Now with more cottage cheese

I caught a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror at curves the other day.  I was wearing my grey capri yoga pants.  Grey makes the cottage cheese thighs look even cottage cheesier...    I just hadn't caught that particular view before.  I was jogging in place so the cheese was in motion.  I'll bet if I had been standing still it wouldn't have looked so bad.  Best to stick with black from now on.

Side note:  I wonder if I should have a full length mirror in my home.  I wouldn't have been caught off guard at the gym.  (I don't have a full length mirror simply because I haven't got one.  No other reason.  I don't avoid mirrors.)

Monday motivation

Well it's Monday again.  Time for another bout of short lived motivation. 

OK.  Maybe that is a little harsh.  But it does seem that the beginning of the year/month/week is when I get all worked up and ready to be motivated to change something.  I think the trouble occurs when I have time in front of the computer doing a mindless chore (aka work).  I get to thinking about how I should be doing things differently.  And what I need to change and how much I can lose if I just make these little changes.

Then I try to plan it and then fail to carry through with the plan.  Writing it down and making it happen are two different animals.  And good intentions aren't enough.

A while ago I blogged about making a weekly menu.  I haven't done that yet.  I have "permission" from my chef to do it, and he will cook what I've planned.  I just haven't made the time to carry it out.  Several times I have sat myself down to begin it.  It's a hard thing to do, it turns out.  But I still think it will help me a lot.  And so I'm going to try to renew that goal.  Does anyone have any tips for scheduling a weekly menu?  I don't do the cooking at my house, but I have a great support team when I ask for it.  I have to make a menu that Cap'n can do for me when he is home and I can manage when he isn't.  It has to have super quick and easy meals for 2 nights a week (one of those is currently sandwich night, and I think I'll keep that, because one son depends on it).  This week I'd like to get a system set up to plan and carry out a weekly menu. 

I have been going to Curves at least 3 times a week still.  It isn't open on Sunday (I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to make it that day anyway) and I stayed busy doing other things on Saturday (house was clean enough to have friends over for drinks!).  My goal this week is 4 days there.  It's boring, but I'm getting my heart rate up and I'm getting healthy.  I'm still aiming to beat my family to the top of the hill at Neuschweinstein.  That is what is driving me while I'm at the gym.  So I'm pushing myself. 

I'm also trying to work out a plan to walk/jog the same number of miles one of my kids runs at school in the spring.  Got some ideas there.  It'll get me outside in the fresh air at least!!

So Happy Monday!!  Hope this motivation can stick around. 

Give Blood!

I gave blood yesterday.  And they gave me permission to skip Curves.  So I did.  :)  I figured I gave a pint of blood and that was weight loss!  A pints a pound the world around. 

Giving blood is good for you.  Evidence shows that it may reduce your risk of heart disease.  But mostly it's good for someone else.  Your one donation may save up to three peoples lives.

I don't do enough volunteering.  I don't have a lot of time to donate.  And I don't trust many organizations to spend my money wisely, so I don't give it freely.  What I can do is donate blood.  I know that there is always a need for it.  It won't be wasted.

And they give me cookies and juice for doing it.  Win!! 

Please donate.  Lives are saved every single day by simple blood donation.  My dad is still here with us, because nine people donated blood.  NINE.  I can be one of those who helps. 

Did I ever tell you about the time I spent a week in prizon in Venezuela?

I have never been to Venezuela.

I weighed in today.  I'm down 2 pounds from last week.  Which is great!  But I had wished for more.  I guess wishing wasn't enough.  I have to get busy!

I have been to Curves every day that I've been home and it's been open, except one.  There seemed to be a lot of catch up to do on Saturday and I didn't make it there.  I was planning on doing Zumba on Saturday.  My Curves is closed on Sunday, which is a bummer, because I'd probably go just to get away from the kids.  So this Sunday, while my oldest was at a sleep over at his buddy's house, my youngest strapped on his roller blades and helmet and he and I went to walk/skate around Black Bay park.  Black Bay is a great little public park within walking distance of my house.  It has a rope swing to jump into the lagoon in the summer, rocks to climb on, cliffs to dive off, beach to swim from, paths to ride bikes on.  It's a little piece of nature in our back yard.  we were the only ones there on Sunday and did some exploring.  Z decided not to wear his blades next time.  He couldn't climb the rocks with them on.  But we both got in some good Sunday morning exercise and I think it could easily become habit.  I'm sure that he will be looking forward to going again. 

