Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Vampire hours and lowest weight on journey....and remembering the ones who gave all...
Today, the lowest I've been on this weight loss journey: 177.2
I had seen that number briefly, one day, back in December, as part of this weird little maintaining thing that I seem to be stuck in (not wholly negative, I'll add). It's nice to see it again. It's not nice to see it when I'm depressed, so I didn't feel anything overly happy. It's just..nice.
It'll be nicer if it's not--again-- the lower boundary of a maintenance cycle, and nice if I don't see it go back up and up.
What will be REALLY nice is if I see 177.0 and lower, and that shows some sort of actual non-maintenance progress.
In the "This Sucks, Buffy!" department: I'm sleeping the worst schedule. I'm in bed at 7 in the morning, up at 4pm. But hey, that was earlier today than getting up at 5pm. My weekend just slipped off without me. A wasted day off for hubby, as I can't get the mojo to shower or dress or do anything. I just am a limp rag here. On Vampire schedule. It's really tough to get out of this sleep pattern, but I always have to get out of it to function; and it stresses the body to switch....argh. Had to cancel today's Pilates. Could not be awake at 1pm.
To end on a positive: I have controlled my calories for the last two days, even though I want to eat everything I see in commercials. Add that to the "nice" category. :)
One more nice thing: the initial bounties of "summer fruit". I love fruit. I've been eating lots since I began dieting. I tried to control it a bit more when pre-diabetic, but when summer comes, sorry, I go all fruit-mad. :D The peaches from my oganic coop have been lovely lovely lovely! The strawberries have been astounding. I got watermelon, and am cutting it today. I can't wait for the various peaches and plums to start rolling in. The cherries, sadly, are not yet great.
And today, I'm thinking about and grateful for those who are brave enough to take on the risks of defending this wonderful country. I live my life in freedom cause others have put on uniforms and some, many, have died. And this is not something to take lightly. God bless and comfort the families who have suffered losses. Thank you, all who have sacrificed.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
E2E Midweek Update #10: Totally sucking here...
After a couple of good days, it went downhill. Poor sleep. Munchies. Eating extra meals. Calories hovering at 1800 to 1900. Scale is scarily at 182.2.
I thought my mojo would be HIGHER as the week progressed, but I'm finding that rejiggering the macros for my thyroid's health is making me hungry. Not binge-hunger, but hungry. Too hungry. It's vexing me.
I am so not happy about this turn of events. And for me, Friday needs to be about pulling myself together, cause the weekend always presents temptations. Usually, I do fine. But I have no confidence right now that I'd be a paragon of strength on Saturday.
I always knew these bad times would come after so much of 'good breezy times" in 2010 and especially 2011. But I must buck up, pray, read, whatever it takes to find the breeze again.
For now, it's been me not as in control as I want to be or need to be. It's just been a couple of really "I wanna eat more" days...sucks.
Sucks big.
But I will work on the mental and emo stuff to get me back to basics. I'm fine with fluids. Not as fine with the walking due to some rainy days. Did Pilates today, and I got lightheaded at one point, but otherwise did well. I have dark circles from the poor sleep, and I suspect the increased hunger is also about that. Bad sleep has always meant "scale up" and "hunger up" for me.
If I can sleep well and find my groove again, I will be a very happy Princess.
Well, sorry for the downer of an update. There it is.
It will be better. I always believe that. :D
Nite...
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~~Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
I thought my mojo would be HIGHER as the week progressed, but I'm finding that rejiggering the macros for my thyroid's health is making me hungry. Not binge-hunger, but hungry. Too hungry. It's vexing me.
I am so not happy about this turn of events. And for me, Friday needs to be about pulling myself together, cause the weekend always presents temptations. Usually, I do fine. But I have no confidence right now that I'd be a paragon of strength on Saturday.
I always knew these bad times would come after so much of 'good breezy times" in 2010 and especially 2011. But I must buck up, pray, read, whatever it takes to find the breeze again.
For now, it's been me not as in control as I want to be or need to be. It's just been a couple of really "I wanna eat more" days...sucks.
Sucks big.
But I will work on the mental and emo stuff to get me back to basics. I'm fine with fluids. Not as fine with the walking due to some rainy days. Did Pilates today, and I got lightheaded at one point, but otherwise did well. I have dark circles from the poor sleep, and I suspect the increased hunger is also about that. Bad sleep has always meant "scale up" and "hunger up" for me.
If I can sleep well and find my groove again, I will be a very happy Princess.
Well, sorry for the downer of an update. There it is.
It will be better. I always believe that. :D
Nite...
"The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is the indispensable prerequisite for success."
~~Maxwell Maltz
Friday, May 20, 2011
Still struggling with the mood/sleep, but I will conquer! Also, making breakfast a bit different than my usual (with pics). Sore quads from sprint bursts. Really? Two days after still? Nice. And the Push-Ups Proposition!!!!
Tanita-san was mean: 198.6
Wednesday was 198.0
I think the sleep disturbances and the higher salt yesterday are messing me up. I have found in the past--through blogging and weighing and analyzing--that when my sleep goes into the dumps I stall or gain, and when my sleep messes up, I crave salt. I have no idea why there is this connection. Maybe one of y'all out there know. But when I sleep poorly, I gravitate towards the salty.
I slept semi-crappy, and have only had two good sleep days this week--and yes, the turmoil in my mood and stress in my brain is contributing to this, but I also need to get me a new, more coddling mattress. I feel like someone stuffed a bunch of cotton into my cerebrum. Like I'm stupid. My husband has had to repeat stuff to me. I watch a program on tv and have to ask my husband what just happened cause I zone out.
Sleep is important!
I found a book I promised to review (and then lost in my clutter), and it's about MASTERING YOUR SLEEP, so it's time for me to sit, read, and see what I can apply. I am doing too well and a too happy with my current physical changes to have crap sleep and mood and stress sabotage me. Ain't gonna happen. I am putting on my warrior garb and fighting this until I'm sawing away in dreamland with sweet rest.
I worked on mood a bit yesterday, reading encouraging stuff, praying, and FORCING cheerfulness. If you suffer from depressive issues, you know that the last thing you want to do is...be active or be cheery. But since the brain is a mysterious thing and, whether properly shown in studies or not, facial expression CAN have a reaction to mood, I decided to smile up a storm, force laughter, watch comedy and otherwise fight the hell out of the lil blue aura around my head. I am not WORSE for it, so I will continue to experiment with that. A cheerful face until it revives my normally cheerful heart. A positive thought plan until my optimism and positivity are unforced and natural.
May sound nuts, but if it works, don't care. :D
BREAKFAST:
I have become a creature of diet habit when it comes to breakfast. For me, eggs, veggies, fruit and coffee seem to be what works best for me to control hunger for hours and hours and to make me feel like I had stuff that was emotionally, visually, and mouth-satisfying. I like the colors, the textures, the flavors. So, for me, it's almost a given I'll make a veggie omelette (with cheese usually, and usually egg-white, though occasionally I'll use a whole egg), make fresh gourmet coffee (black and sweetened), drink lots of water, and have (optional, but usual) some fresh fruit. My fruit choice is usually papaya with lime squirted on it. My allergies like its decongestant properties and my tummy likes the enzymes. (I used to suffer from GERD. Not so much now.)
Today, I wanted to do something different with my egg/veggie things, so instead of an egg-white omelette , I took two boiled eggs and 1 additional boiled egg white, made an egg salad out of it with dijon mustard, lite mayo, chopped celery, chopped carrot, chopped scallions, and paprika. I spooned it into little endive leaves Had to chop off a lot of the endive as it was, sadly, not in the most beautiful shape at the bottom. Tops were fine and crunchy. I made a mini salad of the leftover little endive center bits and cucumber, added a small bit of homemade dijon vinaigrette (EVOO, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, pepper, stirred up). It was fun. :) I still perfer omelettes, but this was a nice change and looked PRETTY on the plate! I served some papaya with lime on the side (see pic). I also took a fiber supplement with Chromium and my multivitamin. Total calories: 369 per Sparkpeople tracker. (27 carbs, effective carbs 16g after subtracting fiber, and 19g protein).
