Thursday, August 26, 2010

Pizza

Yesterday I had a long day at work. I am trying to make sure I get information out to the teachers in my department in a timely manner. To do that I have to work a little later. I have the whole morning to work in my office but people come in and out constantly to talk to me, so I don't get much done. So, after a 10 hour day I really didn't feel like doing much.

Not doing much consists of not wanting to cook nor do any exercise. I didn't have a craving for anything in particular and I am really not a big fast food person. I always feel guilty when I eat anything from a drive-thru (except for breakfast items). So, I fell on my old staple.....pizza. I have a Westshore Pizza around the corner from my house. I told myself a couple of months ago if I want pizza I had to walk there which I normally do. It's a 1.5 mile round trip. Yesterday was not one of those days....one because it was raining and two because I didn't want just a slice. I normally get a slice or two so I can keep it under control. Yesterday I ordered a small cheese pizza so I can have some for lunch today.

I ate half of a 14 inch pizza. I probably could have eaten more but I stopped myself. I had to physically make myself stop. Now let me tell you, I had the calories so I could eat the pizza but man did I want to really overindulge. Now I have the other half for lunch today.

Hmmmmm I love pizza!

Before I go.....I have a question.......how do you feel about frozen meals? Lean Cuisine? Smart Ones? Healthy Choice? Are they a plus or minus on a diet?

Blog out!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

One day down

Well the first day with the kids is done....179 more to go. It wasn't so bad. It was a little hectic. I still don't why people wait until the last minute to register their children. I have 3 kids to do schedules for today who showed up yesterday. Seriously, do parents not know the importance of the first day of school?

Today I plan on wearing my tennis shoes since I did a lot of running around yesterday. I did so much running around I was too tired to do any official walking last night. I did do my laundry and that means up and down the stairs quite a few times. I kept moving but I need to do something to keep my heart rate up for an extended period of time to help burn those calories. :)

I wanted to share some discoveries. One is a food I discovered. I was shopping at Publix last week and this young girl was sharing a sample of some Mexican treats. I tried a corn pancake with white cheese on it. My first thought was "how fattening is this?" When I tasted it and it was moist and creamy I knew it had to be like a million calories. So, I closed my eyes and flipped over the package to the corn pancakes sitting on her counter. I slowly opened one eye and peaked at the nutritional info. Wow! It wasn't fattening at all. Sure it has some calories but not too many per portion. I read the ingredients and it was just corn, flour and corn syrup (I know there are a couple of other ingredients but I can't remember). Then comes the cheese. I knew this is where the fat has to come into play since it was a creamy cheese. I did the whole eye process again (by this this time the young girl thinks I am just a crazy old lady....I'm a teacher so I am used to it). Actually it wasn't so fattening and it was low in sodium. Score!

I bought a package of each before I left. It was a little expensive but then again I am at Publix. Next time I will look in a Spanish store. A whole pancake and 2 oz of cheese is 350 calories and I eat it as a meal....normally breakfast. So, check out corn pancakes and the cheese is queso de mesa.

My next discovery is eating food. I read an article that you should not watch tv or doing anything while eating. It is proven that most people eat more when they are distracted. I agree when it comes to snacks. However, I like the distraction when I am eating my meals. It makes me take my time and I eat slower. I make sure I put down the fork between bites. I make sure everything in my mouth is chewed and swallowed before putting more food on my fork. It's those little things that help you eat less. It lets your brain to catch up with your stomach or vice versa.

I am off to handle day two!

Blog out!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

They're back....

The kids are back. It is the first day back for kids. I thought I would be nervous but I am not as bad as I thought I would be. I think I am forgetting something though. I am co-teaching this year and I hope it works out. I have always been with good teachers in the past. I am teaching with new teachers and I like them both personally but not sure of their teaching style. I think I am pretty flexible and fit right in.

I am heading back to school 15 pounds lighter than I left. My hair is 6 inches shorter and about two shades darker. I like starting fresh. The only thing I didn't get is new school clothes. I didn't want to buy clothes until I lost a little more weight. However, I am fitting clothes I haven't worn in a while so they will be like new school clothes.