I tried Zumba at Curves last night.  It was fun.  It's basically aerobics and you throw in the Curves circuit every 60 seconds.  I just danced.  The circuit can wait till tomorrow, dancing without pause is more exercise for me anyway.  Unfortunately, my back is bothering me.  I considered skipping Zumba because of it but decided I could try to take it easy.  You can't take it easy doing Zumba and my back hurts even more today.  Serious stretching is in order throughout the day to ease it up again.  If I can get the kink worked out I'll be back there again tonight.  I won't be in town this weekend so I'll skip the gym again.  But I'll try to get in some good walks while I'm away. 

My cousin posted that she has recently weighed in with 60 pounds GONE!  That is so fantastic!  I'm very proud of her.  I find my self jealous that she made it look so easy!  Though I know that she must be working very hard for that kind of success.   A friend of the family has started working hard to lose weight as well and I hear she is doing fantastic, though I haven't seen her in a few months.  It give me motivation though.  While I'm happy for all these people that I love I'm competitive by nature and want to do as well or better.  I'd best be getting busy if that is the case though. 

Well, off to make my plan for the week!  It's a new idea (OK, it's old, but I'm refreshing it) to plan ahead and make some small goals.  I'm feeling the motivation...

Back at it again!

It was a busy week for me.  I was on my feet and walking all day, every day from Sunday through Wednesday.  By Wednesday afternoon, I was anxious to be sitting on a 5 hour flight.  No standing or walking required!  I didn't loose any weight while I was gone (there were wonderful after parties with booze and yummy appetizers), but I didn't gain any either.  I ate sensibly, even at the after parties, and I actually only went to dinner on one night.  And I shared that meal with my colleague so I didn't even eat it all!  And I didn't drink overly much either.  I think I had 2 glasses of wine at one of the parties and only 1 at each of the others.  And those calories were quickly burned when we walked to the next function.  I didn't drink enough water.  And I did it on purpose.  My feet we aching and the bathroom was literally 1/2 a mile from my booth.  I didn't want to go there any more often than necessary.  I paid for my lack of water with swollen feet and fingers, so I'm sure the system backfired, but I still couldn't make myself drink more. 

I have gone to Curves every day that I have been home, since the day I signed up.  I even brought my workout clothes today in case I can get out of work early and hit the gym before my quilt group meets up.  And I plan to go tomorrow morning as well.  There is a Zumba class at 11:30 tomorrow and I might have time to squeeze that in.  

I am more convinced than ever that I will not be able to stick with Curves forever.  I am getting a good workout and as long as I bounce a lot on the boards between the machines I can keep my heart rate up.  But I can see how I will get bored with the routine if I'm not careful.   I like how they put trivia questions and other word games in the center of the circle.  That does keep my brain engaged for the first round and I power through the second knowing I'm almost done.  I'm glad for the convenience of the gym as it is just around the corner from my house and I can just go in and jump into the circle whenever I can.  I don't have to be there at a certain time for a class, which is nice.  So here is hoping that I can keep it up for a while before I need something else to move onto.  I'm fickle, but I'm lazy.

Hope Shari is doing well this week!

I'm in for it now!

OK.  I broke the news to my Mom that I'm not going to continue WW.  I just need a break from it I think.  The program WORKS if you follow it.  But I haven't been and that is like throwing money out the window. 

I also signed up for Curves.  It looks like something I can do short term.  The ladies all looked like they were having a good time.  And they have added a Zumba class to the lineup.  I might try that once in a while.  The ladies I work with do Zumba and they LOVE it. 

I was disappointed to see the owner and therefore the lady giving me instruction was older than my mother and about as big around as a pencil.  I don't believe for a second that she looks the way she does only from Curves.  My guess is it is mainly genetics.  Someday, I might ask her what her starting weight was.  I think she weighs about 80 pounds now.

And she was more than a little condescending.  It could be that I am a little sensitive, but I felt like she was talking down to me the whole lesson.  This isn't my first time to set foot in a gym.  I've had a trainer before and used all sorts of the equipment in more than my share of gyms.  I do know proper technique and muscle mechanics.  I'm fat because I am lazy.  I guess that most of the women who go in there for the first time don't have that experience and the trainers have to treat everyone like they don't know a thing.   I was being sensitive.  At least I wasn't rude to her.