That may be too many carbs for the low-carbers out there, so if you want to try it, of course, just leave out the papaya or have 1/2 cup instead. Or just some blackberries. :) I love enjoying the blackberries this month. So nummy!
Here are pics of a couple of typical breakfasts from this month, as well as today's.
I ended up not working out at all yesterday. Dang. I felt like such a sluggard. Today, I am gonna use a Pilates DVD (since I missed it yesterday) and do my walk (if the weather permits). I think rest days are great, but two in a row is me risking going back to old, lazy ass ways. Can't let it happen. My quads are still quite sore. I find that even when all we do is a couple spurts of "All out, run for your life" half to a block long sprints (I wouldn't risk much more due to crappy knees), because I really GO GO GO for it, my quads will be sore the next day. I also did a few push-ups Wednesday (I still can't do them PROPERLY, which makes me nuts), so my shoulders/arms feel it a bit, too. Can any of you ladies to 5 or 10 all out proper push-ups? I know some do (Dr. Fatty does oodles in TKD). But even when I was a skinny kid, I had no fricken pull-up or push-up ability. I could do all sorts of stuff the was lower body with ease, but chin-ups were beyond me, even as a normal weight teen.
One of my goals is to make it to 10 real push-ups by my birthday next year. Is that realistic? Dunno...but it's a goal! No modifications. REAL push-ups. The Princess' Push-Up Proposition.
Have you set a fitness goal for your next birthday? What? Tell me!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday was 198.0
I think the sleep disturbances and the higher salt yesterday are messing me up. I have found in the past--through blogging and weighing and analyzing--that when my sleep goes into the dumps I stall or gain, and when my sleep messes up, I crave salt. I have no idea why there is this connection. Maybe one of y'all out there know. But when I sleep poorly, I gravitate towards the salty.
I slept semi-crappy, and have only had two good sleep days this week--and yes, the turmoil in my mood and stress in my brain is contributing to this, but I also need to get me a new, more coddling mattress. I feel like someone stuffed a bunch of cotton into my cerebrum. Like I'm stupid. My husband has had to repeat stuff to me. I watch a program on tv and have to ask my husband what just happened cause I zone out.
Sleep is important!
I found a book I promised to review (and then lost in my clutter), and it's about MASTERING YOUR SLEEP, so it's time for me to sit, read, and see what I can apply. I am doing too well and a too happy with my current physical changes to have crap sleep and mood and stress sabotage me. Ain't gonna happen. I am putting on my warrior garb and fighting this until I'm sawing away in dreamland with sweet rest.
I worked on mood a bit yesterday, reading encouraging stuff, praying, and FORCING cheerfulness. If you suffer from depressive issues, you know that the last thing you want to do is...be active or be cheery. But since the brain is a mysterious thing and, whether properly shown in studies or not, facial expression CAN have a reaction to mood, I decided to smile up a storm, force laughter, watch comedy and otherwise fight the hell out of the lil blue aura around my head. I am not WORSE for it, so I will continue to experiment with that. A cheerful face until it revives my normally cheerful heart. A positive thought plan until my optimism and positivity are unforced and natural.
May sound nuts, but if it works, don't care. :D
BREAKFAST:
I have become a creature of diet habit when it comes to breakfast. For me, eggs, veggies, fruit and coffee seem to be what works best for me to control hunger for hours and hours and to make me feel like I had stuff that was emotionally, visually, and mouth-satisfying. I like the colors, the textures, the flavors. So, for me, it's almost a given I'll make a veggie omelette (with cheese usually, and usually egg-white, though occasionally I'll use a whole egg), make fresh gourmet coffee (black and sweetened), drink lots of water, and have (optional, but usual) some fresh fruit. My fruit choice is usually papaya with lime squirted on it. My allergies like its decongestant properties and my tummy likes the enzymes. (I used to suffer from GERD. Not so much now.)
Today, I wanted to do something different with my egg/veggie things, so instead of an egg-white omelette , I took two boiled eggs and 1 additional boiled egg white, made an egg salad out of it with dijon mustard, lite mayo, chopped celery, chopped carrot, chopped scallions, and paprika. I spooned it into little endive leaves Had to chop off a lot of the endive as it was, sadly, not in the most beautiful shape at the bottom. Tops were fine and crunchy. I made a mini salad of the leftover little endive center bits and cucumber, added a small bit of homemade dijon vinaigrette (EVOO, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, pepper, stirred up). It was fun. :) I still perfer omelettes, but this was a nice change and looked PRETTY on the plate! I served some papaya with lime on the side (see pic). I also took a fiber supplement with Chromium and my multivitamin. Total calories: 369 per Sparkpeople tracker. (27 carbs, effective carbs 16g after subtracting fiber, and 19g protein).
That may be too many carbs for the low-carbers out there, so if you want to try it, of course, just leave out the papaya or have 1/2 cup instead. Or just some blackberries. :) I love enjoying the blackberries this month. So nummy!
Here are pics of a couple of typical breakfasts from this month, as well as today's.
 |
| Broccoli slaw and onion omelette with side of garlic mushrooms and blackberries |
 |
| Greek Omelette (feta, peppers, tomato, onion, fresh oregano leaves) with spinach and mushrooms saute (EVOO) and papaya |
 |
| Egg Veggie Salad, Cucumber salad, papaya |
I ended up not working out at all yesterday. Dang. I felt like such a sluggard. Today, I am gonna use a Pilates DVD (since I missed it yesterday) and do my walk (if the weather permits). I think rest days are great, but two in a row is me risking going back to old, lazy ass ways. Can't let it happen. My quads are still quite sore. I find that even when all we do is a couple spurts of "All out, run for your life" half to a block long sprints (I wouldn't risk much more due to crappy knees), because I really GO GO GO for it, my quads will be sore the next day. I also did a few push-ups Wednesday (I still can't do them PROPERLY, which makes me nuts), so my shoulders/arms feel it a bit, too. Can any of you ladies to 5 or 10 all out proper push-ups? I know some do (Dr. Fatty does oodles in TKD). But even when I was a skinny kid, I had no fricken pull-up or push-up ability. I could do all sorts of stuff the was lower body with ease, but chin-ups were beyond me, even as a normal weight teen.
One of my goals is to make it to 10 real push-ups by my birthday next year. Is that realistic? Dunno...but it's a goal! No modifications. REAL push-ups. The Princess' Push-Up Proposition.
Have you set a fitness goal for your next birthday? What? Tell me!
Happy Friday!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Phase 5 Weigh in AND What a difference a poo makes ; ) Set for more PLAYWALKING! And what's for din-din? Hmmm...
So, I had to set my alarm to weigh-in for P5, since I'm a nite owl and don't normally wake up by noon (unless I have Pilates, in which case I wake up between 10:30 and 11:00). I sent off my official rounded number to A as 204. (On my scale at 11:53 am, it was 203.8.) 2 lbs off officially for the challenge.
I went back to bed. I got up when I got up normally, and I weighed in to see what just getting my extra few hours of sleep did: 203.4 I used this number for my sidebar update.
I did my bathroom thing after that: 203.0
That would have made it 3 lbs off for P5, had I had full sleep and a poo. Snarf.
In any case, an excellent week's loss. I'm 3 lbs away from 200. I'm 4 lbs away from 100 pounds lost. Making progress.
I'm about to have some nice fresh java and ask hubby to do another round of PlayWalking with me. Tonight's chicken breast should be defrosted, and I'm gonna cajun it up, prolly. Or, if hubby wants Italian, I'll make zucchini spaghetti to go with it, a bit of spinach, mushrooms and maybe broccolini. We're gonna have a green meal.
Enjoy your Sunday, and this is a whole new week to make more weight loss and fitness progress. Let's go!
