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Sunday, August 23, 2009

real scam to be aware of

We got a call from our friend's brother recently asking us if our friend was in jail in Canada. We told him, no, we just talked to him, he's out here in Hawaii. It turns out that a scammer posing as a police officer called our friend's grandmother and told her that our friend was in jail in Canada and needed to post bail. They even put someone on the phone to pose as our friend and his grandmother believed that she had spoken with our friend! It is a real money scam. Grandparents are susceptible because they usually haven't talked to their grandchildren in some time and may not realize that they are not talking with their grandchild. Pass this on, please! It is a very believable scam. Imagine that your grandparents confront you about being in jail and you deny it! They are likely to just get angry that you are now lying or denying it.


Monday, August 17, 2009

Here We Go Again

Weight loss is a lifetime challenge. Every once in a while I decide that I'm going to make it a priority and give myself all of these challenges to help, but it's so hard. It's that last few pounds that are just sitting around on my belly. The difficult part is that I like my fitness level right now, and I am enjoying the way I eat. I don't want to change. That's the honest truth. I need to make a commitment to change, even though I don't want to. For today, I've started blogging again. I wrote down what I am going to eat for the rest of the day. And I'm going to try one more new thing. I made a google task list that I wrote down many different weight loss strategies. Eat more fiber, eat more protein, do 10 extra pushups, that kind of thing. My plan is to check one off every day. So today I just need to drink my full bottle of water. I can do anything extra of course, but my focus is to make sure that I do that today. Tomorrow I am going to write down my meal plan for the day. That is my focus. Wednesday I am going to take 3 less bites at every meal. (That means leaving food on the plate!) Scary, but only one day. This could be good for me. Of course I am full of good ideas and lacking in the consistency/follow through piece. We'll see how this goes!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Taking Time Off

I guess this is the way it's always going to go. I get really into my fitness for a while and then I go through a lazy stage. I just went through another one, a long one this time. Lots of drinking and way over eating. It drives me nuts looking back because it's so easy to eat healthy! It's not like I starve myself or have to eat gross food! I like eating healthy. But for several months I ate whatever I wanted, throwing tons of butter into my cooking and scooping out huge portion sizes. The beer drinking always gets me. It doesn't take too much beer to feel full and disgusting. Luckily, I didn't really gain pounds, I just got a lot softer around the edges. So, I'm now going to stop berating myself and get back on track (again!).
Back to buying better lunch meat. Lunches are important for me, if I eat small meals all day, then I don't feel starving when I get home from work. Dinners have always been a work in progress. I know the answer to that problem. It has worked for me before, and I just need to keep doing it. I need to eliminate the carb portion and fill that part of my plate with veggies. This has worked for me before and will work for me again. Because I like veggies, and I like meat. The problem is that I love carbs. For those who are thinking I'm going on a carb-free diet, that's not true. If I eliminate carbs from my dinner, I will still be eating some carbs throughout the day, just not so damn much. I always buy the better whole grain, or whole wheat bread and our lunch snacks could be better, but they're not terrible.
It was really good to go on that hike to Olomana last week, it gave me the hiking bug again. I am hiking this morning, either the pillboxes in Lanikai or the Pali waterfall. I don't know what that last one is called, but I enjoy it. Maybe I'll get Nate out.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Up A Pound

Well, pizza will do it. I was doing great, but had pizza for dinner two nights in a row. It's not the pizza itself that was the problem, but the amount of pizza. I have a difficult time regulating myself in the pizza department. So, I went up a pound. But, I went to lunch with coworkers on Monday and got a salad and water and had 3 of the garlic bread things they give out. Not bad for going out. Today group supervision is at a restaurant and after writing this I'm going to go to the website and figure out what I want before I get there, so I'm prepared.
Right now the kids are on spring break, so I'm doing a lot of office work. That means a lot more sitting around than usual. I'm going to try to go on walks around campus every couple of hours to get my blood moving. Tomorrow is a holiday- Prince Kuhio Day. I'm going to try to talk Nate into a hike and then hopefully this weekend Ananda and Keysa will want to hike something longer than usual.
I've been keeping busy doing arts and crafts around the house, finishing up some projects that I started a long time ago. When my hands are busy I'm less likely to snack. Although yesterday Nate cut up a pear and put out slices of smoked gouda. That is such a tasty snack. It helped that I was staining wood, because my hands were dirty and every time I wanted to eat more I had to go wash my hands off, so I didn't go back for more as often.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Slowly, But Surely

The scale is moving down slowly but surely. Even with my drinking setback this weekend. It's so hard not to have a glass of wine when your friends are over. Then of course, I ate too much because we were barbecuing, but the scale still went down a little because I've been working out. I couldn't go to kickboxing class yesterday, but I'm going tonight and Thursday.
I've been listening to this book on CD, "The Flight of the Phoenix" and it's so sad. It's almost painful to listen to, but I want to because it's a good story. I want to go back and listen to the end right now, but I can't because I'm at work. I even know how it ends and I can't stay away.

