Good Week

It was a good week, this week.  I did my exercises and ate fairly well.  The portion thing is still very tricky for me, but I made sure to not go back for seconds, and I've lost a few pounds this week.

I had pork, which I cut into pieces and cooked in my actifry - no oils, just spices - and it was really, really good.  Then salad and lima beans.  Huge portion of lima beans, but I figured better to overdo on the veggies than on the meat.  It was satisfying, and I lost some weight, so that's a good thing.  I'm telling you, the actifry is a huge diet tool.  Any time you can make fantastic foods without having to add oils to cook them in is wonderful.  I make "fried" rice in it, beef tips, chicken and now pork.  I've also done frozen french fries - just dump them in, add the spices and cook it up - no oils needed to get that "fried" crisp.

Tonight may be date night - we haven't decided yet.  I'm really tired this week, so I'm trying to decided if I'd rather spend a night at home snuggling in front of the TV rather than going out and eating really high-calorie food.

Hubby and I even tried yoga this week!  It wasn't really the best video, so we'll keep looking, but it was fun and very supportive of him to be willing to try it with me!

I like this partner thing.  It's helpful, although I'm very jealous of his determination.  His workouts are intense and I'm not that able yet.  He actually works out every day and has a whole plan for working different muscle sets on different days, etc.

I just ride my bike every other morning, do calisthenics every other morning, bowflex for strength training every other day and now am trying to fit in yoga.  I just don't think doing it every day would be good for me yet.  I tend to over do it so this Mon, Wed, Fri thing is working out well.  A good solid day of rest in between.

At any rate, I'm doing something so I'm happy about that.  Oh!  You know that feeling where your stomach feels tighter and smaller?  I've hit that point!  I was walking into the living room and my stomach just felt ... tighter.  It's a good feeling.

As usual, I'll keep you all posted!

Feeling Better.

So, my husband had a theory as to why I've been feeling so awful the last 2 weeks.  He thinks it's because I'm doing too much exercise and not eating enough (not just not enough protein, but not enough period).  I told him that was crazy because I'm GAINING weight so clearly I'm eating too many calories.

Still, I didn't ride the bike at all yesterday and this morning I only rode for 30 minutes.  I feel so much better today!  I think maybe he was right after all!  I did get on that bike and immediately went straight back to my 50+ minutes every day of the work week.  At the same time, I cut back on my calories and started eating healthier (but less) AND added in the bowflex.  And after just one day of not doing the bike at all and today only doing 30 minutes, plus eating a real dinner last night (I made stuffed pork chops, scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole), I actually lost 2 lbs and feel more alert and happy than I've felt in two weeks!

I think I jumped in too fast.  I tend to do that.  I also need to really be better about my salt intake.  I have a feeling a lot of the weight gain I've had has been due to the salt content in my food.

At any rate, I feel alive today.  So much better to be in the land of the living!  I'm still tired, but I don't feel as exhausted as I've felt the last few weeks.

Another problem is portion control.  I didn't need to eat that entire pork chop last night, but I did.  It was stuffed with spinach and shredded, smoked gouda cheese - delicious!  But I should have eaten about 1/2 of it (it was a very thick pork chop).  I did well with the scalloped potatoes and the green bean casserole - just a daub of each, but enough to get the rich, decadent enjoyment out of it.

I also slept an hour longer last night.  I get about 4 hours of sleep and last night I almost reached 5 hours!

I have started listening to the subliminal weight loss stuff again at night as I fall asleep.  Maybe it really does help you sleep better...I'll keep you posted on that.  I'm never really sure about that kind of thing, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

I will update soon!

Just So Tired.

The bike riding is killing me!

And my scale is going UP not down!  What's up with that!?

And I'm just sooooo tired - all the time!  From the time I wake up to the time I can finally go back to bed again.  I'm so tired.

I vaguely remember having issues before and it turned out to be an increased need for protein because of the weight lifting and bike riding, so I guess I'll try that.  I had a small steak last night (and, boy, when you eat the right portions, it just seems so SMALL!) and I actually feel worse this morning.  I ended up not riding the bike - my feet and hands felt tingly and swollen.