I went back to bed. I got up when I got up normally, and I weighed in to see what just getting my extra few hours of sleep did: 203.4 I used this number for my sidebar update.
I did my bathroom thing after that: 203.0
That would have made it 3 lbs off for P5, had I had full sleep and a poo. Snarf.
In any case, an excellent week's loss. I'm 3 lbs away from 200. I'm 4 lbs away from 100 pounds lost. Making progress.
I'm about to have some nice fresh java and ask hubby to do another round of PlayWalking with me. Tonight's chicken breast should be defrosted, and I'm gonna cajun it up, prolly. Or, if hubby wants Italian, I'll make zucchini spaghetti to go with it, a bit of spinach, mushrooms and maybe broccolini. We're gonna have a green meal.
Enjoy your Sunday, and this is a whole new week to make more weight loss and fitness progress. Let's go!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Salt/Low-sleep uptick, which will be gone, soon, no worries. And some pics of pre-and-post Easter feast and a quickie fix for the too big t-shirt so you can use it a bit more, fasting workouts continue......on Day 77 of Phase 5
What a lovely Easter. The day was sunny, warm, and pretty. I wore a dress for the first time in...I honestly can't remember.
Today, Tanita-san shows a 1 lb uptick to 207.2. I know what this is. This is sodium and this is lack of sleep.
1 Sodium: I cook with no added salt EXCEPT on meats and chicken (I hate animal flesh sans salt. Ugh. Some, not a lot.) But Easter's brunch, we had ham and roast Cuban-style fresh ham (pernil, we call it). Both have salt. I also had an ounce of Manchego cheese. My contribution to the feast was a large organic vegetable tray and a large organic fruit tray. The veggies were numerous and I had plenty. The fruit was delicious, and it served as my dessert.
I had no fried stuff (alcapurrias).
I had no bread or crackers.
I had no corn pudding.
I had no sugary crap--candy or flan. (And I adore flan.)
I had 1 tablespoon of a no-sugar, low-carb custard my sister made for me. Very light and subtle. No sugar rush. I have the leftovers home to enjoy after supper for a couple days.
And two days of not-enough sleep. That always does things to scale/progress. But, I am back on undistracted track. I have an MD appt tomorrow, which does mess with my sleep schedule, but I'll try to get as much as possible. I also had my Pilates session today, and it was great. New stuff. Progress. Trainer happy with the less fat in ONE WEEK noticeable in my abdominals.
But...back to Easter Sunday:
After I ate and chatted and digested a bit, I changed into workout wear and played ball and Frisbee. :D Not calling it exercise. Calling it PLAYING. And it was fun. Sweaty fun that made my heat rash worse. I slathered cream on it and kept going.
Here are pics of me before the feast and after the outfit change:
Activity is now my normal mindset. I try to add it to every day in some way. Even holidays. Plus, let's face it. If you have kids in your family, kids like to play/run/throw/jump/climb. If you bring out a ball/frisbee/net/shuttlecock/puck/stick/bat, they're gonna wanna do something with it WITH YOU. So, have lots of gear handy and have fun with them.
Okay, time to walk. Sun is low and my poor rashy arms get a break from strong direct sunlight. If like me you are getting smaller and not able to wear a lot of your stuff (another big bag of clothes got donated yesterday and I have oodles to go), here is a quickie solution for t-shirts:
Yep. Just a knot to the side and it's kinda fun wearing it this way. Makes your butt look pretty decent, cause it's longer in the back, hugs it a bit, and makes it not a slouchy, frumpy mess.
And to close, this week continues the fasting workout experiment. I went in to Pilates on a coffee-n-water only tummy. No loss of energy. Last week, I took a pic of me drinking some iced black tea (made fresh, made dark for caffeine) before my fasting-walk:
I have leftovers in the fridge for supper (shredded BBQ chicken with salad fixings and fruit) and a bunch of new workout clothes (DANSKIN NOW and Just My Size stuff from Walmart. Cheap and useful for when size changes rapidly. :) AND I got COLORS. Woooo.)
Yes, colors. I wore radical pink to Pilates with light grey shorts (not black on black).
Enjoy your evening, have a sound meal, if you didn't move today, take a nice walk or do something in front of the TV. Rest well....be well...
Today, Tanita-san shows a 1 lb uptick to 207.2. I know what this is. This is sodium and this is lack of sleep.
1 Sodium: I cook with no added salt EXCEPT on meats and chicken (I hate animal flesh sans salt. Ugh. Some, not a lot.) But Easter's brunch, we had ham and roast Cuban-style fresh ham (pernil, we call it). Both have salt. I also had an ounce of Manchego cheese. My contribution to the feast was a large organic vegetable tray and a large organic fruit tray. The veggies were numerous and I had plenty. The fruit was delicious, and it served as my dessert.
I had no fried stuff (alcapurrias).
I had no bread or crackers.
I had no corn pudding.
I had no sugary crap--candy or flan. (And I adore flan.)
I had 1 tablespoon of a no-sugar, low-carb custard my sister made for me. Very light and subtle. No sugar rush. I have the leftovers home to enjoy after supper for a couple days.
And two days of not-enough sleep. That always does things to scale/progress. But, I am back on undistracted track. I have an MD appt tomorrow, which does mess with my sleep schedule, but I'll try to get as much as possible. I also had my Pilates session today, and it was great. New stuff. Progress. Trainer happy with the less fat in ONE WEEK noticeable in my abdominals.
But...back to Easter Sunday:
After I ate and chatted and digested a bit, I changed into workout wear and played ball and Frisbee. :D Not calling it exercise. Calling it PLAYING. And it was fun. Sweaty fun that made my heat rash worse. I slathered cream on it and kept going.
Here are pics of me before the feast and after the outfit change:
 |
| Colorful for Easter |
 |
| Sporty for Easter |
Activity is now my normal mindset. I try to add it to every day in some way. Even holidays. Plus, let's face it. If you have kids in your family, kids like to play/run/throw/jump/climb. If you bring out a ball/frisbee/net/shuttlecock/puck/stick/bat, they're gonna wanna do something with it WITH YOU. So, have lots of gear handy and have fun with them.
Okay, time to walk. Sun is low and my poor rashy arms get a break from strong direct sunlight. If like me you are getting smaller and not able to wear a lot of your stuff (another big bag of clothes got donated yesterday and I have oodles to go), here is a quickie solution for t-shirts:
 |
| 1 knot, 1 too-big tee wearable |
Yep. Just a knot to the side and it's kinda fun wearing it this way. Makes your butt look pretty decent, cause it's longer in the back, hugs it a bit, and makes it not a slouchy, frumpy mess.
And to close, this week continues the fasting workout experiment. I went in to Pilates on a coffee-n-water only tummy. No loss of energy. Last week, I took a pic of me drinking some iced black tea (made fresh, made dark for caffeine) before my fasting-walk:
 |
| Drinking tea pre fasting-workout |
Yes, colors. I wore radical pink to Pilates with light grey shorts (not black on black).
Enjoy your evening, have a sound meal, if you didn't move today, take a nice walk or do something in front of the TV. Rest well....be well...
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Day 39 of Phase 5: Allergies, Delayed Effects of Lost Sleep, How Far Would You Walk for Chicken?.... and Is This Really The Crap We're Eating Most Often in the US? Plus, You can Donate DIRECTLY to the Japanese Red Cross! ....HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY with a vid that blends the Japanese and Celtic themes of my post today! Eat a HEALTHFUL Green Thing Today!
Tanita-san: 216.8
Man, it feels like it's taking me forever to get to 216.0 (my next milestone).
I'm lethargic today. Yesterday, I got up early (slept just under 4 hours to do so). I was a little "off" all day and draggy, even a bit dizzy, and I curtailed my walk, cause I just felt unstable; but then perked up at the WRONG time, midnightish. While I slept 8 hours today, I am not feeling myself. This is the price of lost sleep for me in middle age--I have to pay it whenever I curtail sleep. I'm "off" for a few days and it takes me a while to feel back at normal energy levels.
