33 Silver

That's what I'm wearing today. One of the girls at work heard about my plight of needing 'ass-hugging' pants and brought in a pair that are now too big for her - Kudos to Heidi for not needing them anymore ;-) and Mark says thanks a heap for passing them on :0). They're a bit long, so am wearing high chunk heals. They're also low-cut which is gonna take some getting used to, but I swiped one of Mark's belts so they won't fall off, lol. Speaking of which - Marks belt actually fits me! and that is a NSV.

I tried the pants on the other night and could not believe they actually fit. Will need to get a picture up later. The 9yo was behind me and said, "Is that Mommy?" So sweet of her.

Stay tuned next week for comparison photos, measurements and weight as they relate to the 12-week Octoberbest, which officially ends with next Wednesday's weigh-in.

TGIF ya'll.

Run Fatass Run

I totally swiped todays Title from another blog. He can be found at http://runfatassrun.blogspot.com/ and is worth a read

So, this weeks weigh-in has my little girl moving her little butt, too and my BMI dropping. 4 lbs down

How did this happen? Some theories:

• The WW scale needs calibration. Why do I mention this? I have weighed myself at home, then meeting in the past and found my scale to be quite on-par with my official weigh-in's. My scale says 164-165 (dial, remember). ALSO, there were a number of us with 3-4lb losses - more than usual??? I do hope that I am wrong and am going to pretend that I am.
• Clothing weight. Yesterday was H-O-T. The temp hit around 30 degrees, so I opted for my shorts and T that I weighed in most of the summer. This is a much lighter outfit than the one I wore last week. I hope it stays warm for next week, too.
• I stayed OP all week. When I went over my points (Fri & Sat) it was early enough in the week and they were weekly flexies. I had 6 left before meeting last night, and don't think I used any afterwards, although, since I don't calculate my Wednesday evening food, who knows?
• I drank a LOT of water the last few days to flush out my system. Also, lots of fruit.
• Last week was an 'illegal' gain and now my 'true' weight is shining through (my personal favourite).

How to keep it up? Simple:

• Stay OP
• Exercise

However you cut it, the 'official' books say I'm 162lbs. 2lbs from my Octoberbest goal of 160 (healthy weight according to WW), 14lbs from my WW lifetime goal, 24lbs lost to-date. I'll take it.

Happy Hump Day

Life has been slow around here. I am gearing up for year-end at work and am finally focused again after the summer. School is in full swing now and Mark is finished the classroom work and has over a week to absorb what he's learned to write his exam. I came down with a head/throat cold that's going around. Ugh is all I can say. My energy has been zapped as has my motivation for exercise. I have been swimming, if you can call it that. I am trying to get in some 'good' swimming and not just float around out there. Once Mark is back to work I want to take an aquasize class they offer on Tuesday nights right after the family swim - maybe just a few times to get ideas of things I can do while keeping an eye on the little one - who is becoming quite the fish.

I have 6 weekly points left which usually means that I will likely maintain this week. I'm hopeful that some of this stagnation is simply clothing changes. My home scale is being tempermental and disagreeing with this analysis, so I am going to move him to the top shelf of the linen cabinet as I've promised to do before.

Today's menu:
Breakfast: 4pt smoothie (1 dairy, 1.5 fruit and some fibre)
Morning snack: 1C baby carrots
Lunch: I brought spaghetti squash with bean and tomatoe sauce for 5pts
Afternoon snack: Orange for 1pt
Late afternoon snack: 1/4C Almonds for 4pts
This will leave me 8 pts for supper and snack.

So, the Plan for this past week:
Implement XBX Plan - do Chart 1, Level 1 at least 4x did once - it's pretty easy so dunno
Walk and/or jog at least 30 mins 3x I was ready a few times, but something always came up. Did housework on Satuday, though and went swimming a few times
Attend Dance/Yoga class Did it, but was feeling zapped due to cold
2 fruit pts/day as part of my F&V Yup
8 +cups H2O/day Weekends not so good
Maintain 25-26 pts/day - do not go over 28 pts even on weekends Weekends not so good
Have snacks in morning and afternoon (ForV in am and carb or protein {pretzels, nuts} in pm) not bad most days
Count pts, but stick as close to Core (whole foods) options as possible for main meals I kinda forgot about this one.

I'll try these goals again. Maybe put them on my fridge or calendar to check off each day.

A New Goal

With the wrap-up of Octoberbest in just over a week, I felt it was time to focus on a new challenge. Randi and Carolyn have great timing as I was just about to scour the Sparks pages for something else. Carolyn has listed participants and the range of weight loss is anywhere from 5-almost 20 lbs. I would like to meet my WW goal of 148 by Christmas. As the days progress I am questioning if this is doable. I will put my best foot forward, though and keep thinking that every week extra it takes me to get there is real cash out-of-hand. Yes, I could re-set my WW goal to as high as 160, but I don't really want to. I'm leaving the door open on this one, though and will be buying a book of 10 coupons once my book of 5 runs out. This will commit me on 2 levels.