I think I just need to persevere.  I remember having trouble when I first began this journey and got very frustrated with all the work and pain with absolutely no gain.  Then I hit that tipping point and the weight finally just started to come off and I felt great.

So, I guess I just need to hang in there!

Other good news is that I finally got finished with a bunch of work stuff that was occupying 100% of my time (even my sleep - nightmares of trying to get it all done), so now I have a free moment to take a breath and take a look at my life.  I actually feel a bit shell shocked and have no idea where to begin, but I'll take today and get organized and do things that have needed to be done (like pay bills!) and I think come tomorrow I'll feel better.

I just hate this feeling so tired all the time.  I'll up the protein and see if it helps.

It's only been a week since I've been seriously paying attention to my food choices and exercise, so I have to just keep going.  It's got to get better.

Right?

Checking In

This week is going well so far!  Well, except that I've gained a pound ... but I feel like that happened last time I got serious about weight loss, too.  It fluctuates up a bit before starting to go down.  At least I hope that's what it's doing.  I am assuming it is water weight and given that we ate a Mardi Gras dinner last night (to celebrate since I was out of town on the actual Mardi Gras), I'm sure that had something to do with it.  Even though I was very good with portions.

At any rate, I have ridden the bike each morning this week and I can sure feel it!  I also started back on the bowflex, and I can feel that too!  I need to figure out when Hubby and I can do our yoga together - I'm very excited about that.  But today I've got to deal with court preparation, doctor appointments and school closings, so I'm trying to find some time to work it in.

It feels good to be DOING something again.  I feel so much better about myself when I'm working towards getting healthy.

Tonight I am having the Campbell's Italian Wedding soup which is very satisfying and very tasty, but low calorie.  I know it's not the greatest as far as salt content, but one thing at a time.  I'm going to try and make the meal early - that seems to be a key in losing weight.  And then somehow stop myself from snacking.  My trick for that is to doodle while watching TV.  Keeps my mind and hands busy.

I just wanted to report how good it feels to be taking affirmative action again.  One day at a time!

Timing

Finally.  I've gotten through seminars, hubby being out of town and all the celebrations.

I'm ready to start.

Got up and rode the bike for 46 minutes today.  Went for 11.4 miles and burned 247 calories.  All that before the day even started!

I want to start the bowflex today as well, but not too much since I don't want to hurt my shoulder again and I am just getting started.  I tend to be one of those "I want to do it all in one day" type people and I have to prepare myself for the slow and steady.

I've been so exhausted and I'm hoping that getting back into the exercise routine will help with that.

We aren't supposed to wait for the timing to be "right" because then we'd never get anything done, but I've had some issues, so it's good to know that my time is here now.  And I'm ready for it.  There is something to be said about having your mental state in the right place.  There can't be a right time if you can't get there mentally!

Now I have to plan the menu for the week - I know the key is eating a lighter dinner and trying not to snack after dinner.  I will try and plan accordingly.  If I make up something that is just really good, I'll pass it on here!  I'm going to have fun trying to create tasty meals that satisfy.  I'm also going to try and learn to cook less.  I've always cooked for 6, even when there's only a few of us home and no matter how much I made, we'd eat it all.  Now that it's just 4 of us here most of the time, I need to learn to cut portions accordingly.

As I need humor to get me through this, I'll leave with this for the day:

Mini Goals

Okay, so the thought of all the weight I have to lose to get to my goal is just way too overwhelming.  The monotony of doing the same thing every day to try and reach that goal is just daunting, because it's going to be like ... forever!

Hence the need for mini goals.

These goals can be physical (lose 1" off my waist) or they can be activity related (drink more water).  What they need to be is specific and reachable.

It would be crushing to set goals I can never reach, so it's got to be something I can really do.  Not too lofty, but then again, not too easy.

So, what should it be?  I want it to be something that will keep me focused on what I'm doing on a daily basis.  And something that I can see some kind of accomplishment from.