You would think after yesterday's blog I would have stepped up and did my cardio. My excuses It rained all day. I worked late. A friend came over. Did that sound good? So anyway no laundry nor walking was done yesterday. *sigh* I guess I need to just make myself do it. Just to make myself feel better I didn't sit on the sofa and watch tv all night. I was up cooking dinner, coloring my hair, cleaning my kitchen, cooking my lunch for today and then blow drying my hair. I guess I did burn some energy. What I should have done when I was cooking my dinner was walking in place. D'oh!

It is time to start getting ready for those kids. Wish me luck!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Blog out!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Monday is here again

Ahhhh gotta love a Monday. How many of us think "On Monday I will get back at it. Yep yep yep....Monday is the day." Well, I have thought that so many times. What is the miracle of Monday? Why is that the day we decide we are going to either start something or start over on something? We should start right when we think about it. Why wait? Start now!

I try to keep that mentality. I am the queen of procrastination. I have no issue putting off tomorrow what I can do today. I continue working on getting out of the mind set and in doing that I have lost weight.

When it was time to eat something this weekend it wasn't my usual....I'll eat this now then make up for it on Monday. As for exercise that is a different story. I still haven't motivated myself to get back into my cardio. I am hoping I will get a chance to check out my friend's boxing class tonight. If not I am going to go walking while I do my laundry. That is my usual time to walk. I put my clothes in the wash, walk until it is done then put it in the dryer. I will also add in some swimming while the clothes are in the dryer. Yep that is what I will do if I don't go box the living crap out of someone. :)

I know it is a combo of eating right and exercising. That is the combination of losing weight. Yesterday I kept under my calories only because I had to think about it. I was cooking dinner last night and decided to make a nice lean burger. With that I was going to cook a pasta dish. I realized I didn't have any veggies planned. So I traded in the pasta for a nice large salad. I felt so much better and I got to eat the whole burger. :)

Making decisions like that isn't always so east. I didn't know going back to work would be such a big deal but the eating has been crazy. Every day a different group of people bring breakfast. Everything is covered in cheese and made with fattening meats. There is some fruit and other healthy choices but all that fattening stuff stares right at ya. *sigh* Then everyone wants to go out to eat for lunch since we won't get that opportunity when the kids come back. So, its burgers, Mexican, pizza, Chinese, etc. I am not ready for the kids to come back from a curriculum standpoint but I am ready for them from a eating one. I know it is all about choices but it is hard to resist some times.

Today I am going back to work with a new look. I decided to get a new hair cut since I am looking and feeling different by losing weight. I remember a long time ago a psychic told me you can change your destiny by making changes to yourself....cut your hair, lose weight, etc. So I am changing my destiny all over the place. :) So bring it on my new destiny!!!

Well have a great Monday!

Blog out!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Sick and unmotivated

Sunday I started feeling bad and have slowly gone down hill since then. I have been zapped of energy, soar throat, watery eyes and achy. However, I tried to keep doing my exercises. I have done all my core exercises 3 times this week. I have switched them up a little. I decided to do my sit ups and push up on the pilates ball. OMG!! My stomach, arms and thighs have hurt for days now. I am not going to let that stop me. I don't believe in no pain, no gain but at least I know they are working. Monday I will say I did try to get in some cardio by walking and jogging in place. So that has put some serious cramps in my calves since I didn't stretch afterwards.....dummy!

As for my eating, it has been a little more difficult to keep within my calories. Every day we have had a breakfast and every day we have gone out to lunch. When you are a teacher you don't get the luxury of eating out so we are taking advantage of it until the kids come back. It has been Chinese, pizza, burgers, etc. Man this is hard on a girl.

However, I did try something different when we went to go eat Chinese. We went to a buffet and we all know that is overindulgence on a steam table. I went straight for the soup so the wonton broth would be a filler.....and well the wontons too. When I went for the regular food, I grabbed a small plate. It was the plate to put under the soup bowl, so it was even smaller than a salad plate. It really limited me on what I could take. I kept myself laughing by thinking....if I can't go wide on a large plate but let's see how high I can go on a small plate. I didn't do it though. We eat with our eyes first and we can fool ourselves into thinking we are eating a lot if the plate is full....so try a small plate next time you go to a buffet. I am glad I got the small plate because when I calculated my calories for what I did eat....phew! That was a lot of calories.