Hoping walking today clears my cloudy head. Hope the pollens and stuff aren't too bad. Been stuffy for days now (and my ears were clogged up on Tuesday).
On the positive: Been making a conscious effort to not default to my car. Here in Miami, with our lousy public transportation, driving is the default. Driving is the mindset. Seriously, people drive 3 blocks to a fast food run.
I normally drive to the Peruvian rotisserie chicken place at least once a week to get some freshly roasted chicken and salad.
Tuesday, hubby was in the mood for some of that chicken, but we walked it. It was dark and breezy, and it was 9 blocks there and 9 blocks back. Then we ate our meals.
In the 10+ years we've gotten chicken there, we've always driven. For most of that time, I couldn't have walked the nearly mile walk. I was too big and it was too hard. And embarrassing.
We briskly walked there and back. :) I can't tell you how much of a victory that felt like. It could have been a mountain climb. A milestone. I can actually walk to do stuff. (Well, I won't in Miami hot summer weather, but I will as long as its clement.)
How far would you go to get your fave take-out meals? Do you drive, even if it's 2 or 4 or 7 blocks?
I was remoting past some channels taking a break from Japan news (yes, I am still obsessed and bummed). PBS had a show with Dr. John de la PUma. He listed the five most commonly eaten US foods as this:
(Note: I got that from the transcript online. Find the whole transcript here.)
Okay, I don't know where he got that list/those stats. I googled it a few times and got nothing. But it's not totally surprising. Supermarkets have entire aisles dedicated to sugary drinks, to salty chips/snacks. Whole aisles just about given over to cookies. How nuts is that? Look how much of the frozen section is about pizza. McD's and BK and their ilk are found every few blocks in major cities. Pizza is EVERYWHERE (and it's one of my trigger foods, so man, that is vexing). Locally (and I'm guessing nationally), we've had an explosion of cupcake bakeries/businesses. Yeah. That's what our fat US asses need. More sugary and icing-topped stuff to gorge on.
If anyone wonders at our ingreasing girth, that list by Dr. Puma is a tip-off.
On to a better way to spend that bit o cash you'd be tempted to spend on a cupcake or pizza....a charitable opportunity:
If you've been waiting to see where/how to donate to Japan relief causes, Google now makes it easy to donate to the Japanese Red Cross. Go HERE and scroll down just a bit and see the various charities they'll let you donate to using Google Checkout. I chose the JRC, but you can choose another. Thanks.
Since a bunch of y'all are wearing green today--"color of green, green for the vine, for the leaves and the branches, the tree of life!"-- and a bunch of y'all have a bit of the Irish in you (as does my 1/4 irish hubster, he of the olive green eyes), let me wish everyone of Irish descent (and those who just love their Irish peops and culture) a very happy St. Patrick's Day.
But please don't eat green JUNK. How does that honor a country or a great man?
Eat something green that will make your body and conscience happy!
Today, for St. Patrick's Day, my green foods weren't green-icing donuts or green milkshakes or green beer. I had spinach, broccoli and green peppers with my breakfast. :) If you have to drink something green, how about a "Kelly Green" or "Green Goddess" smoothie. These are smoothies I buy locally. They include a variety of green veggies--spinach, parsley, cucumbers, celery, etc-- with a lime and fresh apple juice base. Yummy stuff that's not inebriating, but detoxifying! Here's one you can make at home.
I plan to have something green for lunch: big salad!
I have dozens of Celtic and Celtic-influenced music cds that I've acquired since 1991, when my passion for Irish sounds started. (My fave band is IONA, a band that infuses its music and lyrics with Irish sounds and Celtic spirituality. If you've never heard of them, hie over to Google. This is the IONA whose lead singer is JoAnne Hogg and that put out the excellent BOOK OF KELLS and JOURNEY INTO THE MORN cds in the 90s. )
To hear their haunting version of St. Patrick's Breastplate (a prayer supposedly written by da man hisself), LISTEN HERE. This song is from JOURNEY INTO THE MORN, possibly the one cd I'd grab if the house was on fire and I could only choose one from my hundreds and hundreds.
If you have your corned beef and cabbage for lunch or supper, have some fruit to get Potassium to counteract all the salt. :) K? :)
I leave you with something that blends the Japanese and the Celtic: Joanne Hogg's song Kokoro to scenes from Ah, My Goddess anime:
Please remember Japan in your prayers, especially the rescue workers, relief workers, and nuclear plant workers trying to contain disaster.
Be well...
Man, it feels like it's taking me forever to get to 216.0 (my next milestone).
I'm lethargic today. Yesterday, I got up early (slept just under 4 hours to do so). I was a little "off" all day and draggy, even a bit dizzy, and I curtailed my walk, cause I just felt unstable; but then perked up at the WRONG time, midnightish. While I slept 8 hours today, I am not feeling myself. This is the price of lost sleep for me in middle age--I have to pay it whenever I curtail sleep. I'm "off" for a few days and it takes me a while to feel back at normal energy levels.
Hoping walking today clears my cloudy head. Hope the pollens and stuff aren't too bad. Been stuffy for days now (and my ears were clogged up on Tuesday).
On the positive: Been making a conscious effort to not default to my car. Here in Miami, with our lousy public transportation, driving is the default. Driving is the mindset. Seriously, people drive 3 blocks to a fast food run.
I normally drive to the Peruvian rotisserie chicken place at least once a week to get some freshly roasted chicken and salad.
Tuesday, hubby was in the mood for some of that chicken, but we walked it. It was dark and breezy, and it was 9 blocks there and 9 blocks back. Then we ate our meals.
In the 10+ years we've gotten chicken there, we've always driven. For most of that time, I couldn't have walked the nearly mile walk. I was too big and it was too hard. And embarrassing.
We briskly walked there and back. :) I can't tell you how much of a victory that felt like. It could have been a mountain climb. A milestone. I can actually walk to do stuff. (Well, I won't in Miami hot summer weather, but I will as long as its clement.)
How far would you go to get your fave take-out meals? Do you drive, even if it's 2 or 4 or 7 blocks?
I was remoting past some channels taking a break from Japan news (yes, I am still obsessed and bummed). PBS had a show with Dr. John de la PUma. He listed the five most commonly eaten US foods as this:
00:30:30 So do you know what the five most commonly eaten foods are in the U.S.? 00:30:36 No? 00:30:37 They're sugared soft drinks, cakes and pastries,burgers, pizza, and potato chips.
(Note: I got that from the transcript online. Find the whole transcript here.)
Okay, I don't know where he got that list/those stats. I googled it a few times and got nothing. But it's not totally surprising. Supermarkets have entire aisles dedicated to sugary drinks, to salty chips/snacks. Whole aisles just about given over to cookies. How nuts is that? Look how much of the frozen section is about pizza. McD's and BK and their ilk are found every few blocks in major cities. Pizza is EVERYWHERE (and it's one of my trigger foods, so man, that is vexing). Locally (and I'm guessing nationally), we've had an explosion of cupcake bakeries/businesses. Yeah. That's what our fat US asses need. More sugary and icing-topped stuff to gorge on.
If anyone wonders at our ingreasing girth, that list by Dr. Puma is a tip-off.
On to a better way to spend that bit o cash you'd be tempted to spend on a cupcake or pizza....a charitable opportunity:
If you've been waiting to see where/how to donate to Japan relief causes, Google now makes it easy to donate to the Japanese Red Cross. Go HERE and scroll down just a bit and see the various charities they'll let you donate to using Google Checkout. I chose the JRC, but you can choose another. Thanks.
Since a bunch of y'all are wearing green today--"color of green, green for the vine, for the leaves and the branches, the tree of life!"-- and a bunch of y'all have a bit of the Irish in you (as does my 1/4 irish hubster, he of the olive green eyes), let me wish everyone of Irish descent (and those who just love their Irish peops and culture) a very happy St. Patrick's Day.