What I didn't like about Curves was the whole "setting a goal" bit.  You have to sit down with the employee and tell her your goals and let her measure you.  She asked what I *think* I weigh.  I told her 256 pounds.  (It was less that that on my last weigh in, but I weigh in the morning so it should be higher in the evening.).  She gave me a knowing smile and moved on.  Then it came to standing on the scale.  She said "let's see how close you were".  So I stepped on the scale and what do you know.  It said I weigh 256 pounds!  She was astounded.  "No one ever gets it exactly!" 

She asked if I felt any stress.  At that moment the only stress I felt was her asking the questions.  So my answer was "no more than the next person.  Mark 'No'."  She did and she said that she hasn't ever marked that before.  Then she ran down the list of health problems, all of which I said I didn't have.  She asked what medication I was taking.  I answered "none" and her eyes got wide.  "Not even for high blood pressure?".  What?  Just because I am fat doesn't mean I have high blood pressure!!  Again, the answer was "no".  She took my blood pressure.  118/78.  At this point her eyes were wide.  "That is nearly perfect!" (Which tells me that she doesn't know much about blood pressure. nearly?) 

She set my goals for me.  The only goal that I was willing to give her myself was that I want to make it to the top of the hill at Neuschweinstein without being too winded, in June.  She didn't understand that and was frustrated that I didn't tell her that I want to loose 100 pounds.  (the weight will come off as I get my heart in shape.  My heart is what I want to work on now.  I'm going to focus less on the weight and more on how friggin' winded I get at a brisk walk.)  So she set the goals for me.  Something like 30 inches in 6 months.  The inches are a sum of all the measurements, bust, waist, hips, arms, thighs, etc. 

She was frustrated in how I chose to pay my bill too.  I wouldn't let her commit me for a year.  If you sign up for the year you get a $10 monthly discount.  I'm not planning to stay there past 3 months.  I'm not planning to leave either.  But at this moment, I am using this as a jumping off point.  I just want to get started.  Maybe I'll do CrossFit again.  I think I'd like that. 

What I found out last night is that I am HEALTHY!  Even though I'm fat.  And not all fat women can say that.  I left feeling pretty good.  And a little sweaty.  I did get a little work out there.  But I think I can do better.  We will see how this goes. 

Have a great week!

What a difference a day makes.

A persons weight can fluctuate between 2 and 4 pounds every day.  If you step on the scale first thing in the morning you could see a number that is four whole pounds different than if you stepped on the same scale before bedtime, or at lunch, or after you go to the gym.

It's normal.  That is why trainers and diet coaches tell you to weigh in at the same time every week.  You have the best chance of seeing the true difference/progress.

That makes it hard to weigh in on a different day of the week.  The results can be disappointing if it wasn't what you expected. 

My advice is to not weigh to often.  It just causes anxiety.  And when you do have to weigh in at a different time, take in stride and accept it for what it is.  Different.  And keep up the good work!

Just when I thought I had it figured out!!

I am wondering if last week and the week before were flukes after all? I hope not!! I weighed in today. It was another day early since I weighed in on Wednesday last week. Circumstances have changed over the past week and I had to weigh in early because I have to do an unplanned trip to visit my grandmother who is not well. I am leaving very early Wednesday morning and coming back the following Friday morning, so I was going to miss my weekly weigh in and I didn't want to do that. I only lost 200g (0.44lbs). Very disappointing. I know it is still a loss but I worked so hard and once again it is way under my weekly target. Oh well! I will just have to try harder this week. I don't think it was necessarily that I did anything wrong because I tracked and kept within my points and exercised every day. I did try to eat sufficient protein each day, but some days I didn't keep track of that so maybe I didn't eat enough. It could also be different scales to a certain extent maybe, as I weighed in at a different meeting today. I really don't know why I had such a small loss, so I am going to put it out of my mind and just keep going and hopefully it will come out in the wash when I finally get back to my normal weekly meeting. Unfortunately that probably won't be for a couple of weeks, but I will still try to go once each week until I do. I am also hoping that going away for a week and a half and doing different exercise and eating different things may shake up my body and show a bigger loss next week. Here's hoping!!

Anyway, I hope you all have a fantastic week!!