I really have to start thinking how to work in my cardio exercises. I like doing them in the morning but I am so not a morning person. It was easier when I was teaching summer school and didn't have to be there until 9:15. During the regular school year I have to be there at 8:20 which means I would have to get up even earlier. Oh heck no! I will have to figure it out because I need to start back incorporating my cardio. I am not going to lose with just my core exercises. I have to get my heart rate up.

Well, it is time to start getting ready for work. The parents are coming tonight with their kids for open house. I am so excited. It's a new adventure.

Blog out!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Summer revisited

Now that my summer is over I want to recount what I accomplished and learned.

1) First and foremost, I lost 14 pounds. It was not easy but wasn't as hard as I expected.

2) So that leads me to the second thing I accomplished....to live a healthier life style. I eat the things I like but I eat in moderation. I think about everything I eat. If I over indulge or know that I am going to over indulge then I make sure I get in more exercise.

3) I learned that some things are not worth eating. For example, McDonald's Frappe. It was okay but definitely not worth the 560 calories.

4) Push-ups are not as bad as I make them out to be. I started out with only inch or two but now I can take myself all the way down to the floor. They really do make a difference. While I was driving yesterday I rubbed the back of my arm and thought I had a tumor then I realized it was a muscle!!!!

5) Sparkpeople.com has been a great website. I have learned so much about eating and exercise. I like the challenges.

6) Swimming burns more calories than walking.....only if you are swimming and not floating around with a cocktail in your hand. :) Make sure your heart rate is up and you can burn a lot of calories since you are using all body parts.

7) My clothes are fitting better or getting too big. Thankfully I have some of those tweener clothes to get me through. Not that I plan on putting the weight back on but I am going to box up clothes that are too big and hold for 6 months to a year or until they annoy me because they are in my way.

8) Last but not least, this life style is not as has hard as I assumed. It is all about watching what I eat and how much I eat. Once you become conscious of what you eat it all falls in place. As long as you tell yourself you can do it then you can. No excuses!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Blog out!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Vacation is over

I have been on vacation from work and from my healthy life style. I didn't do much exercising this past week. I decided to take this last week before I went back to work to just have fun. However, I always self consciously knew where to draw the line. I kept eating in moderation and tried to keep track of what I ate. However, I didn't do much exercise. I tried to keep moving but nothing official. Now I am back!

Since this was my last weekend before heading back to work I tried to make the best of it. The first thing I had to do on Friday was go weigh in at my doctor's office. And I am excited to announce I am down another 5 pounds. It probably would have been more if I had put in more effort but a loss is a loss is a loss. So that is 14 pounds for the summer and 32 pounds over all since the beginning of the year. My goal is to lose 8 more pounds by the time I go on my cruise at the end of September.

Since Friday was my last day of summer vacation and I had to celebrate somehow. And boy did I celebrate. Yikes! It started with dinner from Chili's. I have a new application on my phone called Foursquare. It is a neat application that lets me log into places that I am going to visit...restaurants, grocery stores, clubs, etc. Well, if you have this program you can get free chips and salsa at Chili's. So I stopped by there on my way home to get a salad and my free chips and salsa. Chili's has the best chips and salsa in my opinion. Anyway, I didn't get them for me. I got them to take down to the lounge at my complex. I shoveled in my salad and went to have a drink or two or three or ten. It ended up being more like 20! I lost count! I know alcohol is an empty calorie but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

So, Saturday I was hard pressed to get off my sofa. I woke up at 10:30 after getting in at 4:00 am. That was too early so I went back to bed and got back up at 1 pm. I had a list a mile long I wanted to get done but there was no way I was doing diddly. I finally made it out to my pool around 3ish so I can get a little color before going back to work. That night I was to meet my sister at the Derby Club for dinner. I was finally ready to tear up some crab legs. And did I! That and some salad. What a good time we had.

Yesterday was a mellow day and back to the grind of trying to keep track of my food intake and I threw in some exercise to boot. Not a lot but a little.

It has been a interesting summer and not the summer I planned. However, I didn't have to sit on the corner with a reflector vest holding a sign or sell water, and I didn't have to sit at my pool eating ramen noodles because that is all I could afford. Tomorrow I will reflect on all the things I accomplished this summer.