But please don't eat green JUNK. How does that honor a country or a great man?
Eat something green that will make your body and conscience happy!
Today, for St. Patrick's Day, my green foods weren't green-icing donuts or green milkshakes or green beer. I had spinach, broccoli and green peppers with my breakfast. :) If you have to drink something green, how about a "Kelly Green" or "Green Goddess" smoothie. These are smoothies I buy locally. They include a variety of green veggies--spinach, parsley, cucumbers, celery, etc-- with a lime and fresh apple juice base. Yummy stuff that's not inebriating, but detoxifying! Here's one you can make at home.
I plan to have something green for lunch: big salad!
I have dozens of Celtic and Celtic-influenced music cds that I've acquired since 1991, when my passion for Irish sounds started. (My fave band is IONA, a band that infuses its music and lyrics with Irish sounds and Celtic spirituality. If you've never heard of them, hie over to Google. This is the IONA whose lead singer is JoAnne Hogg and that put out the excellent BOOK OF KELLS and JOURNEY INTO THE MORN cds in the 90s. )
To hear their haunting version of St. Patrick's Breastplate (a prayer supposedly written by da man hisself), LISTEN HERE. This song is from JOURNEY INTO THE MORN, possibly the one cd I'd grab if the house was on fire and I could only choose one from my hundreds and hundreds.
If you have your corned beef and cabbage for lunch or supper, have some fruit to get Potassium to counteract all the salt. :) K? :)
I leave you with something that blends the Japanese and the Celtic: Joanne Hogg's song Kokoro to scenes from Ah, My Goddess anime:
Please remember Japan in your prayers, especially the rescue workers, relief workers, and nuclear plant workers trying to contain disaster.
Be well...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 28 Phase 5 Challenge: First regressive weigh-in of 2011...and sleep issues continue..and on we go with another week of fatfighting...doing it dozy, if necessary
Tanita-san: 220.0
My first unprogressive weigh-in of 2011. That's a bit over a half-a pound increase from last Sunday.
There have been no binges. No cakes or pies. No pizza or lasagna. No burgers, cheese or otherwise. No booze. Yes, I've eaten well and on nearly all days at/near the 1200 mark.
But the loss of sleep really got to me. I only exercised 3 days out of 7. How immature is that? I could have fought the lethargy, but I caved. No fault but mine.
New week and even if the sleep bugaboos persist, there will be no slacking on the exercise. I will continue to fight the salt demon. Got no choice. My health is still priority one. It's not just about a number at the end of a challenge or a year or five years. The number, the goal weight, is part of a health overhaul. Eating better. Moving consistently. Yes, sleeping soundly. Learning to handle stress/anger better. Optimism. Achieving goals. It's all related to being a sounder, healthier, more agile/mobile/energetic/adaptive person.
Maintenance one day will be full of bobbles that one must learn to handle and strategize.So, this is one of those weeks. A gain of .8 is within normal fluctuations.
However...
Eating at the level I am, should still show a loss.
I know I won't lose like I did at 260 or 240. I'm down 38 pounds from when I started this blog 6 months ago. That's about 350 to 400 fewer daily calories that I need from September 2010. That's nearly a pound's worth of calories a week...less that I burn. Cause I'm less weighty. :)
But this week was still messed up. Without overeating, with sore muscles from the days I did exercise, I should have seen some loss.
Well, all I can do is push past the obstacles (sleep, mainly, at the moment) and keep doing what needs to be done for good health.
I'm not derailed...just stalled. And really wanna go back to bed.....
Hoping your Sunday is blessed and full of fun....
My first unprogressive weigh-in of 2011. That's a bit over a half-a pound increase from last Sunday.
There have been no binges. No cakes or pies. No pizza or lasagna. No burgers, cheese or otherwise. No booze. Yes, I've eaten well and on nearly all days at/near the 1200 mark.
But the loss of sleep really got to me. I only exercised 3 days out of 7. How immature is that? I could have fought the lethargy, but I caved. No fault but mine.
New week and even if the sleep bugaboos persist, there will be no slacking on the exercise. I will continue to fight the salt demon. Got no choice. My health is still priority one. It's not just about a number at the end of a challenge or a year or five years. The number, the goal weight, is part of a health overhaul. Eating better. Moving consistently. Yes, sleeping soundly. Learning to handle stress/anger better. Optimism. Achieving goals. It's all related to being a sounder, healthier, more agile/mobile/energetic/adaptive person.
Maintenance one day will be full of bobbles that one must learn to handle and strategize.So, this is one of those weeks. A gain of .8 is within normal fluctuations.
However...
Eating at the level I am, should still show a loss.
I know I won't lose like I did at 260 or 240. I'm down 38 pounds from when I started this blog 6 months ago. That's about 350 to 400 fewer daily calories that I need from September 2010. That's nearly a pound's worth of calories a week...less that I burn. Cause I'm less weighty. :)
But this week was still messed up. Without overeating, with sore muscles from the days I did exercise, I should have seen some loss.
Well, all I can do is push past the obstacles (sleep, mainly, at the moment) and keep doing what needs to be done for good health.
I'm not derailed...just stalled. And really wanna go back to bed.....
Hoping your Sunday is blessed and full of fun....
Friday, March 4, 2011
Day 26 of P5: Struggling with the Sleep, Salt Cravings Again, Scale Stasis, New Gadget Thanks to Allan, and Need to Bag Up Clothes from Winter....and get new stuff soon for SPRING! Oh, and stretch those hip flexors for better sex....seriously....
No movement on Tanita-San, which is mildly frustrating. Only mildly, cause I really just want to fix my sleep schedule, and that's my priority. Once I fix that, the scale will move.
I know. This has happened in cycles before.
I was not at all surprised by those recent circulated study findings correlating sleep and weight. I've always noticed that when I can't sleep well (as evidenced by these bags and circles under my eyes and the general loss of energy), I can't lose well. Or lose, period. I go into a holding pattern.
I don't know the science/physiology behind it, but I know in my life, it's true. To fight fat, I need good rest, good sleep.
I'm totally messed up now. Been hitting the sack anywhere from 4:30 am to 6:30 am and getting up anywhere from 9:30 am on. I only got one good "night's" rest this week. One day was less than 4 hours, the others in the 5 hour range. That is a far cry from my natural need, which is about 81/2 to 9 hours when I'm well, 10+ when I'm not.
I can't make up for it Saturday, as the cable guy is coming....so we need to be up. No late sleep.
Catch up sleep doesnt' work too well in middle-age, I've noticed. It takes anywhere from 2 days of good rest to up to a week for me to feel normal again in terms of energy, appetite, and weight loss.
Well, we'll get it done!
I'm also fighting those salt cravings again. I just want to dive into a bowl of salted nuts or salted roasted veggies or salted crusty bread or blackened salty chicken breast or salted lettuce or...salted salt. Demon! Demon sodium chloride, begone!
On the positive front: I got a cool little doohickey called a VIA Heart by New Balance. It's like a jacked up pedometer you clip on to your clothes/belt that measures not just time and steps, but distance, calories burned and pulse rate. That's pretty cool. I just put on a watch to walk, so it will be fun to have other measures handy...once I figure out how to work it, as I'm a stupid-butt when it comes to technology --and thank God for being married to a computer dude or I wouldn't know what to do when my laptop goes funky! Thanks, A!
I couldn't find a pic of the exact one I have--a gray and orange red Via Heart--but this one is kinda close to how it looks:
I have some new piles of clothes that I need to separate and bag. I lost another inch off my hips/belly area and my new bras are already on hooks set number 2 (out of the three, the middle one). I'll have to hit Lane Bryant or the mall soon for a couple new ones (sports and regular) so that I don't get caught with ungainly bras like I did last time. I'm gonna be prepared to keep the puppies happy and uplifted.