I changed out my old garbage disposal this weekend. I had a few people over to help. We kind of took turns changing different parts and making sure that it went in correctly. All in all it went well, with only a few minor issues. I even got to buy a hacksaw so I could cut the piping to the correct measurement. Good times. Now I know how they go in if anybody needs any help.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

All is Not Lost

Well, surprisingly enough I got on the scale this morning and it read 142 and was pushing over to 143. That's kind of nice since I ate terribly this past week. I was fully expecting to have gained weight and was thinking it would hit 146 at least. So back to the grind today, I started off right, ate my eggs this morning, had a snack at 10 and half a sandwich at 12. I have a snack set aside for 2 and 4. Then kickboxing tonight. I am still going to weigh myself Saturday morning to have a reminder halfway through the week. I'm glad I don't have to start over this week.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Broken Promises

Well, sometimes there's just no good excuse for my behavior. I think it started with allowing myself to drink on Saturday. Not because I shouldn't be drinking, but because I made a promise and didn't stick to it. I don't know what happens mentally, I haven't done any research, but I think we all have been there whether it's with dieting or exercise or some kind of New Year's resolution. We stick to our guns for a good amount of time and then slip a little. But then we don't bounce back. Instead we just let that initial slip steam roll us until not only have you been to a wine tasting, but you've eaten 4 cheesecake rollovers and two handfuls of Bugles. All as an appetizer to a full meal at the barbecue area. Then to top it off, you decide not to exercise at all, instead you sit around and think about what else you can eat. Yikes. I'm sitting here tonight thinking about some of my poorer decisions starting on Saturday. And of course, I'm writing about not exercising and not exactly getting up to fix that.
Tomorrow is my weigh in and I'm sure I'm not going to be happy with it. At least it stimulates me to want to be healthy. I was thinking that I should do a twice weekly weigh in, because I'm not constantly worrying about the scale, but then it also gets me back on track before I get out of control. I'm thinking Tuesday and Saturday. I'm going to try that this week and report.
At least work is going a little easier. It took about a year, but I'm understanding what is expected of me in my position, what the paperwork entails, and what other people need from me. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming because you can never really perfect it, but I feel like I am getting a handle on it much better. Plus I can look forward to the kids being on Spring Break starting March 24. And right after that Mom comes out to visit.
I still have some time to perfect my healthy eating and get some rock hard abs from all the workouts I'll be doing before Theresa and Shane's wedding. I figure I might start wearing bathing suits again around that time, so it's a good goal.
This week- Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday. Walk the dogs on the beach on Wednesday after work. Friday off. Saturday- walk with Ananda or by myself. I gotta just suck it up and go for a walk on my own and stop being such a baby. Sunday- walk again or home DVD workout. Monday Kickboxing.
I've been drinking tons of water, so I did meet one of my goals from this week. This next week I'm going to work on my after work snack. Usually I have something in my lunch box to eat on the way home because I'm generally hungry again by that time, but then I still want to eat when I get home. So I need to plan for this and having something very small in the car and have something waiting for me at home so I don't go scrounging for chips or crackers.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Back in Action

Last night was the first night that I was able to do a workout without being extra gentle on my toe. It felt great! It makes such a difference when you get a good workout in. I feel so much better about myself today. I don't think I backtracked, but I may have. I did not eat well this week. I am usually more active and when I sit around I tend to snack. I had a really hard time. I also had a two day training and they fed us, buffet-style both days. I did my best, I filled the plate with salad, didn't use their dressings, I just put a little salt on my salad. I did however, feel the need to have soup because they had the A/C on full blast and it was cold. And of course I sampled most of the meat selections they had because it was a pretty fancy place. So it could have been worse, but it was not my best. Oh, also they had ice cream. Again, I did okay because I put the ice cream in a cup instead of their big bowls, but I never eat ice cream for lunch!
So I'm starting over basically, today. I ate a good breakfast that should keep me full til snack time. I packed good sized snacks and Nate and I made a menu for the week. Tonight it's homemade pizza. We bought the little single serving pizza crusts and we're going to add all kinds of ingredients. I like that they are single serving instead of one big one because Nate can add whatever he wants and I can put all vegetables and less cheese and sauce.
My goal is to get back on track for my Tuesday weigh in. That means walking the dogs on the beach tomorrow morning and possibly Sunday as well. I'll try to go for an extended period of time. Maybe I'll get Ananda to do a second walk with me during the day.
I need to plan my snacks and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, drink lots of water, and I should be good to go.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Weigh In