I have done the my morning exercises. Now it is time to shower and get ready for work. Have a marvelous Monday.

Blog out!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Vacation

This is my last week of summer vacation and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. However, I have also taken a vacation from my exercise regime. I have only walked once this week. I haven't done any of my core exercises....nope...no save my face from smashing into the floor exercises (aka push ups). I haven't logged my food in for a couple of days. *sigh*

However, I am not defeated. I know I will get back to it. I think everyone deserves a break. I don't feel like I am done and might as well give up. I just know this is reality and things like this happen. I will get back on the horse or wagon or life and start riding again.

I had my party on Wednesday and what a great success. I had lots of friends over and I made some delicious food. I didn't eat much of it because I was running around most of the evening. I tasted here ad there but just didn't really feel like eating it. You know how it is some times when you make food you just don't feel like eating it. However, I am sure my few nibbles of food added up to be a days worth of calories. lol Actually I tried to make things as low fat as possible since there were several of us trying to live a healthier life style.

Last night I had my friends in town from New Orleans. They wanted to try a restaurant here in town that is a luxury staple. The food is good (not great) but it is the experience being there that you enjoy. We started off with cocktails in the bar then moved to a small private room for dinner. I had wine (yum), caviar (ick), french onion soup (yum) roasted beat salad (yum), aged top sirloin (eh) with all the fixins (so-so) and bananas foster (YUMMY). I tried to eat in moderation and I think I was successful....well....except for dessert. How do you eat bananas foster in moderation???? This is the first time I ate to excess. I felt so bloated when I got home but it was worth it. I enjoyed spending time with my friends. We were in the restaurant for 5 1/2 hours. lol Now that is an experience.

Well, today is my official weigh in at the doctors. I will see if that dinner last night did me in. Everyone always says it takes a couple of days for a meal like that to show up on the scales. I hope so.

I am going to enjoy my last couple of days of vacation before I head back to the grind. But, I think I will stop the exercise vacation and get back to that today. It will make me feel better and not feel so bad about that rich meal I had last night.

TGIF!!!!

Blog out!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

It took a long time....

....for the monthly woman water weight to come off. Good Lord! I usually get rid of that within days of that time ending. This time it took over a week. I had a funny feeling it would come out while I worked my 12 hour day. I don't care when it comes out as long as it is out. TMI? Sorry! I just had to get that off my chest since I got on the scale this morning and the numbers finally moved. Phew! Now I hope they move at the doctor's office on Friday since that is my official weigh in.

I am having a get together at my house tonight for a Tastefully Simple party. I wasn't expecting so many to RSVP so now I am a little panicked about them all fitting in my place. I couldn't sleep last night and was up at 3 a.m. scrubbing my bathroom. Who does things like that? I just remember reading (which apparently I have GOT to stop doing since I get all these ideas in my head) if you can't sleep not to just lay in bed and/or watch tv get up and doing something to exhaust yourself. Well if I had a man......oops.....this is not a blog for that. Anyway, since I don't have a man I washed floors and cleaned my bathroom....seriously not as much fun as having a man.

However, whenever you are expecting company and see those little things in your house that you just let sit there and you tell yourself..."I'll deal with them later." Those are the things you stuff in drawers and closets aren't they? I hope when my guests arrive no one opens a closet door because you never know what might fall out at them. lol My place is neater and cleaner than it has been in a long time. It's normally not disgusting or anything, but since I live alone I can be a little sloppy. :) It looks good now and I hope to keep it that way.

So, I am a little tired today in a clean house but I have lots to do before people start coming over. Mostly cooking but I have to throw in a walk and some exercise too since I will be tasting different types of foods tonight at the party.

I hope everyone has an awesome hump day...I would have if only I had a.....ooops still wrong blog. Sorry if this was a TMI blog today!

Blog out!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Everyone needs a day off

And I took mine yesterday. I didn't do any official walking. I did walk around a shopping plaza. I parked my car at one end and walked all the way to the other going in and out of shops.