I figure another couple bags of clothes will be ready for donation by weekend's end. More space for me. I even have some bras I never got to wear and won't now since my size is radically different--on top of which I found out I was DD and not just D, and had been wearing the wrong cup size for AGES....a good fit makes a huge difference in appearance and comfort. Glad I got sized. Need to be resized before buying new ones, too.
I can tell I've lost more off my belly. The skin saggage is worse. Bleh. Not a pretty sight, the deflating tumtum. I even apologized to hubby for deforming my body and having it such a state now as a consequence, so that he has to see the saggage as I walk around nekkid (a habit, and I sleep commando, so it's not like I'm hiding the damage.)
He said, "What are you apologizing for!? You're gorgeous. And you're amazing." And I promptly jumped his bones and showed just how amazing.
Um...Pavlovian response to glowing and sparkly husbandly adoration of my whack body.
Sex Note: Those hip flexor stretches on the Cadillac in Pilates. OMG. Yes. You want to stretch those babies. Amazing positions are possible even if you're still fat!
Well, getting rid of the "interference" makes it better, too. Less stuff in the way, more closeness, more nimbleness.
Do some stretching today after your walk or cardio or strength-training. Don't forget those hips. Wink, wink.
Be well today, and here's to all of us sleeping well tonight...
I know. This has happened in cycles before.
I was not at all surprised by those recent circulated study findings correlating sleep and weight. I've always noticed that when I can't sleep well (as evidenced by these bags and circles under my eyes and the general loss of energy), I can't lose well. Or lose, period. I go into a holding pattern.
I don't know the science/physiology behind it, but I know in my life, it's true. To fight fat, I need good rest, good sleep.
I'm totally messed up now. Been hitting the sack anywhere from 4:30 am to 6:30 am and getting up anywhere from 9:30 am on. I only got one good "night's" rest this week. One day was less than 4 hours, the others in the 5 hour range. That is a far cry from my natural need, which is about 81/2 to 9 hours when I'm well, 10+ when I'm not.
I can't make up for it Saturday, as the cable guy is coming....so we need to be up. No late sleep.
Catch up sleep doesnt' work too well in middle-age, I've noticed. It takes anywhere from 2 days of good rest to up to a week for me to feel normal again in terms of energy, appetite, and weight loss.
Well, we'll get it done!
I'm also fighting those salt cravings again. I just want to dive into a bowl of salted nuts or salted roasted veggies or salted crusty bread or blackened salty chicken breast or salted lettuce or...salted salt. Demon! Demon sodium chloride, begone!
On the positive front: I got a cool little doohickey called a VIA Heart by New Balance. It's like a jacked up pedometer you clip on to your clothes/belt that measures not just time and steps, but distance, calories burned and pulse rate. That's pretty cool. I just put on a watch to walk, so it will be fun to have other measures handy...once I figure out how to work it, as I'm a stupid-butt when it comes to technology --and thank God for being married to a computer dude or I wouldn't know what to do when my laptop goes funky! Thanks, A!
I couldn't find a pic of the exact one I have--a gray and orange red Via Heart--but this one is kinda close to how it looks:
I have some new piles of clothes that I need to separate and bag. I lost another inch off my hips/belly area and my new bras are already on hooks set number 2 (out of the three, the middle one). I'll have to hit Lane Bryant or the mall soon for a couple new ones (sports and regular) so that I don't get caught with ungainly bras like I did last time. I'm gonna be prepared to keep the puppies happy and uplifted.
I figure another couple bags of clothes will be ready for donation by weekend's end. More space for me. I even have some bras I never got to wear and won't now since my size is radically different--on top of which I found out I was DD and not just D, and had been wearing the wrong cup size for AGES....a good fit makes a huge difference in appearance and comfort. Glad I got sized. Need to be resized before buying new ones, too.
I can tell I've lost more off my belly. The skin saggage is worse. Bleh. Not a pretty sight, the deflating tumtum. I even apologized to hubby for deforming my body and having it such a state now as a consequence, so that he has to see the saggage as I walk around nekkid (a habit, and I sleep commando, so it's not like I'm hiding the damage.)
He said, "What are you apologizing for!? You're gorgeous. And you're amazing." And I promptly jumped his bones and showed just how amazing.
Um...Pavlovian response to glowing and sparkly husbandly adoration of my whack body.
Sex Note: Those hip flexor stretches on the Cadillac in Pilates. OMG. Yes. You want to stretch those babies. Amazing positions are possible even if you're still fat!
Well, getting rid of the "interference" makes it better, too. Less stuff in the way, more closeness, more nimbleness.
Do some stretching today after your walk or cardio or strength-training. Don't forget those hips. Wink, wink.
Be well today, and here's to all of us sleeping well tonight...
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Day 6 of P5 Challenge: Sending Weigh-in, Chilly in Miami, flu is "widespread", Wanna Go Right Back To Bed...but it's the WEEKEND OF LOVE, BABY!!!!
::yawn::: It's one of those sleepy days.
I must have slept crappy. I slept 10 hours and totally wanna :::yawn::: do more of that.
Ah, well. I'll go make some coffee and see if that helps.
Tanita-san: 222.4
(One of the 3 weight tries--I always do 3 and take the highest, and sometimes it's all 3 the same, usually it's 2 the same and one either .5 up or .5 down. Today, there was one 222.2, which looked cute, all those 2s.)
Rounded down, that means I send 222 for the P5 weigh-in. (Last week was 225, rounded up.) It's pretty much a 2.2 pound loss, which seems right at 1200 calories for me. It ranges from 1.8 ro 2.2 at that level if I exercise consistently as I ought.
Considering how gray, dampish and chilly it was on my walk yesterday early evening, I'm not surprised we have us some lower temps today in Miami. I like chilly SUNNY, dry, clear sky days. Today it's overcast and dampish chilly. Gotta enjoy it, nonetheless. Any not-hot day is cause for celebration for me. It's 58.6, 77% humidity (but the dew point is curl friendly at 51). Pollen is 8 out of 12 and flu activity is "widespread".
A couple people were sniffly at the salon yesterday, so I did the antibacterial hand thing a couple times out of concern. Fortunately, the gal who did my shampoo/condition wore a mask (she was definitely sounding congested). I didn't wanna catch a bug before my happy events that are in the coming week and a half. I'm sick too often when hubby takes days off, and he ends up nursing me. I'd rather enjoy his time off with him..making good memories for when we're old and decrepit and crinkled in our rockers, reminiscing.
Well, gonna read some motivational stuff before I embark on a day of controlled healthful eating....it's gonna be a mushroom-spinach egg white omelette for breakfast (and yes, the yolks are healthful and I have yolks a couple times a week, but I'd rather save the yolk calories for something else later in the day if I need it--since I'm a night-hunger type. Always gotta keep some spare calories for dinner or late snack. If I was an AM hunger type, I'd just have the yolks and enjoy.) Truth is, though, I like whole eggs just fine, but I also like the texture of egg whites. :) Well, I just like eggs. :D
Nothing profound to say. I've read some good stuff and keep meaning to link, then I get lazy. It's V-Day long weekend, and I've got on the brain what hubby said yesterday when he got home from work: "Ready for the Weekend of Love?" (Which he followed with canoodling and later in the evening some nice foot rubby while watching TV. Ooooh, I love having my feet manhandled, er, hubbyhandled.)
I am! was my reply.
So, really, would rather get going (yawn, wake up, me, wake up!) to rev up my body to enjoy THE WEEKEND OF LOVE.
(Although, really, every weekend is the weekend of love in this household. I guess this is just a LONGER and more "official" weekend of love, hah.)
Hope your weekend is full of loads of love of all kinds...including enough self-love to stay on your plan (whatever your healthy plan may be). Later...
I must have slept crappy. I slept 10 hours and totally wanna :::yawn::: do more of that.
Ah, well. I'll go make some coffee and see if that helps.
Tanita-san: 222.4
(One of the 3 weight tries--I always do 3 and take the highest, and sometimes it's all 3 the same, usually it's 2 the same and one either .5 up or .5 down. Today, there was one 222.2, which looked cute, all those 2s.)