Well, like I said, I wasn't expecting any miracles. I weighed in at 143 this morning. Not too bad. I didn't really expect for the number to drop. I worked out plenty, but during the daytime I haven't been walking around much and I certainly didn't eat that well this week. So, staying at 143, and not going up to 145 is good. My toe doesn't hurt and it doesn't seem to affect it to walk around any more. I will still be careful and tape it up, but I am not going sit around as much. I try to do a lot of walking at my job, I go to classrooms and pick kids up instead of calling and having them sent to me.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Chocolate Pie

The broken toe was a small setback this week, but I think I recovered pretty quickly. I mean, it's not healed, but I didn't just become a lazy sack either. Thursday I did a DVD home video workout that was pretty good for what I had available. I sweat a little anyway and was a little sore the next day because there was some ballet moves on one DVD that I certainly am not used to. On Saturday I had to skip tennis, I don't think my toe could handle it. But I did another home kickboxing workout. Lots of situps, pushups, and shadow-boxing. I took Sunday off completely. Tonight I went to kickboxing class and found that it was surprisingly easy to be gentle to my toe. The kick that just looked and felt really wimpy was my front kick, but my partner knew about my toe. Anyway, I was feeling really good and came home and Nate offered me a freaking chocolate pie. You know, the store bought kind that will last on the shelf for 30 years, has the pudding in the middle? Yeah. So I split it with him and gave him the bigger half, but still, it was like 240 calories. It's amazing how you can work so hard and then eat 240 calories in, I'd say, about 3 bites.
I'm weighing in tomorrow morning. I'm not expecting any miracles. I didn't drink at all this week, but I didn't get to work out as hard as usual and had a couple of slip ups with some really sugary items.
This week I'm going to try to drink more water. For some reason I drank only about half of my water bottle every day and that's not enough. So more water.
I'm going to take tomorrow off to make sure I don't hurt my toe worse than it is and then Wednesday I'll make Nate walk on the beach with me. On Thursday I have kickboxing class. Hopefully the toe will be healing and I can consider Tennis. Otherwise I'm going to have to buy a workout DVD because the ones I have are not that great and I get bored when I make up my own workout.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Test

I feel like I am being tested. Not only can I not run now, but I need to mostly stay off of my feet. I need to get creative with how to lose that last pound before Tuesday. I didn't do great last night because, well, Nate was trying to make me feel better and bought Chinese. It's hard to explain to people that although that does make me feel better in a way, it's not what I need. I made good decisions about portion, the best decisions you can make about Chinese food. I ate only a little of the pork fried rice and I ordered chicken with vegetables. But there were spring rolls and sweet and sour chicken! Can you really not have any? I couldn't help myself. And then to top it all off Nate pulls out these Tollhouse chocolate chip ice cream cookies. I looked at the wrapper and there are 490 calories in there! Holy Shit! I did one of the hardest things I've ever done. I ate half and put the other half out of sight in the freezer. But I certainly hurt my chances of reaching my goal this week. I am a little sore from Thursday's DVD video workout which is good because I didn't feel like it was all that much of a workout. I need to make a list of things that don't involve my toes.
I can do:
Situps
Pushups (girly style, off the toes)
Squats
Modified Yoga
Modified Pilates
Swimming (just using arms)
Most kickboxing moves without contact
Don't have a gym membership right now so the other things that would work like stationary bike I don't have access to. Any other ideas?

Oh. Ate well today. Regular eggs for breakfast and then I had apples and peanut butter for lunch. I'm going to do a modified workout when I'm done with this post. I'll keep in mind that no matter what workout I do, it can't be as boring as Myia's 10 mile tread-mill walk. That should keep me going.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Oh Great Sadness

Well, I was going to go to my kickboxing class tonight even though my toe is broke. I thought better of it about 10 minutes before I normally leave. I needed to do something so that the scale dips to 140 on Tuesday. I pulled out some old workout DVDs. I did the kickboxing part of the "10 Minute Solutions" and then did what was supposed to be a Pilates workout. I thought it was going to be an hour, but it was only a half hour. So I went into my bedroom afterwards and did some shadowboxing, situps and pushups. I'm glad I didn't go to the class tonight, since while I was shadowboxing my toe did start to hurt a little worse again. At least I could decide what moves to do and didn't put too much pressure on it. I feel like I did an okay workout.

