I wondered how I’d feel today. Would I be depressed that I didn’t reach my goal? Or would I be resolved that I’m never going to reach it and I’m a big fat loser? Or, would I just accept it and keep trying?
You’ll be happy to know it’s the latter. My husband woke me this morning with a precious card and sweet “I love you’s” and “happy birthdays,” and my kids are being adorably sweet to me today. So, did I lose 40 pounds? No. Am I at least thinner and healthier? Yes. Am I happy? Very much so!
Okay, so what is my game plan now that I’ve not reached my 40 pound goal? Well, my first plan is to run with my daughter in her school 5K in the spring. I’m already working hard on that one. I am up to running 3 minutes straight and it gets easier each time I do it. Second, I’m going to continue adding more healthy foods to my diet – the scariest thing about being 40 is the realization that my body is aging and I need to take better care of it – weight loss or not. I want to be around for a long time, so it’s super important to keep up with my body and take good care of it.
I plan to take some pictures to show where I am now as opposed to where I was a year and a half ago. I have really come a long way, so I’m not beating myself up too much. 22 pounds lighter is a big deal and I should be proud of that. I want to reach my ideal weight and I have to have hope I’ll get there. I plan to continue this blog and continue my journey beyond 40 – I hope you’ll continue to join me on that journey. Thank you so much for all of your support – I could not have done this without you!
August 18, 2010 – 169
Total weight loss since inception of blog – 22 pounds
Here is the site I’m working from to go from walking to running – Cool Running. For a limited time, you can download their “Active Trainer” to your computer that will walk you through the program and have you running in 10 weeks. It’s a neat program that actually lets me log not only my running segments, but other workouts as well. I’m actually a little jazzed about the whole thing. Weird, I know.
I’m sitting here eating my eggs and sausage, but I’m truly not that hungry. That’s the beauty of low carb days . . . you literally have no appetite. If I can get through the first day or two on that diet plan, I’m all set because I’m never hungry! I usually have to force myself to eat something. Anyway, I’m looking down at these eggs thinking I’d rather have a spoonful of low fat peanut butter 
Otherwise all is well is fat land – although I gained weight last week. I was 170.4 this AM, which is due to my being very stressed out and slack last week. Had I not been sticking to the running routine, I probably would have gained more. My birthday is in TEN days . . . I won’t make my goal, but I won’t give up! My friends are taking me to New York for Labor Day weekend, and I want to enjoy myself and not feel fat and out of shape. I want to LIVE my life and not feel so awful all the time. I want my husband to think I’m a real “hot mama” . Wish me luck – I have a long way to go . . .
Tags: cool running, low carb, runner, running
Okay, anyone who knows me will tell you that I’ve NEVER wanted to be a runner. I’ve never even tried to be a runner. I would avoid running at all costs. I mean I realllllly didn’t want to run . . . EVER. So, now that I’ve set the groundwork, let me tell you what I’m finding myself doing more and more now that I’m almost 40 years old . . . yep, RUNNING!
It all started with a conversation with a friend of mine, Jennifer, the other day. She and I walked together for about a year at our “Healthy Living” program at church. She is awesome and has given me all sorts of good advice on healthy eating (I now put flaxseed in some of my food – good stuff!) and is a true inspiration to me to get in shape. She told me that she started running again and I asked her how in the world one gets to a point where they can run longer than a minute without coughing up a lung or passing out (which defines my running experiences to a “T”). She told me about a program that gets you from “couch to running” in a month. I wasn’t sure about it, but I was intrigued nonetheless. She sent me first to “Fleet Feet,” which is a place that will actually measure your foot, your stride, how you run, and all kinds of things so that you get the right shoe. Apparently, I “pronate” when I run, which could be why I’ve been having sore ankles with the other shoes I was wearing. So, I now have an AMAZING pair of Nike Zoom shoes! 
Now I am running for almost 3 minutes straight, which is AWESOME considering the couch was my location just a week ago. I’m really proud of myself and I feel good afterwards (other than some charlie horse cramps in my calves sometimes, but I’m stretching better now). Wish me luck!