Rounded down, that means I send 222 for the P5 weigh-in. (Last week was 225, rounded up.) It's pretty much a 2.2 pound loss, which seems right at 1200 calories for me. It ranges from 1.8 ro 2.2 at that level if I exercise consistently as I ought.
Considering how gray, dampish and chilly it was on my walk yesterday early evening, I'm not surprised we have us some lower temps today in Miami. I like chilly SUNNY, dry, clear sky days. Today it's overcast and dampish chilly. Gotta enjoy it, nonetheless. Any not-hot day is cause for celebration for me. It's 58.6, 77% humidity (but the dew point is curl friendly at 51). Pollen is 8 out of 12 and flu activity is "widespread".
A couple people were sniffly at the salon yesterday, so I did the antibacterial hand thing a couple times out of concern. Fortunately, the gal who did my shampoo/condition wore a mask (she was definitely sounding congested). I didn't wanna catch a bug before my happy events that are in the coming week and a half. I'm sick too often when hubby takes days off, and he ends up nursing me. I'd rather enjoy his time off with him..making good memories for when we're old and decrepit and crinkled in our rockers, reminiscing.
Well, gonna read some motivational stuff before I embark on a day of controlled healthful eating....it's gonna be a mushroom-spinach egg white omelette for breakfast (and yes, the yolks are healthful and I have yolks a couple times a week, but I'd rather save the yolk calories for something else later in the day if I need it--since I'm a night-hunger type. Always gotta keep some spare calories for dinner or late snack. If I was an AM hunger type, I'd just have the yolks and enjoy.) Truth is, though, I like whole eggs just fine, but I also like the texture of egg whites. :) Well, I just like eggs. :D
Nothing profound to say. I've read some good stuff and keep meaning to link, then I get lazy. It's V-Day long weekend, and I've got on the brain what hubby said yesterday when he got home from work: "Ready for the Weekend of Love?" (Which he followed with canoodling and later in the evening some nice foot rubby while watching TV. Ooooh, I love having my feet manhandled, er, hubbyhandled.)
I am! was my reply.
So, really, would rather get going (yawn, wake up, me, wake up!) to rev up my body to enjoy THE WEEKEND OF LOVE.
(Although, really, every weekend is the weekend of love in this household. I guess this is just a LONGER and more "official" weekend of love, hah.)
Hope your weekend is full of loads of love of all kinds...including enough self-love to stay on your plan (whatever your healthy plan may be). Later...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Day 16 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: Where finally the body releases its fat hoard and Tanita-San grins at me, the veggie illusion pasta, and where I know I will not get enough sleep tomorrow so I'll go from Vampire to Zombie...
Another Spawny day was done and my calories ended at 1411 (49c/31f/20p).
After holding at the same weight a few days and being sodium-up a couple (frustrating a bit, yes), finally the downward whoosh:
236.8
That leaves me 20.8 lbs to lose to NOT be "severely obese" anymore and just "obese". Once you've lost 62 lbs, 21 doesn't seem as daunting. I'll get there.
I was actually surprised by a nice lower number since last night was pasta night. Hubby and I both looooooooooooooove our pasta marinara. Pasta/noodles are comfort foods for me. For sure.
I made mine with 3 cups of cooked zucchini, mushrooms, and spinach, filled a large pasta bowl with that big mass of veggies, then put the pasta on top (FiberGourmet, fewer calories, a bazillion fiber grams) then fat free mozzarella and sauce. It looked like a total binge amount of pasta, but was actually just the mass of veggies pumping it up. My "veggie illusion pasta". Made my brain feel like I was being massively spoiled. I miss the tons of sauce and cheese I used to use, but my scale likes it better this way. Between the veggies and sauce, I got like 8 servings of veggies in one meal.
Tomorrow, lots to do to prep for holiday party, and one of the chores I have to do is get my car into the mechanic. This means that I will, essentially, not sleep much. I'm on vampire time, so I go to bed round 6 am. I have to get up early....I guess this means...3 hours sleep, maybe? I suppose I can crash and burn early, too.
I don't do well--scale-wise, food-wise, etc--when I miss sleep. This one is unavoidable. The brakes need tending to. And if I want my car back the same day--gotta go in early, then have things to do that are holiday related, so I can't come home and sleep first.
I'll just do my best not to freak in zombie-mode (different than vampire mode, really).
Hope others are having good whooshie days, fatwise. Stay away from the holiday junk. Have your healthful freggies. Enjoy the music and lights and smiles (there are smiles, right)
Later....
After holding at the same weight a few days and being sodium-up a couple (frustrating a bit, yes), finally the downward whoosh:
236.8
That leaves me 20.8 lbs to lose to NOT be "severely obese" anymore and just "obese". Once you've lost 62 lbs, 21 doesn't seem as daunting. I'll get there.
I was actually surprised by a nice lower number since last night was pasta night. Hubby and I both looooooooooooooove our pasta marinara. Pasta/noodles are comfort foods for me. For sure.
I made mine with 3 cups of cooked zucchini, mushrooms, and spinach, filled a large pasta bowl with that big mass of veggies, then put the pasta on top (FiberGourmet, fewer calories, a bazillion fiber grams) then fat free mozzarella and sauce. It looked like a total binge amount of pasta, but was actually just the mass of veggies pumping it up. My "veggie illusion pasta". Made my brain feel like I was being massively spoiled. I miss the tons of sauce and cheese I used to use, but my scale likes it better this way. Between the veggies and sauce, I got like 8 servings of veggies in one meal.
Tomorrow, lots to do to prep for holiday party, and one of the chores I have to do is get my car into the mechanic. This means that I will, essentially, not sleep much. I'm on vampire time, so I go to bed round 6 am. I have to get up early....I guess this means...3 hours sleep, maybe? I suppose I can crash and burn early, too.
I don't do well--scale-wise, food-wise, etc--when I miss sleep. This one is unavoidable. The brakes need tending to. And if I want my car back the same day--gotta go in early, then have things to do that are holiday related, so I can't come home and sleep first.
I'll just do my best not to freak in zombie-mode (different than vampire mode, really).
Hope others are having good whooshie days, fatwise. Stay away from the holiday junk. Have your healthful freggies. Enjoy the music and lights and smiles (there are smiles, right)
Later....
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Day 26 Son of DDDY Challenge: How do you see .8 lb up on the scale while eating 560 calories less than diet allotment? Well, let me tell you, so you don't freak when it happens to YOU....food/water log...
Tanita-san 241.4
My scale has been a rollercoaster due to my freaky sleep and salt habits this week. I have not gone over my goal-weight caloric level at all, and have had many less-than (by hundreds of calories days). For instance, yesterday: 1156 calories. One of my lowest eating days this year.
I had two meals. My first meal was tiny calorically. My second meal with huge (relatively speaking). But together, they were less than 1200 cals. I drank a lot of water, but given the super-salty nature of the food (divvying up my take-out Thai), I should have had extra water and more potassium rich foods/beverages.
I got lazy.
So, here is how you can make your scale go up without overeating:
1. Yes, eat a salty Asian or other restaurant meal
2. Don't eat potassium-rich foods (fruit, sweet potato, coconut water)
3. Don't get enough sleep (this one guarantees a scale upsy for me, always)
4. Don't up the fluid intake to flush the sodium
5. Don't eat enough fiber to move things along
Oh, yes. That last one is key. I had a lot of salt and little fiber and guess what my bowels did? Yes, they didn't. Exactly. My first morning with NO pooing in, um, months. I'm usually an "I'm awake, time to poop" kind of gal. No poop this am. Damn you, fiberless, sodium-riddled day!
Anyway, not sure if I should just send that to Allan or wait til tomorrow. We have a family thing tomorrow and, knowing me and my talent for "Cuban time" lack of punctuality, I'll be running around and forget to weigh-in or email. I may just send this weigh-in for SPAWN the THIRD.