The worse part of tonight is that I had a pre-workout snack and ate pasta for dinner to prepare for the class. I usually eat a little more because I know I'm going to the class. I don't feel like the DVDs were anywhere near as good of a workout. I'm going to have to do another video tomorrow.

Nate just mentioned Cold Stone Creamery. Man, what a jerk. I love Cold Stone. I told him I would drive him there, but I wasn't getting anything.

I'm just going to keep thinking about the nice abs I'm going to have in a few weeks.

Feeling Thin

It's nice when you're able to stick to a healthy diet, at least for a few days. Whether or not the scale is moving or not I won't know until Tuesday, but I feel better. My pants also feel better.
The other day Nate and I went for a 50 minute walk on the beach. It was awesome. I think he actually came along for the workout, not just to get Gizmo and Titus out of the house. I let him decide when we turned around and it was pretty far down the beach before he wanted to go back. It was a little scary because it has been very windy recently and there were some kite surfers who obviously didn't know what they were doing. The scary part occurs when a kite surfer comes to the wrong part of the shore and doesn't know how to get his huge kite out of the sky gently. Have you ever seen a regular kite dive bomb to the ground? That's what it was like, but with huge 8 foot span kites. We had to stop and wait several times for these people to ground their kites so we didn't get killed. And then we would run past them just in case they lost control of their kite again. There was one time that the kite surfer came flying towards the shore, his kite came flying towards us and then he was able to change directions last minute and head back out to open sea. Almost stopped my heart. It certainly made the walk more interesting.
Unfortunately I also seem to have broken my toe this week. I walked towards the bathroom to help Nate bathe the dogs after our nice, long walk and I stubbed my pinkie toe on a table leg. I've done this before, and experienced great pain, but this time I actually heard a small snapping noise. I wasn't sure if I had just imagined this or not, but then my toe swelled up and today it is really black and blue. I've had it taped to the toe next to it, which is what the doctor would do if he diagnosed it as broken. They don't usually do much else, unless it looks like it needs to be reset. It doesn't, I can move it, it just hurts like hell.
My big decision is whether I should go to kickboxing tonight. Here I am, into week 2 of my no drinking/healthy eating/not weighing myself until Tuesday plan and I might not be able to work out. I can't go tomorrow, they don't have classes on Friday. I think I can tape up my toe and the front of my foot to stabilize it and then not do any kicking that involves that part of my foot. Usually you kick with your shins. I would almost rather agitate it a little more tonight and get a good workout and then skip tennis on Saturday. I can figure out another way to workout this weekend that doesn't involve running around. I might go in and see how it feels and just leave early if it hurts too bad. Like if I can't jump rope. That's the first thing we usually do. I wish I had indoor boxing shoes, you're allowed to wear those and it would help keep the foot stabilized, but alas, I do not own a pair.
Anyway, I'm going to make sure I eat really well for the next couple of days because whether I go to the class tonight or not, I have to limit the amount of walking I do during the day. Translation- less calories burned during my work day.
My plan is going to have to be to eat healthy through Tuesday, drink lots of water, and figure out a seated workout option for the weekend.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Good Week!

So I've decided I like this Tuesday to Tuesday weekly mindset. It made it easier to get through this weekend.
I didn't drink over the weekend either, and it was nice to be able to limit how much food I ate. I made much better choices at Kara and Eli's place over the weekend I think because I was just drinking water.
I weighed myself this morning- a solid 142. That's fine, that's three pounds. This week I actually feel like I can keep it off instead of gaining the three pounds back for next week. We'll see, but I am optimistic.
I didn't even have ice cream last night when Nate had ice cream. I got back from my kickboxing class and I was tired and ice cream sounded great, but I knew I had just worked really hard, so I said no. I did take a taste of his ice cream and that was enough. I didn't even feel like I was missing out.
My goal of getting good abs is another really good mindset. It is much easier to picture the hot abs I'm going to have someday soon when I want to eat something unhealthy. It's not as easy to picture "losing weight." So this has been very helpful for me this week. I just say to myself, "abs, abs, abs" and think about whether or not the food in front of me is really worth it. Sometimes it is.
My goal for this week is to walk twice again with my dogs. I will still do my class two times and play tennis Saturday or Sunday. I'm also considering getting a second opinion about my knee from a doctor who is well-versed in sports injuries. Maybe I will be able to run again someday, we'll see.
I will weigh myself again next Tuesday. I'm striving for 140 but it would be great to see a number below. Otherwise I'm going to continue to picture my new, hot abs.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Staying Strong