And what time frame should it be?  Should it be a daily goal?  Or a weekly one?  I think a month is too long - I'll forget what I'm doing by then.  So, maybe weekly ...

I do need to get more serious about my exercise.  And that's a goal that will work towards my end game as well.  So, maybe I should have a goal to work out on the Total Gym 3x this week and to ride the bike 4x.  I have court on Friday, so I can't do either one that day, but I should be able to do that.  Then again - it's already Tuesday.  Of course, I've ridden the bike 2 days already and I did the Total Gym this afternoon...so it may be a goal I can reach.  Or maybe it should be "exercise 7x this week" and then I can do other things too - like add in my trampoline.  No, I think it needs to be more specific.  I like the bike 4x and the Gym 3x.

I think that will be my mini goal this week.

No one said we can have just one, though, so I may think of some others.  Like, take time to listen to the weight loss meditation cd as I go to sleep.  I keep meaning to and never remember to do it by the end of the day.  If I make it a mini goal to listen to it each night for the week, that's reachable, right?

I think I just need to have some mini, reachable goals to keep me going.




What kind of goals do you set for yourselves?  I could use some ideas!

I will report back on my meeting (or not) of the mini exercise goals this week.  I think it's doable and I believe the thinking about it and trying to do it is going to keep me focused on staying on track.

It's worth a shot!

The Total Gym

This thing is AWESOME!!  Our gym came in just the other day and we got it out and set it up - very easy, by the way - and I did my first workout yesterday afternoon.  It was fun!  I like the sliding motion - it is very easy on the joints.  And I am telling you, I am so sore today!  It's that wonderful, good sore that makes me know I got an excellent work out!

This week is awful, work-wise, so I'm excited to have been able to work in this workout.  It probably only lasted 10 minutes, which doesn't burn many calories, but the muscle I build will.

Of course, I had court today and haven't had time to do a grocery list (always a downfall for me) and we ended up eating out at the Mexican buffet.  Not great choices, but I still feel good.  It's hard not to feel good when every time you move you are reminded of a great workout!

This is the one we got!  I can only work on the 2nd level, but I'm still very excited!

I will keep everyone posted on how it goes!

Meditation for Weight Loss?

Okay, so losing weight requires lots of energy and movement and sweat.  Grueling exercise and more sweat.

Right?

Maybe not.  A lot of losing weight is in the mind.

So, the question then becomes, how do we use our minds to lose weight?  Because, believe me, I want to use every tool I can to fight my way through this journey.

As you remember from my Tools post, I've used some of the weight loss hypnosis type apps on my ipad.  I've kind of petered out on those (and I've become stuck at this weight ... any correlation??) but maybe it's time to dust them off and get them out again.

What got me thinking about this is that I've been having a hard time sleeping (averaging about 2.5 hours per night).  Lack of sleep often leads to weight gain (for whatever reason - that's a blog for another day) and I was thinking that maybe it's because of all the chaos in my life and it keeps me up thinking about it all.  So, I decided it would be good to try and center myself.  So I listened to a podcast of a chakra meditation this morning.  I rode my bike and then did the meditation.  And I feel wonderful.  I'm energized and focused in a way I have not been in a long time.

So, maybe I need to go back to listening to the weight loss hypnosis cd.  I was losing weight when I listened to it and now I'm struggling (while not listening to it).  Maybe there is nothing magic about that cd itself, but rather the mental discipline that comes from the act of meditating. I believe that just focusing on yourself for even a brief period of time can make you stronger.  It can help you focus on what you need to do (because we all KNOW what we are SUPPOSED to do - it's just finding the mental strength to DO IT that's hard).

For me, just this morning's chakra meditation made me feel more motivated and clear.  I feel elevated somehow.  And that's just after one session!

I'm going to keep this up and I will report back on any success.  I'm really hoping I can start getting some better sleep.

Maybe this "thinking outside the box" and bringing in the meditation is what it will take to get me going again.

Maybe meditation will be where my magic happens.  Who knows?  I will keep you posted!