Monday, October 31, 2011

Wah.

I feel like being a whiny whiner from Whinersville today.

I'm sick.

I had cheese fries for lunch. Or rather, WITH my lunch since I had an Italian beef too.

I didn't work out today.

But ...

I drank a ton of water today, and this evening I felt fine. Or at least well enough for the trick-or-treaters.

my other two meals were very reasonable (banana + peanut butter for breakfast, cereal + blueberries and almond milk for dinner). And I've just realized that I didn't have any candy, unless cough drops count. That was just because I didn't want any though, not because of any wonderful willpower effort on my part.

I walked all over the neighborhood with my urchins in the trick-or-treat bonanza this evening. Workout? No, but it was two solid hours of walking around, and I could feel it by the time we got home.

All in all, my bad day isn't really so bad.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

10 Things About Me

Shamelessly stealing this from Jill, who didn't tag me, but I'm butting into the game any old way.

So here goes ... ten things that you didn't know and probably don't care about one way or the other but I'm telling you anyway! :)

1. I do not have an addictive personality. I find it hard to get attached to simple things -- like television shows I enjoy. (I've realized that my snacktackular habits come from *availability* rather than addiction.)

2. I used to work at a comedy club. During my five-year stint there I did almost everything except actually get on the stage. Sold tickets, seated customers, tended bar, served, even cooked once. I took Judy Tenuta to Graceland. I had dinner with Chris Rock. I went shoe shopping with Thea Vidale. It was a fun time.

3. I only give three Christmas gifts to each of my children and my husband. My son's first Christmas was an overwhelming eye-opener, and my husband and I decided to deal with it right then. For the past twelve years, each person has only gotten three gifts, symbolic of the three gifts the wise men brought to Jesus.

4. I loathe ketchup. Most condiments and dressings, actually, but ketchup actually makes me ill.

5. My dad was a mechanic, and by the time I was 10 I could take apart a starter or alternator and put it back together.

6. My favorite thing to do in my dad's shop was clean parts with the sand blaster. The black leather gloves reminded me of Darth Vader.

7. My husband and I were so poor when we got married that my weekly grocery budget was $17. At the time we lived in a place where there were roadside vegetable stands from backyard gardens at just about every house -- $1 for a paper bag of tomatoes, $2 for a plastic bag of squash, $1 for a paper bag of cucumbers .... Those roadside stands saved my grocery budget numerous times.

8. I have a BA in English, a BA in history, and an MA in history.

9. I am the second person (and so far, the last) in my entire family to go to college. The first was my uncle, who is a doctor.

10. I love Star Trek. Original series, please!

That was a fun trip down memory lane. :) If you're reading, consider yourself tagged! And leave a comment so I'll know to read yours!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Weighing in

Ah, drat. This morning's weigh showed another gain -- .6 pounds.

This one doesn't surprise me. It doesn't make me happy, but I'm not surprised. I've been spending entirely too much time in the kitchen (and thus, snacking more) and significantly less time moving.

I could blame it on lots of things, but I think that's the issue. And what is the point in doing if I'm not honest about it?

My CardioTrainer shows that I've only walked 11 miles in the last 7 days when I'm normally around 25 miles for a 7-day total. And those 11 miles were a total of two days. Yep. I only bothered to do it two days in the last week (Wednesday to Wednesday). Granted, there is nothing shabby about 11 miles in two days, but if those are the ONLY two days ... well, I see what happens.

Snacking has always been an issue for me, and I *had* conquered it. Apparently the snack-monster is on the loose again, and I have to put him back in his cage.

So, a new week. I'm going to start logging my foods into My Fitness Pal again. I think having to log it makes it more "real" to me, and perhaps that will help. The weather has turned chilly, so I'll be hitting the treadmill -- a lot more than I was!

Onward and downward! :)

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Decisions

Yesterday I was faced with an odd dilemma.

It was a beautiful day, the first non-rainy day we've had since we got back home on Monday. Because it was a nice opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine, I wanted to take advantage of it with the children. But I also wanted to exercise.

Aside: I realize that my main form of exercise is walking, which can almost anyone can do. However, I have a really hard time exercise-walking with my children. They are easily distracted ("Oooh, Mom! Look at this!"), and truly, sometimes they simply have a hard time keeping up. As a result, I don't exercise WITH them. Sometimes they are in the same room, doing their own thing, but it isn't something we do together.

And then, in the midst of my internal deliberations, I came to a realization: The exercise is a means to an end. Exercising and losing the weight is so that I can spend more quality time with my family.

So we went to an apple orchard, and it was wonderful. Was it exercise? No. Definitely not. But it was ACTIVE. We had a fantastic time wandering the orchard, finding and comparing the different varieties of apples. All total, we walked two miles or more since we didn't ride the tractor to get to the picking area.

If I have a choice between doing something with them -- especially something active -- and doing something on my own, the best choice (for ME) is to do something with them. WITH them, not near them.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Weighing in

First weigh-in after a stressful couple of weeks. I'll admit I was worried.

I gained .8 pounds. While (obviously) it isn't great, it could have been a lot worse. I ate what was available (mostly casseroles and sweets), didn't exercise, and generally spent the last two weeks sitting around.

On Monday I drove back to my house, and yesterday was the first time I had exercised in two weeks. I was pleased to learn that I had missed it.

Working toward a loss next week. Onward and downward!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Life happens

My dad has been in the hospital for a while. For a month, actually. He is in ICU, and tomorrow I'm heading out to do what I can to help the family. Regular exercise is going to fall aside for a while, although I do plan to take advantage of any available walking time at the parks or trails. I'll still make the best food choices that I can, but I expect for my weight loss to drop off.

Here's to maintenance when life gets in the way of my plans!