I'm looking forward to my weight in on Tuesday. I had a freaking great kickboxing class last night. We did over one hundred pushups, not all at once, but in 10 pushup increments. We also did more than 300 sit ups, again, not all at once, but in spurts. In between we were working hard. It was a lot of fun and I was so tired afterwards that my body was shaking. I did stay and stretch afterwards or I knew I would be in some major pain today and tomorrow. I actually feel really good right now. I might get more sore tomorrow, for me it often takes 2 days to kick in, but I'm barely sore at all. I'm proud of myself. I am definitely getting stronger, whether I've lost the weight or not. I was also able to do all three rounds of jump roping (3 minute rounds) without stopping. That is a success for me because jumproping is hard work. Usually after the first two rounds the third round will be really difficult because you get tired and you end up not jumping high enough and tripping up on the rope. Yesterday I was still going strong at the end of round three.
I am ready for the weekend, as a part of my week, rather than the end of it. I have plans for dinner tonight and tomorrow. I am going to wake up tomorrow and make myself breakfast and lunch so I don't start snacking on bad stuff in the morning. I am planning on some tennis in the morning as well.

I read an article, about making sure that you're not starving yourself during the day because otherwise you will overeat at night and ruin all of the work you've done. Remember, starving yourself and depriving yourself does not equal weight loss. We've all tried it and it doesn't work. Make sure you are eating enough throughout the day and eating a reasonable amount for dinner. Somehow we have gotten into this mindset of having three big meals during the day and it's time we break out of that habit. It's so much more fun to be able to eat 6 times a day anyway! I checked my calorie intake for my days and I am eating enough because my snacks are small but I eat often enough. I am not hungry when I go home. I do need to work on making my last meal of the day smaller. That is a tough habit to break- the meat, carbs and veggies all on one big plate. But don't starve yourself during the day to make room for the big meal- you'll just overdo it later.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Day 1

I wrote the other day that I am going to work on getting abs rather than losing weight. Whether or not it's going to work, I'm not 100% sure. There is research that supports phrasing goals in the positive. Like replacing- I will not eat ice cream for dessert at night- with I will eat a banana for dessert at night. It tells you what to do, not what not to do. I think I was on the right track, but maybe a little too vague. Thinking as I'm writing- I may need to change my goal to something like I will do 50 situps every day. Or I will do 20 situps in the morning. Hmmm. Maybe I can change the goal to- I will do one thing every day this week to strengthen my abs. My options are: situps, leg raises, bicycles, plank pose, or jack knives. Of course if I think of something else to do that works on my abs, I will count it.

I like that goal much better. Of course I will not be leaving out the rest of my body, I don't want hot abs and shriveled little arms and fat thighs. But I do think I need to start small and think in the positive.

Also, I've changed my week to go from Tuesday to Tuesday instead of Monday through Sunday. I'm trying to work on not letting the weekend get to me. If the weekend is stuck in the middle of my week rather than the end of it, then I can power through it. Of course, it's only a mental change, I will still be working Monday through Friday.

I didn't work as hard at my kickboxing class last night as I usually do because I was paired off with someone who was new to the class. It is a trade off, sometimes you get a killer workout working with someone who has been in the class for a while and sometimes you are the teacher- you get to show someone else the basics and help them feel like they will get better.
So today I need to do some kind of exercise to make up for the missed workout. I will start with the situps or whatever ab building option I choose for tonight and then maybe I should throw the shoes on and go for a walk. It turns out that walking can be pretty good exercise.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The GAW


So Ananda talked me into the Great Aloha Run again. I hadn't wanted to do the event this year because I've run it every other year and had visions of beating my time from previous years. So not being able to run it this year I thought was going to be very disappointing. I kept thinking that it was going to take so much longer and that I would be bored out of my mind. To my surprise, I think I enjoyed the GAW (Great Aloha Walk as Ananda dubbed it) even more this year because we were able to talk for a while and got a really good workout at the same time. It took us a little under two hours and we did a little over a 14 minute per mile pace for the whole thing. We worked on our speedwalking form and took some pictures. I also didn't hurt as bad after this time as I did the last time and Nate and I were able to go to the beach later in the day.
I just looked up my time. 1:55:14 seconds.
I also looked up my previous times: 2008- 1:18:34, 2007- 1:34:20, 2006- 1:55:42.
Funny, I beat my time for 2006, even though I ran it that year. It was a pretty slow run. I must be in much better shape.
I started my detoxification this weekend. So far, so good. I stepped on the scale this morning and am not going to get on it again until next week Tuesday. I am just going to eat well for a week from today and see where that gets me. Also, I realize that I have been setting goals for losing weight. Again and again and again, the same goals with no results. There must be something going wrong. One of the things you can change when looking at goals is changing the goal to a positive. So, instead of a goal of losing so many pounds in so many days I am going to change my goal to getting abs. I am going to take a picture of my belly now and then I will take a picture of it every week. I'm just thinking as I write. I need to somehow come up with a measurement so I will know if I am making progress. Perhaps my waist measurement?
Maybe if I am reaching for getting something instead of losing, I will be better off. Who knows, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm just tired of talking about losing weight, losing weight, instead of getting healthier, looking more toned, etc. Losing weight is not everything.

