More Sobbing!

Well, Carol-Ann, I think that, come this Monday, I will be playing the second verse of your sad song. This week has been one weight-gain opportunity after another. Four days on the treadmill can in no way make up for it, I fear!

Some things have been positive, though. I have to give some credit to Trent this week for being my ally! Paula and Gord have "open house" every Monday evening, and Paula, Trent, and I were sitting at the table playing Phase 10. Paula has a lovely candy dish, and through the clear glass side I could see some wrapped chocolates -- not just any chocolate, but dark chocolate, smooth and rich and calling my name! I asked Trent to pass me the dish (terrible giving in to temptation on my part), and he moved it farther away!!! I was shocked! My mouth was already watering, for goodness sake! At first I was really annoyed, and then I felt very thankful that he had made me stop and think and change my mind. I need more of that kind of reminding.

Another success: We went out to eat, and I ordered the lean bison burger without the bun, and substituted steamed broccoli for the fries.



Still, even with these 2 positives, I know the scale is tipping to the weight gain side...

Sob. Sob!

Dab the eyes. Sob, sob. Play that sorrowful tune. Well, actually, that's not too hard for me to do on the violin! Just about everything I'd play would be a sorrowful tune!

So I put on a couple of pounds this week. Ok, Ok -- so I put on MORE than a couple of pounds! Phooey! Oh well, it's a new week ... "hope springs eternal", as Mama would say!

2 Reasons For My Toothy Grin!

It has been way too quiet on here for a whole week, and we have to liven it up! I guess this is kind of the way it goes with weight loss, though. You get real encouraged at times, but mostly it is just hanging in there, and there is only so much diet and exercise and weight loss you can talk about!

I have exactly 10 minutes until I have to leave for the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, so these gleaming teeth seem appropriate today.

This little smiley also pretty much pictures my mood when I got on the scale yesterday morning with my usual hesitancy and trepidation... But look! I lost 2 whole pounds! How did that happen? Maybe it is the increased exercise for the last 2 weeks. It might be a little less food, a little more water...I don't know, but I'm aiming for more of the same next weigh-in day!

Okay, I'm out of here so I won't be late for polishing these pearly whites!

Tax Day

Self-employed people like me have certain dates memorized, and January 15 is one of them! Not a happy day but one we have to think of anyway. So today I got out my income stats for the last quarter, spent some quality time with my little calculator, and then shook my piggy bank to see what would come out! (Well, that's SORT of how it went...)

Update on exercise: This week I have been able to increase the intensity of my treadmill sessions. It is kind of surprising that in one week I would already notice that it is getting easier! I'm not planning to ever get it up to the "light jog" setting (4 to 4.5 mph or 6.4 to 7.2 kph) because I'm sure that would not be positive for my feet and knees, but I can now easily spend several minutes around 3.5 mph (5.6 kph) which for me is a pretty rapid walk. Thus far I haven't had any muscle soreness or joint pain, so I would rate that as success!

I'm so pleased that we had a drop in weight for this last weigh-in! Way to go, us!

Of treadmills and weights!

This week has been a partial success in the exercise department. I have been able to exercise three days on the treadmill and two days with the weights. That is not quite up to what I had hoped to do but certainly much better than what I was doing before. I found that I should not use the weights to exercise the same muscle groups two days in a row, so I am going to be spacing that out a little more for now just so I don't do something I'll regret.


Yesterday I did not walk on the treadmill, but can I count walking the mall with my niece Andrea?? I think it was just as energetic and way more fun! We spent the evening together shopping at the mall and then going to EAT at Mimi's Cafe. The FOOD was so good and way more than either of us could eat. We each brought half our sandwich home, but that does not mean we did not overeat! Between the exercise (success) and too much food (failure), I'm not sure what to hope for on Monday!

Makes Good Sense to Me!

Holiday Binging is Officially Over!

I am hereby notifying myself that my permission to eat extra holiday stuff is over. I am once again on a strict regimen of:
Drink more water.
Eat less. (Note to self -- that means no leftover holiday sweets!)
Move around more.

Tomorrow begins my exercise program of 20 to 30 minutes on the treadmill starting no later than 6:30 a.m. (groan!) and a 15-minute afternoon break for free weights. Yes, there is a price to pay for this. I will have to be more strict about my time. I will have to go to bed earlier, which is very hard for me, the queen of night owls! But I am at the same time unexpectedly excited about starting this new routine. I'm mystified by that at the moment, but I do like to live by plans and lists (that gene is straight from my mother!), so maybe that is part of it.

Weigh-in is tomorrow, everyone! Best wishes!

I Knew the Day Would Come!

Yup! Soon as we decided to post our weights
and drink water and cut down on food intake,
I just KNEW the day would come when we'd start talkin' about exercise!
Go 'way! Leave me 'lone! I'm a couch p'tato, I am!
You can do the treadmill an extra 15 minutes for me!
I shall benefit vicariously.
At the very least, give me some time!
I think better when I'm slouched into sumpthing soft.
I will let you know my plan when something activates a brainwave!

And in response to the comment about red curls:

New Year's Resolutions!

EXERCISE!

I have made progress in two of my three goals, eating less and drinking more water. Now for the third one: Exercise. Carol-Ann wants to see what I am going to do about exercise, so I went to my best resource first, my husband. He graduated from college with a degree in physical education and the training to teach it to children in kindergarten through high school. Surely my ability level fits in there somewhere (probably leaning to the kindergarten side!) We also have a treadmill, a Total Gym, and a set of free weights. Today I asked Barry to consider my abilities, my time, and our equipment and help me come up with an exercise program. We discussed starting with something easy that I enjoy. This is my current plan beginning on Monday when hopefully we will all be back on our usual schedules:

1. Time: Exercise for 30 to 45 minutes before getting Coral up for the day. Mid-afternoon is my alternate workable exercise time. It might work best to do one kind of exercise in the morning and take a break mid-afternoon for the other.

2. Exercises: Start with 20 to 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill working up on speed and incline, as well as 10 to 15 minutes of free weights concentrating on upper body strength (3- to 5-pound weights to start, depending on the specific exercise).

I want to increase strength, flexibility, and overall health with no joint damage. I may have a bigger reason for this, too, in that doing this will help me care for Coral at home longer.

Okay, Carol-Ann! What is your plan? I would love to hear any suggestions from others in the comments and also figure out a way to help me stick to this right from the start.

Can You Believe it? It's 2008!

What a wonderful feeling at the close of 2007 to be filling the house with music with Kinza -- and believe me, when I pick up the drum, it really fills the house -- everyone and everydog leaves to make room for it! Loyal daughter stayed to help pretty it up!

May this year ahead be filled with blessing and challenge and hope!