A Fine Foggy Day

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice about being sick and working out! What I have been trying to do is be active every day without doing anything intense, and get lots of rest. And today I was able to talk in the morning without sounding like the 90 year old woman who has been smoking since she was 13! Imagine, a whole shift without using a cough drop!

On Friday I was able to workout with a friend and we swapped ab exercises and ideas. While I love listening to my ipod while working out, it was a great change of pace to talk while on the elliptical (I didn't even notice the 45minutes whiz by) and have a knowledge exchange.

It is so much easier to achieve a goal when you have help and support. When people know what you are trying to do, they can HELP YOU. And we are humans. Flawed humans. We need help:)

Especially with the holiday season fast approaching! How can you be healthy and happy when the only way to make your aunt Edna happy is to ask for a second helping of pecan pie with whip cream? How can we integrate new, healthier recipes into family traditions? Where do we find the time for movement when we are exhausted at the end of the day? All these answers* and more, coming soon to a blog near you!

*answers are subjective, and do not apply to everyone. As a matter of fact, they might be very individual, but can still serve as jumping points for you to answer the questions for yourself:)

I'm feeling like a natural woman...

You know what I love about being a woman? Okay, there are a few things, but one of the great bonuses of being female is the curves. Not the curves of my excess weight, but the natural curve of the hips and chest.

I have gotten into the habit recently of standing with my hands on my hips, because it is so exciting to me to have a waist again! For so long all I had was rolls of fat at different heights. But this is great. I feel more confident and capable, like a super woman! (Now all I need is a phone booth and a bodysuit/cape...on second thought...hold the body suit...not enough confidence for that yet:)

You know what else is great? My WEIGHT!

ahem.

I now weigh 211lbs.

211lbs! Or, in caps, @!!LBS! (1 more pound until I get 2 new DVDs...dare I start thinking about which ones I will get?)

In the past week of losing 4 pounds, I have had food poisoning and a cold, so circumstances were not primed for eating a lot, but wow. I feel like I am constantly (happily) surprised at weigh-ins. Every week I wait for something to go wrong. I step on the scale dreading a higher number.

And then I see results. Results for the hard work I am putting in. Results for bashing through the excuses, choosing to move, and moderate eating. These results are fueling my journey, and will hopefully inspire me when I hit plateaus. So here is to green tea with honey, rainy days, long walks with my dog, and curves!

Being Sick

Last Thursday I got intense food- poisoning. The next 24 hours were an unexpected detox that left me a little weak. Saturday I felt great again, and was able to do a workout at the gym that went something like this: 20min fast walking on the treadmill, then 15 min on the StairMaster, then 15 min on the reclining bike. ( intense, right? I'm calling it my mini-trinity:)

But Sunday I woke up with a sore throat (after a night of drinking with my brother and sister:). That sore throat steadily progressed into a cough/cold that kept my home from work for a day, and has me a little tired.

Now, the problem is, what do you do about working out and eating when you are sick? Most of my exercise lately has been dog walks of 1-3miles long. I take it at my own pace and slow down when I get tired.

When I get sick though, I crave not-so-healthy food. So I have had some M&Ms, ice cream, chips (gasp!), and some bigger meal portions than necessary. (I also made Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie! I love it so much, but the crust is butter and flour times one billion! Oh well...it tastes like moroccan air:)

What's funny is that I was feeling down about some of my food choices, and then I realized that my choices now are still SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE CHOICES I WOULD HAVE MADE 2 MONTHS AGO.

I forget how far I have come (33lbs, to be exact). I am not perfect. I am a work in progress. Aren't we all?

GOALS

1) Fergie Work-out....I don't know if I can last a full hour at a 15% on the treadmill, but I am going for 30 minutes.

2)Add 5 minutes to every workout....it's like doing an extra exercise session every week! This might mean extending my cardio, but I might also take that time to fit in some extra abs time, or try the rowing machine again. Try this out yourself, and let me know how it goes!

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." -Maya Angelou

Sickness and Success

Good health and happiness to you all! I am currently sipping blue gatorade, trying to restore my body that does not want anything to do with food. I am listening to my body (goal from last week) and it is saying, "take it easy. Slow down for a bit. Sleep." Fair enough body, fair enough.

In other news: I know you have been dying to hear the results of my most recent weigh-in, right? Well hold onto your seats folks, because Tuesday I stepped on the scale, ready to see 219lbs...and instead saw:

215!!!

yesyesyesyes!

I think I really pushed myself with working out the past week, including a "last-chance-workout" on Monday that consisted of my jogging/walking on the treadmill for 52 minutes. I don't think I have ever spent that long on the treadmill. Luckily, I was listening to the Avenue Q soundtrack. (quite possibly my favorite musical ever. Look it up.)

Such a huge weight-loss does concern me a bit though. I think some of it has to do with womanly bloating and body weight-fluctuations, so my goal for the next weigh-in is to maintain that loss. Especially now that I am sick and might not be able to work out as much.

Oh, and I finally had spaghetti squash!! The first way I tried it was with olive oil and a mix of cumin, curry, and a bit of red pepper. It still tasted really squashy (what did I expect?). But I was determined to make something tasty.

My second attempt was lightly sautéing artichoke hearts, peppers, onions, some bits of chicken, and then adding in 1/2 cup of low-sodium v8 as the "sauce." MUCH BETTER.

I am trying to think of my "diet" as an opportunity to get creative with my food. What can I make that is healthy? That doesn't taste bland? That doesn't taste like diet food? That everyone in my family can enjoy? It forces me to make a wider use of all the spices I have available in the kitchen. Except for rosemary. blegh.

So go be creative! Make something new! Concoct a new dish! Redo a bland sandwich! And spice up your life!