Anyway, hope your scale was smiling upon you today. Be well...
FOOD LOG:
Breakfast:
WS hotcakes with sugar-free syrup and applesauce
1/2 cup Egg Beaters with 1 Slice 2% cheese and mushrooms
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water
My scale has been a rollercoaster due to my freaky sleep and salt habits this week. I have not gone over my goal-weight caloric level at all, and have had many less-than (by hundreds of calories days). For instance, yesterday: 1156 calories. One of my lowest eating days this year.
I had two meals. My first meal was tiny calorically. My second meal with huge (relatively speaking). But together, they were less than 1200 cals. I drank a lot of water, but given the super-salty nature of the food (divvying up my take-out Thai), I should have had extra water and more potassium rich foods/beverages.
I got lazy.
So, here is how you can make your scale go up without overeating:
1. Yes, eat a salty Asian or other restaurant meal
2. Don't eat potassium-rich foods (fruit, sweet potato, coconut water)
3. Don't get enough sleep (this one guarantees a scale upsy for me, always)
4. Don't up the fluid intake to flush the sodium
5. Don't eat enough fiber to move things along
Oh, yes. That last one is key. I had a lot of salt and little fiber and guess what my bowels did? Yes, they didn't. Exactly. My first morning with NO pooing in, um, months. I'm usually an "I'm awake, time to poop" kind of gal. No poop this am. Damn you, fiberless, sodium-riddled day!
Anyway, not sure if I should just send that to Allan or wait til tomorrow. We have a family thing tomorrow and, knowing me and my talent for "Cuban time" lack of punctuality, I'll be running around and forget to weigh-in or email. I may just send this weigh-in for SPAWN the THIRD.
Anyway, hope your scale was smiling upon you today. Be well...
FOOD LOG:
Breakfast:
WS hotcakes with sugar-free syrup and applesauce
1/2 cup Egg Beaters with 1 Slice 2% cheese and mushrooms
2 cups coffee
8 glasses water
Monday, October 11, 2010
SparkPeople Email Quote, The Quest for Change, Dancing with Celia on Columbus Day as Hispanic History Month Nears End--Just to To Get the Week Going!
It was in my inbox. I liked it. I"m gonna quote it:
I have officially just loaded up my Kindle with tomes on change (both motivational and from neuroscience), dieting, and spiritual discipline (as I think addresses the spirit matters even in, perhaps especially in, issues of teh body).
I want to keep firmly focused on the assorted goals. I plan to set some specific goals for each month (beyond my 4 and a half pound loss per month goal, sure).
And yeah, looks like I do need to get up earlier. For a vampire like me, that means going to bed earlier. So...I bought some Melatonin supplements. Hey, worth a shot. Took one and hope to get to be sleepy and in bed before 4 am. :)
Today was a good eating day. I stayed under 1700 (very good for me, so don't snicker). My treats were sugar free. I got raw foods in (fruits and veggies). Got protein (chicken, whey, cheese, salami) Hubby made a mistake with my take-out order (I specifically said GARDEN SALAD WITH CHICKEN) and he got the rice bowl with chicken. I scooped out the veggies and chicken and what was likely less than half a cup of rice (hard to assess given it's all mixed up), left the rest of rice for him.
Today, Monday, is Pilates day. It's also Columbus Day (as celebrated, but the real Columbus Day is the 12th). And it's almost the end of Hispanic Heritage month. (I'm Hispanic. Celebrate me! Er, okay, don't hafta. Maybe just go dance to some kickass Celia Cruz tune. That's fun and burns calories. Here's one. I love singing, "quimbara quimbara kumba quimbamba"... That'll wake up your blood!)
Okay, so have a good Columbus Day (hope you're off and can enjoy a fall day). Maybe it's a day to try something new (new, New World, discoveries, see, get it?)
Yeah, wonder what? Maybe a fruit I've never eaten. Yeah, maybe!
Off to read before bed.
later...
Are you trying to stick to a fitness plan, improve a relationship, eliminate fast food from your diet, or be a better parent? Whatever your goal, was there a time when you thought you couldn't do it? This is a natural reaction when things get tough. It's easier to find ways to justify your actions than to get over the hurdle. This week, eliminate the hurdles and barriers you've created. If you find yourself saying, "I can't" or "I don't have time," then re-analyze your goal. If you really want to achieve it, then make the time or take a different approach (get up earlier, stay organized, learn the skills). Find time for you and your goals.
I have officially just loaded up my Kindle with tomes on change (both motivational and from neuroscience), dieting, and spiritual discipline (as I think addresses the spirit matters even in, perhaps especially in, issues of teh body).
I want to keep firmly focused on the assorted goals. I plan to set some specific goals for each month (beyond my 4 and a half pound loss per month goal, sure).
And yeah, looks like I do need to get up earlier. For a vampire like me, that means going to bed earlier. So...I bought some Melatonin supplements. Hey, worth a shot. Took one and hope to get to be sleepy and in bed before 4 am. :)
Today was a good eating day. I stayed under 1700 (very good for me, so don't snicker). My treats were sugar free. I got raw foods in (fruits and veggies). Got protein (chicken, whey, cheese, salami) Hubby made a mistake with my take-out order (I specifically said GARDEN SALAD WITH CHICKEN) and he got the rice bowl with chicken. I scooped out the veggies and chicken and what was likely less than half a cup of rice (hard to assess given it's all mixed up), left the rest of rice for him.
Today, Monday, is Pilates day. It's also Columbus Day (as celebrated, but the real Columbus Day is the 12th). And it's almost the end of Hispanic Heritage month. (I'm Hispanic. Celebrate me! Er, okay, don't hafta. Maybe just go dance to some kickass Celia Cruz tune. That's fun and burns calories. Here's one. I love singing, "quimbara quimbara kumba quimbamba"... That'll wake up your blood!)
Okay, so have a good Columbus Day (hope you're off and can enjoy a fall day). Maybe it's a day to try something new (new, New World, discoveries, see, get it?)
Yeah, wonder what? Maybe a fruit I've never eaten. Yeah, maybe!
Off to read before bed.
later...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Looking for what works...not just what doesn't....
708 days and 8 hours to go...
I was reading my Kindle at the beauty salon (while getting grays covered prior to a much-needed trim), under the hard hat dryer, totally engrossed in that book I mentioned last post -- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. --and it talked about how it's important to look at a situation and find where something WORKED, as opposed to where it did not (or why). Find what was done differently. So, I seemed to have done that instinctively in looking back to the weeks where my loss was not just on target, but a bit above. The big breakfast came immediately to mind.
Nudged by the book, I looked back at other factors that were consistent in those weeks. I came up with: sleep. I was sleeping 7 to 9 hours consistently.
This past week, most notably Monday on, I was sleeping about 5 hours, occasionally 6.
I've been battling my Vampire Cycle tendencies (up all night, sleep during day), and sometimes I do stay up too late and then have to compensate by sleeping less to make appointments and such.
Therefore, another goal for this week will be to sleep again in the 7 to 9 hour range and see how that affects appetite and rate of loss along with The Big Breakfast. :)
It's gonna be tough, as hubby is going out of town for most of the week, and well, we live in a neighborhood that's become increasingly unsafe. So much so, when I'm alone in this big old building, sound sleep eludes me. I tend to wake at the smallest noice, even when I've booby-trapped the doors.
Can't wait to move. (Another change)
So, there it is. Two things that may have compromised my appetite/diet plans/rate of loss/metabolism even.
Look back on your GREAT weeks and GOOD weeks, then look at your bad loss weeks. What were the EXCEPTIONS, the things that you did on the great and good weeks that you didn't on the bad ones. (Other than just, you know, EAT MORE, MOVE LESS). Did you eat particular meals or certain foods that helped? Sleep better? Drink more liquids on the good and great weeks. Did you socialize more, read more, walk more.
Anyway, let's hope this week is a bright one...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)