandate, don't you know.
I had a strange experience yesterday afternoon. My head was in binge mode -- I thought about ice cream, chocolate chips that could be made into sauce, a candy cane that could be crushed for garnish. I made it, I ate it, thinking about making another one as soon as I finished but then... I got the feeling that it had been enough and I didn't WANT any more.
I'm not sure if that's the result of some new and wonderful corner turned or because I took 3 fiber tablets beforehand (that's a trick recommended by the glycemic index guy to lessen any ill effects of the occasional treat). Anyway, though, if the former -- well, that's fabulous! And if the latter, a darn good trick and one I'll use again in that situation.
Anagram! So glad to see you back in the Glad to hear PT's going well. How about making a list of things that you could do to treat yourself? (Sounds good to me, I think I will!) And then focus on that first? Food will fall into place, then, I'm thinking.
I think my issue with the lost post was that I lost my connection to the corporate network although still online. These things will happen!
Yesterday turned out pretty well, despite a bout with half a sleeve of whole wheat Ritz and a tub of sharp cheddar cheese spread. I did get in all the water I promised myself, and I ate lots and lots of fruit and veggies. I also remembered that loving myself means doing positive things like setting appointments for yearly exams. I called, and they actually had an appointment early this morning. I've been there, and I'm back already! I even had a chest x-ray, set up my mammogram appointment, and made arrangements for an echocardiagram (sp?). Yeah, I've been putting off stuff for a significant period of time. It feels really good to have it all in the works, though.
I also decided yesterday that if I'm going to be serious about losing weight and getting healthier, I need to journal my food and exercise. I wrote down all my food and water yesterday right up until the cracker/cheese binge. Yeah, there was a bit of a meltdown about then... But journaling keeps my awareness levels up, and if I don't want to write it down, I'd better not be putting it in my mouth. Essentially, that would be another way of loving myself, I think.
Arabella, I have to admit that I'm a bit jealous you have a writing group to attend! Sorry going meant working late, though. I'm glad you balanced it with taking good care of yourself. Hopefully the sniffles will be gone soon. Also, thank you for posting the healthy way you dealt with a craving. You planned ahead by taking the fiber pills, and you didn't deprive yourself and just do a mega-binge later on. Definitely behavior I'd like to see myself modeling.
Anagram, Glad your PT is going well. It feels good to be getting back to doing things again, huh! Still, as I recall, it can be pretty exhausting, and maybe curling up on the couch for a while is the best way of loving yourself.
My plans for the day:
72 oz. of water minimum
fruit and/or veggies with every meal
journal, even if it doesn't look pretty on paper
exercise
Just reading through the thread this morning has envigorated me! I will go for a walk shortly...and then boogey out to do other stuff...groceries, banking etc. Hubby is on afternoons with 4 overs so life is tough. He's still sleeping
So, a quick brekkie and off to the road!
Shopaholic1204. How romantic a birthday is that?
Andria...good plans...reading yours help me solidify mine....
So...today...
8 waters.
Walk.
Journal every morsel that crosses these lips...no cheating.
Be kind to myself....I still feel yucky.
On the getting things done front....laundry, grooming, shopping, banking, and maybe tackling the tree...I may decide to enjoy it a bit longer though....
I'm happy to say that I have some goals for today!! Which I hardly never do. I went to bed at a decent hour (1am) and woke up a few mins ago (its almost 8am). So I'm pretty excited.
~I'm gonna finish checking all the message boards I belong to.
~Clean the bathroom & kitchen
~wash some clothes
~get ready to work out with my hubby
~drink 8 glasses of water
~start a new journal
Ceara: It is a romantic bday, but its also sucks because he hates Valentine's Day sweets and anything to do with Vday, lol. But he feels special because his bday is on a holiday, lol.
A damp but mild day here. There were rumours of the sun but it hasn't appeared yet. I was kinda waiting to go for my walk but I may be wiser to get out there -- can't wait all day and miss out
We went out for dinner and a movie with DH's sister and her DH last night. We made reservations at our usual spot but they were late and the restaurant was really busy so we ended up going next door to the Indian buffet. It was good, except that a piece of chicken I got wasn't fully cooked. Still alive today, so I guess I didn't get poisoned. But I may not go back there for a while...
Then, got to the cinema to see "Love in the time of cholera" and it was sold out. So we took a spin out to the larger cinemas and saw "Charlie Wilson's War." All in all, nothing went as planned but it was fun anyway. I always like Tom Hanks -- how could one not? -- and Philip Seymour Hoffman was fantastic. As he always is -- I adore him. (Interesting when you go to spell things. Never occurred to me that I didn't know how to spell "Seymour" and in fact, I got it right but had to look it up to see that I had.)
The weather was wild -- windy and hailing on the way over, freezing rain and then rain.
I've had a few tumbles off the wagon. I ended up working 14.5 hours on Thursday, until about a quarter to twelve And grabbed a big hunk of fruitcake out of the freezer -- seriously, it must have been a pound -- and ate it while I worked. Gotta reinforce that no food except at the table thing again. But. I've continued to journal my intake and have it right out there where DH can see it (High five, andria!). I WILL persevere. I WILL succeed.
And then yesterday I was a perfect on-the-wagon poster girl, despite little sleep. I enjoyed the day so much more that way, too. Where's that "patting self on back" smiley?
qsilver, yes, I love my writing group. Nine truly amazing women and so much love and support. We do write but we're all about the group. I've been very blessed to be a part of it.
Ceara, you go girl, hanging onto that tree! Mine would have been a big stick standing in a pile of needles by now. Although years ago, I nursed one through to March in a chilly room.
Kat! I feel your pain! And also mine, being deprived of that nice chatty post. When I logged onto the site I saw you'd been in and thought "Oh goody!" Here's hoping you get another chance to pop in! Have things eased up since you finished your course?
Shopaholic, welcome! Looking over your spouse's issues with V-Day, I can see the problem right away: You are married to a man. (Got the same issue here, so easy to diagnose.)
Anagram
Any other ly personages lurking? I'm going to go hunting for Amarantha and WSW and Eydie if they don't show up soon. Incidentally, speaking of the long lost, I found our Cerise on Facebook. Trying subtly to entice her back to the charms of our collective bosom.
Sorry about your stressful day yesterday. Hope the cold/sinus thing clears up as well as the other problems. And if I were you, I'd wear that scarf over your brow the same as you would a tiara. I personally love your universal fashion statement: "See how brilliant I am to get out here and exercise even though the weather isn't perfect!" 
Sure doesn't make life easier but at least I've managed to stay OP nevertheless. Gotta keep goin' or I'll never get there, hey?
lies!
Onward we go!
Glad to hear PT's going well. How about making a list of things that you could do to treat yourself? (Sounds good to me, I think I will!) And then focus on that first? Food will fall into place, then, I'm thinking. 
Still alive today, so I guess I didn't get poisoned. But I may not go back there for a while...
And grabbed a big hunk of fruitcake out of the freezer -- seriously, it must have been a pound -- and ate it while I worked. Gotta reinforce that no food except at the table thing again. But. I've continued to journal my intake and have it right out there where DH can see it (High five, andria!). I WILL persevere. I WILL succeed. 
I feel your pain! And also mine, being deprived of that nice chatty post. When I logged onto the site I saw you'd been in and thought "Oh goody!" Here's hoping you get another chance to pop in! Have things eased up since you finished your course? 