I am having a Tastefully Simple party tomorrow and yesterday I had to meet the consultant to get my hostess package. She asked if I could meet her at Cici's Pizza. Now I know that is not the best pizza in town but I love Cici's. I get a metal to go tin, fill it with pasta and sauce then have them add meat and cheese and bake it in the oven. I had already had breakfast before I went there and I tried to resist but I succumbed and paid for the buffet. I got my pasta (but only a 1/3 of what I used to get), a small salad and couple of pieces of pizza that I felt could be the lowest in fat/calories. I ate a bite of each piece of pizza....eh....didn't taste as good as I remembered no use wasting calories on that. I took a couple bites of salad.....eh....not that great not wasting calories on that. Got my pasta and that was exactly how I remembered it and worth the calories. Yummy! The other thing they have at Cici's is their brownies and cinnamin rolls which are worth the calories if you have them to spare. I am not a sweets eater but by golly I can eat those. I had to do it. I feel like I ate in moderation (except for the brownies and cinnamin rolls I had two of each) and calculated my calories. That small meal of bites and pasta and dessert cost me almost a whole days worth of calories. I can only imagine what I used to eat! Good Lord! No more meet ups at Cici's ever again!!!

Since I didn't walk and I ate that Cici's catastrophe I had to be aware of what I ate for dinner. I had pulled out a piece of frozen chicken to make for dinner. (I go to this one market in town that sells boneless skinless chicken breats cheap if you buy in bulk. I bought a 10 pound bag and separated the breasts individually and froze them. Some of the breasts are like turkey breasts though, which what I ended up taking out). I had some small potatoes that I knew I wanted to cook it with it but could I make a low calorie meal with those two things. I remember reading in an article on sparkpeople to bulk up meals and stretch them to go further by adding veggies and beans to meats. So that is what I did. I made a simple but delicisious recipe that was like a chili. I know it is 100 degrees outside and chili is not the meal of choice but that is what it kinda turned out to be. It was good, low in fat and calories. I fit it in to my daily consumption. The recipe is below and an idea when you buy meat in bulk. :)

So, since I have been more conscience of my eating habits, I feel I have more energy. I used to be a lot lazier but now I know how my mother feels. My mother reminds me of this joke I heard this comedian tell once. It was about cats and how they can be dead asleep then all of sudden jump up,think "oh my god I got to go to the other room" and they take off running. That is what my mother is like. She will sit on the sofa for a few minutes and all of sudden get up to go do something in the other room. She never sits for long and she is going to be 85 this September. I have now turned into that cat and well....I guess I have to say it....*cough cough*....my mother. I can be sitting on the sofa and then think I should vacuum or clean the kitchen or clean the tub then get up and do it. Not sure if this is because I have extra energy or I am getting older. I am going to think it is the extra energy and it has to be used. :)

I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday!

Recipe:

10 oz chicken breast (cut into small chunks)
1 15.5 can of northern beans (drained and rinsed)
1 14.5 can of diced tomatoes
1 10.5 can of corn
6 oz of potato (cut in to small pieces)
1 garlic clove
Dehydrated onion
Cumin
Chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the chicken and potatoes in a large skillet. Add all the other ingredients except the corn. Lower it to simmer and let cook for 45 minutes. Add the corn and let cook for another 5-10 minutes. It serves 4 small bowls or 3 medium sized bowls. 4servings is 337 calories and 3 servings is 449 calories. (I had the medium sized bowl and it was very filling. If I served it for 4 then I would add a salad).

Hint: If you buy the chicken in bulk and freeze it I add marinate to half the batch. So, the chicken will marinate as it freezes and then it will marinate when it defrosts. You will have a tasty chicken breast with that method. :)


Blog out!

Monday, August 9, 2010

The weekend

So another weekend comes and goes. Another weekend of indulgences. I don't feel so bad about my indulgences as long as I plan ahead for them. I counter act them with some exercise.

Saturday was fun at the dog track for my father's birthday. I must have eaten a pound of scallops. Yummy! The food is so good at the dog track for the money you pay. I did try to keep it to mostly proteins. I make sure if I am going to indulge like this at a buffet I keep it to high protein foods. I also try to keep it to the lower fat items. The dogs were not so nice to me. At least this one dog wasn't. My friend Jeanne and I bet a $1 superfecta and we picked out 4 dogs. If they came in the order we picked them the payout could be close to $1000. Just as the dogs are getting close to the finish line the dogs were in the order we had them. I can see the finish line in site and the first dog crosses over. The money is in my hands. The second dog crosses over. I already spent it in my head. Then the 4th dog passes the 3rd dog at the finish line!!!! Now I am returning all the stuff I bought in my head! Are you freakin kidding me??? I wanted to go down there and kick the dog in the leg. AT least I am only out a $1 but in my head I lost a $1000. Waaaahhhhh.