I was really proud of myself last week. I lost almost 4 pounds in three days doing the high protein thing. I felt pretty good, too. I did that mainly because I knew I had a lunch date Thursday, dinner date Friday, and a work lunch on Sunday. All of which was at restaurants I knew I’d eat awful at. I truly wish I liked salads. That would make my life so much easier. I actually sat down the other night with a bowl of lettuce and three different types of salad dressing on the side. I dipped a piece of lettuce in each to see if I remotely liked any of them. The Italian was the best. But, I wasn’t thrilled about any of them and found the flavor too strong. If given the choice, I’d probably just eat plain lettuce. But, that won’t help me in a restaurant when I’m faced with a menu full of fattening foods. There are some places that have good grilled chicken (like Longhorn Steakhouse). But, I have been burned with the “rubbery” grilled chicken way too many times to want to risk it often at some of these places. It can be such a waste of money to order grilled chicken and then it’s gross. So, I end up splurging and telling myself I’ll get back to the grind tomorrow.
Well, after three huge dining out experiences with fattening choices, I gained back half of the weight I lost. Crap. Oh, and it’s miserably hot outside so I’m drained too death when I get home and not doing as much exercising as I should. Why can’t I have the metabolism of my friend Lee? Why does food have to haunt me like this? Ah well – just got to suck it up and get back on the wagon. Back to protein today. Hello scrambled eggs for breakfast 
As I mentioned in a previous post, I was debating on whether to continue Weight Watchers or try the Cheat to Lose for a while. I decided to do both. Here’s what I’m doing – I’m on day 2 of the Cheat to Lose high protein/very low carb and I’ve lost over a pound (I was 168 this morning). Then, I’m eating out Thursday with my husband (and Friday actually) so I’ll do Weight Watchers those two days. Then, I’m back on Cheat to Lose for a few days. We’ll see how this goes.
Pros for this would be that I won’t have to deal with the massive carb cravings forever because on Weight Watchers days I’ll have healthy carbs. The “cons” would be that it may not work and my insulin levels will be jumping all over the place. I’ve made a commitment to myself to NOT go nuts with the carbs when I can have them and to aim for the low Glycemic Index ones like fruits. That way it won’t be too much of a pendulum swinging. Let’s hope anyway.
I’ll keep you posted!
I’m a firm believer in the whole “jinx” theory. Take yesterday, for instance. I wrote excitedly on my blog about the fact that I slept great the night before AND felt great during the day, full of energy and all. Well, strangely enough, I think I jinxed myself because by the time I arrived home around 6:00 p.m. yesterday, I was exhausted! So much so that I told the kids I needed to “close my eyes a few minutes” upstairs, which I never do. I remember laying down, but I was so determined to rest for only a little while I didn’t change clothes, use the blankets, or even close the blinds. I wanted to have a “cat nap” at best. My friends I woke up at 8:07 p.m. and I shot out of the bed disoriented, woozy, and very groggy. I realized quickly that I had not moved one inch since laying down and had apparently fallen asleep very quickly because I don’t remember much after laying my head on the pillow.
So, all that “woo hoo, I feel great” business I typed about yesterday must have had a hidden element in it because I was sacked out yesterday afternoon. Very strange to say the least. Due to that unexpected nap, I couldn’t fall asleep until around midnight last night and then struggled to wake up this morning. I had a ton of energy up until I ate lunch about an hour ago and now I’m getting sluggish again (and, I’ve just developed the hiccups, which is annoying). I need to get up and move around to get the blood flowing so let me run do that. And, in the meantime, I truly hoping this fatigue/RLS/insomnia thing will pass soon. I didn’t work out yesterday, so I need to get all this straightened out!
I have a friend who bought the Sketchers “toning” shoes and she claimed they were awesome for her legs. All I kept thinking when I looked at them was how they looked as though they were those hidden roller skate shoes the kids like to wear. I wasn’t thrilled about their appearence. So, I went the more appealing route and spent my money on the Reebok version called “Easy Tones.” I wore these shoes all day on a Friday as I cleaned the house, and by the end of the day my ankles and feet were pretty sore, so something certainly happened. The claim for these shoes is that they will tone your legs and butt, so that is really what I’ve been hoping to see. Here are my findings:
- My lower legs (calves) are tight, cut and firm – moreso after I purchased the shoes than before (I’ve always had strong calves though). See my calf pick below – I took this myself so it was a weird angle, and I know they look like man legs, but I am proud of the fact that you can actually SEE the muscle. Sweet!
- My upper leg does not seem to be any different
- My butt looks the same, really
Would I buy them again? Probably. Are they going to make my legs and butt look as good as the chick ont he ad? No way. But, they are comfortable and I do like my muscular calves. I’m running a little now in these shoes so I’ll alter this if I see some major difference. But I’m not holding my breath.