Friday, February 13, 2009

It's Not Easy Being Clean (and Sober)

I got to hand it to those AA folks, it's not easy to avoid having a drink when you're out with friends. Wednesday I was exhausted and we went out to dinner at Zia's and it was just so nice to eat way too much pasta and have a glass of wine. No excuses, it was just very easy to forget my commitment. Of course officially I said I would stop drinking after Valentine's Day because I want to have some wine with the Kobe Beef Burgers I bought for Nate. After that I was going to commit to not drinking until March 31, Nate's birthday. That's over a month with no drinking at all. Kind of a nice detox time. Maybe I should do the First Phase or whatever Oprah's diet guy calls it. He cuts out a few things like alcohol and you make a commitment to not eating 2 hours before you go to bed. This will be a good time to try it. There's no holidays coming up after Valentine's for a little while. Anybody have good reccomendations for a detoxifying tea? We drink tea all the time and it would be a great combo to stop drinking alcohol and drink a detox tea instead. I'm actually looking forward to it. I am starting to feel bloated a little bit. The scale hasn't moved, but I don't feel my best. When I'm not eating really well I get tired and stressed out easier. And let me tell you, I've been extremely stressed this week. And then of course the cycle begins begins again cause once I'm stressed I just want to eat crap.
I do have to pat myself on the back for getting up early on Wednesday and taking the dogs for a walk on the beach. They were able to run back and forth and I did just a half hour of walking. The only reason I turned around to go back is that Gizmo and Titus were jumping on me to go back. I wanted to actually keep walking. I think if they build up their ability to walk farther I will be able to do a pretty good workout in a little while. It's beautiful and cool in the morning and the dogs definitely are nice and tired afterwards. I just have to be careful with Gizmo cause he's only 8 months old and you're not supposed to put too much stress on a puppy. I'm not running so I'm not too worried, but I don't want to hurt him. I know I ran too much with Titus before he was old enough. The good thing about it is that I now have three options for working out that I enjoy to make up for the lack of running. Tennis, walking and kickboxing.
I am also thinking, jumping back to the earlier part of this ramble, that during my detox month I should stay away from the scale and just eat right and exercise. Then weight myself at the end. I've heard that's a recommendation. At this point staring at the scale isn't helping me anyway, it's been the same for months, give or take a pound or two. Any recommendations for me? Anyone in on a detoxing challenge perhaps?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Brand New Day


Every day is a new day. I got a few good ideas from Myia the other day that I'm going to try out. The first was not looking at the weekends necessarily as my challenge. But rather making a commitment to eating well for 8 days. That's actually a fabulous idea that I'm going to try starting today. So that means that I am going to try to eat really well until next week Wednesday. Not that I'm going to then gorge, but it's a different way of looking at things instead of using the weekend as an excuse. I should still wake up on the weekends, make my breakfast and pack lunch.

One of these days I may start counting calories, who knows.

I like the clean and sober count on the blog. It's not that I think I'm never going to have a drink again. But, I like the idea of challenging myself to go longer and longer without. I know that it will be good for me. Drinking is such a terrible diet killer. Not just the calories in the drink, but then the calories I allow myself to consume after I've had a drink. I hope nobody reads this thinking that I am a raging alcoholic. When you are trying to lose weight, rather than just stay at a certain weight, than even one night of drinking sabotages a few days worth of good effort. And it's not that worth it.

I really want to lose a few more pounds before Theresa and Shane's wedding. I still have a $50 gift certificate from Ross because I'm waiting until I get down to 135 to be able to use it. It may be a little while, but it's a nice reward. I should think of a reward for myself when I get to and stay under 140. I've hit 140 many times, but still have been fluctuating between 140 and 145. I need to make a few changes so I can stay under 140. I've started walking more often, even though I didn't like it at first. It's not that bad. And it's something.