I have been drinking homemade fruit smoothies as a snack. Nothing better than a cold smoothie on a hot summer day. I think I may need to cut down how much I drink of these smoothies but they are so yummy. I even make them at work. I just put everything in a sealed container and bring my hand mixer to blend. I need to get one of those quick blender thingies. Anyway, my recipe consists of frozen mix fruit, skim milk, orange juice and powered blueberry white tea mix (if I have them I will put in a banana). I put in more milk than orange juice.

Today I need to get myself back on track and get my cardio in since it is my cardio day but I have a lot to do. I am having some people over on Wednesday and need to clean up my place. I have to make my place look like an educated professional adult lives here. I wish I had a decorator's eye.

Well it is off to cleaning the house and getting ready for my guests. :)

Have a marvelous Monday!

Blog out!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Saturday

It's Saturday and I have been up an hour or so. I love summer break. I get to sleep in. Bad part of sleeping in is I feel I have slept half my day away which means I stay up later to make up for it. I am so not a morning person but I don't like wasting my day. Another thing about sleeping in is I miss breakfast. By the time I wake up it is almost time for lunch.

Anyway, I have a big dinner planned for my father's birthday tonight. I need to get in some extra exercise to compensate for the food I plan eat. Yeah yeah yeah I know, eat in moderation....don't go overboard.....plan ahead.....whatever. It's my father's birthday and I plan eat what I want and drink what I want. I will be getting exercise since he can't walk up and down the stairs very well so I will have to do it for him to place his bets since we are eating in the Derby Club at the dog track. Last week it was the casino with my mother and this week the dog track with my father.....do you think I am part of a gambling family.....or is it just me since both those ideas were mine? Hmmmmmm

Well, it is about to rain so I will have to do my exercise indoors. No walking for me for now. I am sure it will blow over and I can get to the pool to swim some laps.

I was talking to a high school alumni yesterday about our journeys in weight loss. We have an alumni cruise coming up (it's our 10 year....okay so plus a few or ten or fifteen years) and everyone is busting out the diet plans to look good before all our old high school friends see us in skimpy clothes (we want to look like it was our 10 year reunion). Anyway, he stated he is taking an appetite suppressant as I am as well (him OTC and mine prescribed but do the same dang thing). In reading information on sparkpeople it states they help for the short term but in the long run can hinder you. After you stop taking the appetite suppressant you go right back to your old eating habits. Or maybe not habits but instead of tricking yourself into feeling full or not hungry you will feel hungry all the time again. I have to say I have experienced this. I tried going off the pills for a couple of days and I felt hungry constantly. Now it could me a mind over matter issue because I know I didn't take the pills to see the effect and my mind told me to feel hungry (its my mind that has put me in this situation to begin with. Stupid mind!). Who knows! I am going to discuss this with my doctor at my next appointment since she is the one who prescribes the pills for me.

Yesterday I pulled out the old measuring tape. I am supposed to measure myself weekly but I think that is too frequently. If I don't see results then I am going to cut the measure tape into ribbons and make confetti. So I think it is best for my sanity and the measuring tapes life I measure myself every other week. Anyway, in the past two weeks I have lost an inch off my waist (thanks crunches!) and an inch off my thighs (thanks walking and swimming). Didn't lose anything off my hips (thanks to nothing!). I should measure my arms but it is not part of the list......why isn't it part of the list??? I will have to add it because I can see/feel the difference. I see definition in my arms or it could be just the way the fat is now laying on my arms. But the shirt I wore yesterday the sleeves weren't as tight as before due to the "please don't let me smash my face into the carpet" exercise I do (aka push-ups) or it could be they stretched out in the wash. I am going with the exercise.

I have two things in the front of my closet that are my incentives. I have a dress I want to wear in two weeks for an alumni event. I also have a jacket that fits everywhere but my arms. When I wear it it makes my arms look like stuff sausages. So those are my two incentives for the short term.