Tags: calf strength, Reebok Easy Tone, running, toning, walking
I’m celebrating today, thanks to a good night’s sleep last night. I’m not sure if it’s the post I made yesterday about my RLS or the fact that my husband gave me a massage before bed and helped me relax a bit. Either way, I’m SO thrilled to have actually slept (and had dreams) all night! I’m a big groggy now, but that’s my own fault. I ate too much at lunch (hello Raisin Bran for supper!). It’s funny, isn’t it, how we know the food we’re about to eat will make us feel sluggish, and yet we still eat it. Why is that? We’re left sitting here thinking about how stupid we were to eat it only to remind ourselves that we KNEW it would be like this but chose to do it anyway. I guess the real question here is, “why am I such an idiot sometimes?”
It wasn’t that bad, really. I had my usual grilled chicken and rice at Longhorn Steakhouse (the absolute BEST grilled chicken on the planet!) and I only ate one of the two small breasts and half the rice. I save the other half for lunch tomorrow. But, I had a slice of bread before hand, so I’m feeling a bit bloated right now. Ick. But, it was tasty for sure1
Today is another big workout day – both circuit and weights. I found a great exercise for your deltoids – Lay on your left side on a bench or on the floor, resting your right arm on your side while holding a weight in your right hand. Lift your right arm, palm down, straight up until it makes a right angle with your body, then lower it. Do 12-15 reps and switch sides, trying for 2 sets. I use 6 pound weights because I’m a poozer, but you can use heavier weights if needed. The deltoids are the different pieces of muscle that form the front and top of where your shoulders meet your arm. If formed nicely, they give you a nice cut look to your upper arm in the front, which is great in tank top season . I did these while watching “Strictly Ballroom” (great movie) the other night. I’m desperately trying to tweak my arms a bit, but I’m afraid I’m too late to enjoy skinny arms this summer. They do look better though!
Off I go to work more – enjoy your week!
Tags: deltoid, Longhorn, overeating, sleep
Among the many other idiosyncrasies that make up the whole of “me,” I suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome or “RLS.” It typically comes in bouts where I’ll suffer from it for a month, then it goes away for a while. RLS is a condition that causes my extremities (for most it’s just the legs, but for me it’s legs and arms) to become antsy and restelss to the point where I feel the desperate need to get up and run a marathon or lift weights. It was so bad a few years ago that I entered into a clinical trial for a new medication just to get some relief. Unfortunately, just one week after starting the trial, my gall bladder exploded and had to be removed, then I developed a kidney stone two weeks after that, which excluded me from the trial. So, I was back to square one of my “home remedies” for dealing with RLS.
I have tried everything from giving up caffiene (which was awful) to exercising more to taking a hot bath or reading before bed. Even some “adult activities” with my husband don’t seem to help relieve the problem. I’ve gone over and over in my mind the probable reasons why it’s back now and stayed away for so long, but I can’t figure it out. My eating habits are the same, my caffiene habits are the same, and my exercise habits have not shifted much. I have moved my workouts to the late day when I work and the mornings when I don’t and there is no change on either shift to indicate that has anything to do withi it. Anyway, it’s irritating. I can get to sleep just fine, but then around 2:00 a.m. my leg will jerk and I’ll wake up, or my arms will jerk. Then, after I wake up, my brain wakes up, too, and I am full of pure adrenaline. Mostly that is due to the immediate realization that I have RLS again so I begin getting upset and frustrated.
This may not sound like a big deal, but after a few weeks of little sleep it becomes a pretty big issue. It’s a vicious cycle because you should avoid caffiene if you have RLS, but if you have RLS you’re exhuasted all day due to lack of sleep. So . . . what do you do? For the last couple of weeks I have limited my caffiene to just early AM to get me going, then no caffiene for the rest of the day. I don’t eat chocolate or anything else that includes caffiene either. Another thing is that my teeth have felt “fuzzy” yesterday and today. I keep brushing them, but my gums and teeth feel weird, like they are “restless” as well. I know, random.
Anyway, that is my Monday status update. I guess one good thing about turning 40 is that I go in for a full physical and we can see if there is a vitamin deficiency or something attributing to this (apparently lack of iron or magnesium could be the culprit). We’ll see. Enjoy your Monday – signing off as the “not so young” and restless .
Tags: caffiene, insomnia, relaxation, Restless Leg Syndrome, RLS, sleeping disorders, vitamin deficiency