This week I have kickboxing tomorrow, and Tennis Saturday morning. I'll take the dogs for a walk Sunday morning like I did this morning, it was nice to be on the beach at sunrise. Then I'm considering walking the Aloha Run on Monday. I will probably do kickboxing on Tuesday night and Thursday night next week.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The Dreaded Plateau

After last weekend I started to do really well with my health goals. I didn't drink, I worked out several times over the week and was overall feeling pretty darn good about myself. However, this weekend we had a barbecue and I thought I'll just have a beer and ended up having several. Which isn't terrible, but when I drink I way overeat. I ended up eating tons of chips and ice cream. Then I decided last night that I needed to have ice cream with cheesecake filling on top of it. Might sound gross, but was totally delicious. I am assuming the short walk with my dogs afterwards did nothing to balance out my calorie intake/use. This week I am not going to drink during the week again, but I know that this coming weekend is valentine's day, so I'm not going to make any promises about not drinking over the weekend. Nate and I do have a pretty healthy menu written down for this next week, so I shouldn't eat too poorly. Again, I need to plan ahead for the weekend. I seem to sabotage myself every Saturday/Sunday so whatever good work I've done over the week is completely negated. I go into every weekend 2 or 3 pounds lighter and start back at square one every Monday. If I could even just get through a few weekends I would be better able to meet my goals. I am thinking that after this coming weekend (valentine's day) then I don't have any special holidays until Nate's birthday on March 31st. That's a little over a month. I am planning on not drinking for that time period. I may even have a count of my "clean and sober" days like they do for AA. If anybody wants to join my support group, I can put up a counter for us on my blog page. We can count our clean and sober days together.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Checking in

Well, it's obvious that when I stop blogging, I'm not making my weight loss a priority. I still haven't gained or lost any weight. But that is because I haven't really been putting any effort in. I have been going to kickboxing, which is good, but it's not enough. The rainy weather gave me an excuse not to walk with Ananda this week. I have been saying, and it's still true that I need to find something else for exercise that I can pick up and go do any time, like running. That was one thing that I could do any time, just throw on my running stuff and go. I am just not feeling motivated enough to go for a walk. Even though I love my dogs, Gizmo is still a puppy and attacks Titus while we're walking and I end up getting frustrated with them. Really it's not a good excuse, I should teach my dogs to be better on leash, but that takes even more effort, which I was trying to avoid. Well, I guess the weight loss isn't going to happen without effort. I was thinking about waking up early to walk the dogs in the morning. There are less people (and other dogs) out before 6:30am. If I go for a walk at 6, then I can be back by 6:30, shower and get ready for work still. I know that's what I should do.
Okay, making a commitment this week. I will do my regular kickboxing on Monday and Thursday. On Sunday I will walk the dogs in the morning. And I will get up on... Wednesday morning and walk the dogs. I can do it at least one workday morning. Also hopefully Saturday Ananda and I will play tennis or go for a walk. Either is fine.
Commitment to taking the dogs for a long walk on Sunday and Wednesday mornings. I sure hope this helps out with the weight I'm bound to put on due to the Superbowl Pupu party at Kara and Eli's.

Mary Alyce Michaela Preston
A VIP Member of the Moose
Bell Ringers of America Club

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Back Pain

Well, this week I was right on target. Tuesday and Thursday I went to kickboxing, had a great class, sweat my ass off and did tons of pushups. However, we did leg raises or scissor kicks, whatever they're called. You put your hands under your butt, and scissor kick your legs. It's a great ab workout, but I think it was a little too much for my back, because my lower back is sore now. I guess I'm supposed to rest my back and not workout. Hmm. Maybe a hike.
I did drink a few beers last night and I'm feeling a little bloated. I really would like to do something.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

4 Day Weekend

Weight- 143
So far I've started off pretty good and I'm on track for my weight loss goal. Yesterday we had the day off, but I ate the same thing for lunch that I would have eaten if I had gone to work. I had my half chicken sandwich with mustard on it, and I had a granola bar and an oatmeal for my snacks. I actually made a pan of brownies cause Nate requested it, but I didn't have any. I need to stop telling myself that if it's in the house I can't help myself. I have more self-control than that. I know it makes it easier if it's not in the house, but for those occasions that there are treats in the fridge, I can't let that be an excuse to eat too much.
Ananda and I are going to play tennis. I am going to bring my jump rope to add some cardio to our workout. I'm also going to add in some pushups if I'm not too sore after playing. My back hurts from Thursday's workout. If I keep it up, eat well today and tomorrow and do exercise today and tomorrow, then do my regular workouts for the rest of the week I should be able to hit my next goal- 142 by next Saturday,

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Trying Hard

Well, I was 145 again this morning. Amazing that you can eat pretty well every day and then splurge one night and the next morning, there you are, right back at 145. I made hamburgers last night, and since the meat will go bad if you don't cook it all, I made a few extra. Then I ate two burgers instead of just the one. I knew my weight would be affected because after the second burger I was so full my stomach hurt. This was in addition to the sweet potato fries and corn I made. Oh well.
Tonight is kickboxing, hopefully that will help.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Update