Well it is time to break out the old pilates ball and do some exercises until the rain passes. Today is my core day but I know I have to throw in some cardio since it will be a disaster tonight if I don't. Yeah I still plan to eat what I want! I will not feel guilty about it (I probably will but if pills can trick my mind into thinking it not hungry then my mind can trick itself into not feeling guilty).

Happy Saturday!

Blog out!

Friday, August 6, 2010

What a week

A week of exercise, working, socializing and apparently overeating. I am not sure. The scale won't move. The clothes are not feeling as loose as they used to feel. I am still getting kudos on the way I look but still it is not showing in the numbers. I shall overcome this plateau.

First thing I have to do is stop eating at night. It is amazing how many calories you can consume just nibbling on stuff. I have to either stop it or get some veggies to nibble on. I normally eat a handful of pretzels or a couple of low fat graham crackers. Not too bad but still adding calories. I also have to start eating later so I won't be hungry to nibble so late at night. If I am hungry before dinner I can move around and do things to keep my mind off of it. At 10 or 11 o'clock it is my lazy time. :)

When I joined back on sparkpeople.com they set up an exercise regime for me. MWF is cardio and TRS is core. I try to do them on the days they state but sometimes I will add cardio to my core days or vice versa.

The cardio can be anything I want but they have suggested core exercises: crunches, crunches with a twist, leg curls, tricep dips, one leg squats and modified push-ups. Ahhhhh the lovely modified push-up. Any push-up is like a death sentence to me. Seriously, that means I have to lift my body weight up and down 15 times TWICE......MY BODY WEIGHT. So there I am on the floor, knees bent, straight as a board and hands planted on either side of me. I am looking at the carpet knowing it is not going to be soft enough to save me. I see rug burns and a broken nose in my future. Down...a half inch....breath out (whoosh)....up....a half inch. Oh good Lord, that was only one. I have to do two reps of 15. Half inch down...half inch up.....half inch down....half inch up. My arms are shaking and getting all wobbly. Just to lift myself up and down a half inch. I pray every time I have make the trip back towards the carpet a half inch that my arms don't give in and introduce my face to the floor. After the first 15 I am thinking there ain't no way in all of God's green earth I can do another set of 15. But I make myself do the next 15.....half inch at a time while breathing and praying.

That was a couple of weeks ago. I am proud to say I noticed the other day while doing my push-ups I am now taking myself a third of the way down. So I have added some inches to my push-ups. I still pray each time but I am not giving up until I can do a full push-up. So if my arms do give out then it won't be so detrimental to my face because I will be closer to the floor.

Well, today is cardio day so I need to get out there and get my heart rate up and burn calories. I am hoping one day soon (by next Friday) it will show on the scale again.

TGIF!

Blog out!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Is back to feeling normal

Saturday I was feeling quite lazy but I finally got by butt up off the sofa and did some exercise. I went out to the pool. My goal was to tread water for as long as I could. My feet were not allowed to touch the bottom and I did it for 20 minutes. Wow did I feel it Monday.

Sunday I got up and did a few things around the house. I had a party to attend and I had to make something to share at the party. I did some running around and got back in the pool for another 25 minutes of treading water. I like this treading water deal since I am burning calories but not sweating as much as walking. I found as long as my heart rate is up then I am burning calories. Apparently a lot more calories than walking.

I saved a lot of my calories on Sunday so I could enjoy myself at the birthday party and at least have a piece of cake. Well, there wasn't much food left by the time I got to the party. So instead of eating my calories I drank them. And drank them I did! I haven't drank that much in a long time. Oh my! I started out with Miller Lite (96 calories) and then moved to vodka and club soda. I wish I could tell you the calories in that drink but I am not sure how much vodka they put in my glass.

Yesterday I paid the full price of both the exercise and drinking. I spent most of the day with a headache and my body aching. After a day of rest I finally completed my to do list. I did my laundry (up and down the stairs a million times) and I went out the to the pool. I added to the treading some swimming. I also got on the floor when I got home and did my core exercises.

Now I am running late to go to my school. I promised my assistant principal I would come in and help her with a few things. I am regretting it since this is my only time off before I have to go back to school. :(

Everyone have a terrific Tuesday!

Blog out!