Weight- 144
I need to remember that I have to make small goals for myself. 15 pounds for May is a great goal, but I will never get there if I don't make smaller really attainable goals for myself. If I'm going to lose 5 pounds a month that means I need to be at 140 by January 31. That's a Saturday. That breaks down to:
This Saturday- goal of 143
Next Saturday- goal of 142
January 31- goal of 140

I know I can get down to 143 this weekend. I've done it before. With class last night and Thursday, our planned lunches and dinners for the week and one more workout somewhere in between I should be able to hit that number easily. I've done it several times. The trick is to maintain through the weekend. If I'm getting serious to lose this weight, than Myia's right, I have to kick it up a notch and up one or two of my workouts in intensity and add something in through the week. Gizmo should be able to hike this weekend and the weather is getting better.
I won't go into February's goals yet. I'll have to set those up at the end of January.

Yesterday was kickboxing, it was killer, we did a lot of kicking, which makes you (well, me anyway) feel very tough. The guys who actually know what they're doing don't laugh at you too much. It's all in good fun. It's starting to feel even better now that a couple of new women have joined, so I'm not the newest member anymore. It was a little more difficult when I didn't know who has been doing kickboxing for 6 years already and who just started. Now I know who I can partner up with without getting extremely frustrated. Some people take it very seriously and that's fun if they're willing to be patient with you. But it's even better when both people are still learning, but still working out hard.

Unfortunately I'm sitting here contemplating finishing my "plate lunch" that the school ordered for us. It's smells so good, it's chicken katsu. And boy do I love it, but boy is it not good for me and those goals I just input up top. I'm throwing it away right now. Okay, I took one more bite first. Damn delicious Hawaiian food! Now I have to jump rope or something when I get home.

This week- Today- now I have to jump rope or walk, Wednesday- off, Thursday- kickboxing, Friday- go for a walk, Saturday- something with Ananda or Joanna, walking or tennis.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Moving Backwards

Didn't really want to write today, because it sucks to have to write bad news. But that's also part of the process. I actually gained a pound this weekend. That really blows. I thought I was doing pretty good, and maybe the scale won't stay there for long, but I hate to gain any weight. Tonight is my kickboxing class, maybe that will help bring it back around, but today I am feeling big. I have to get back into gear. The good thing is that we have our meals planned for this week already, so there should be no excessive over eating in the evenings this week.
Plan- tonight- kickboxing, tomorrow- tennis?, wednesday- off, thursday- kickboxing, friday- off. Want to get to 144 by the weekend.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Weight Maintained

Beginning Weight for 2009 - 145

Well, I lost 5 pounds in December and then gained it all back through the holidays. This would be bad news except that it means that all together I didn't GAIN any more weight. I just went back to my normal. So although it appears that I bactracked a little I'm going to look at it as a success. The holidays always are a time of weight gain for me, and by setting a goal before the holidays, I avoided getting bigger than I was. So now I am going to reset my goal for the new year.

This weekend I was at 145, my starting weight in December. I had my kickboxing class again, finally, on Monday, and it triggered me to eat a little better for the next couple of days. I weighed in this morning at 144. That's good because tonight I have my kickboxing class again, so I'm hoping to drop another pound for the weekend. I plan on making a menu for the weekend tomorrow at the end of the work day, so I am prepared for the weekend binging. It was a really good idea that I just didn't stick with enough over the holidays. But I think if I can make a habit of Friday menu planning for the weekend, I can start to lose the weight I plan on losing. And let me tell you, this time, I'm not going to TRY to lose the weight. I'm just going to do it. That means that I'm not dieting, I'm just going to eat healthy. I'm just going to exercise when it's on my calendar and more if I can.

It took me a while to come up with my New Year's Goals this year. Actually I wasn't ready to shout them out when 2009 rolled in, but that doesn't mean they don't count.

This year they are:

1. Lose 15 pounds (and maintain) for 2010. - I want to have it all off before Theresa and Shane's wedding because that's a great time for photos, but I want to keep it off for next year's New Year. So a mini goal is to lose the 15 pounds for the end of April. That's 5 pounds a month. I think I can do it if I work hard.

2. Plan Menus for the weekends. - Friday at the end of the work day, decide if I need to go to the grocery store on the way home and write down the meals and snacks for the weekend.

3. Take better care of my skin. - This means not touching/scratching my face when I'm stressed or bored or tired. I went through my facial products and I have everything I need to make my skin look better again.