Bad, Baby, Bad: My weekend food indulgences (not the best choices, but not horrible)
Fri night: Baked apples with LF margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon. (instead of the planned cantelope)
Sat supper: Small Tim Horton's Whole Wheat loaf (some bread gutted and discarded) with pizza sauce, some LF cheese and 4 Chicken meatballs. 1/8 of WW recipe apple pie
Sun evening: 3 oatmeal raisin cookies (4pts, 180 calories). I told Myself not to eat more than 1, but Myself didn't listen to I. After the third one, Me stepped in and put the bag away.

Cooking - trying to be healthy:
Apple pie using Splenda (even the crust)
Double-Baked potatoes - frozen for quick food. There was a lot of cheese in this (3cups for 23 halves, so 1/8C in each). I used Veggie cheddar and regular montery jack, but will need to look for a LF version next time. The 9yo really likes them - woohoo! I didn't have any of these and will need to calculate their pts
Eggplant/Zuchinni lasagna - 2nd time with this recipe. I left out the tofu this time, but didn't have cheese, so used a bit of mozza flavoured soy product.

I estimated on the high side for points. Went over 5pts on Fri and 9pts on Sat. I didn't finalize my pts for Sun yet and left my books at home. Today is going well. Monday and back to work always helps. I have my lasagna for lunch. Breakfast was yogurt, granola and berries (4pts) and coffee with 1/4C milk (1pt). I also have carrots, apple and orange for snack. If I get really hungry I'll have half a bagel with PB, but I don't think I'll need it.

Cheers,

Flexibility, Balance

In food, I think I have both. I am trying new stuff (spaghetti squash, leeks, eggplant). I am making every attempt to eat a balanced diet daily. I cannot wrap my head around everything that 'balance' includes, but I am trying to eat the GHG's for water, f&v, dairy and oil as well as focus on whole grain foods. This has helped immensely in many areas of my well-being. But...food is not the only area for flexibility and balance.

In body - not flexible. I was never flexible at my most fit. What I'm discovering is that thin does not = fit, and that fit does not = flexible. When I was thin, I remember thinking, "What do these people have where they can sit with legs apart and touch their forhead to the ground???". So embarrassing when a 30-something outdid me when I was only in my early 20s. Even if they are 'round' they can stretch a leg off to the side, holding onto their toe. So, how does one become flexible? Is it a birthright, or a matter of stretching exercises to make those muscles elastic (something I have NEVER really done for any length of time).

So yoga/dance enters the picture. Not only am I not flexible, but I am not very balanced. Both of these activities require these features in order to look, um, graceful. Graceful I ain't. Let's talk balance, because I always thought I had balance. Scarlett walks upright with head held high - turn off the lights and she's banging into things all over. In dance, we were asked to do a releve (rel-eh-vay). This is to stand on your toes - both feet (there is another where you have to stand on just 1 called a passe releve). Not so bad, but what about after doing other footwork. I was the first to fall over - it would have been sooner had I not been wearing my new walking shoes. OK, then in yoga there are a number of balancing moves - balance the core, she says. Um, I don't know about this sitting and holding my feet, with my hands, up in the air thing. Don't roll back, she says. Oh, Barbie, you have competition on the balance thing!

Something else struck me last night. I know this will sound odd (or maybe self-degrading, since I've come from more than overweight), I am taking this class for fun, but also for exercise. The instructors are great, but...I know, never qualify a compliment with a but, but...they are both overweight. This was part of the attraction of dance. You didn't have to be fit in order to participate, but it struck me last night that I was spending 2 hours of my week (drive-time included) to participate in activities that were not geared to weight loss. I've thought about this and concluded that thin does not = fit and fit does not = thin. I've concluded that even overweight instructors can offer me something, but that I need to do more. I need to step it up a notch. They exercise as part of their work day, but I don't know their diet. I do not know if they work out any other areas. I DO know that yoga, in and of itself, is insufficient to burn fat and that dance, while cardio enters the picture, is also insufficient for healthy body weight or to build muscle.

Here's something, too, diet is insufficient to obtain the body I want. Maybe that's why I've been struggling with the 'exercise' component all summer. Why do I want to be fit AND toned? Wednesday evening we were asked to close our eyes and picture what we wanted from this journey. I couldn't do that. There's no media image I strive for. And I never had the lust for life at any weight because of my weight. All I could picture was a word, "Energy". That word, and all that it encompasses is what I want. What it encompasses for me will change as time goes on, but I do know that the "Energy" I have now compared to a few short months ago is 10-fold. I know that I am healthier now (because of the food I put in my body) than I was the last time I was at this weight.

OK, quick NSV. A girl here at work (I've written about her before) has lost some weight. Yay her, but unfortunately it was brought on due to stress. She's so sweet though. Today she told me that my 'new' jeans didn't suit me and I needed to go with her and she'd let me use her 'discount' at her 2nd job (adds to stress, right) to buy a new pair of 14s that looked good. I protested, saying that I wasn't going to be a 14 for long and I'd buy 12s when the time came. OK, here's her response, and the NSV: "All the hard work you're doing and no one can see it. Come with me and buy 12s too for when you get there."

Outa here, Cheers

Thursday update, Friday plan

Replace potatoes with butternut squash and skip the cup of milk. A couple of more cups of water during class.
Daily Pts. 22
Weekly Pts. 0
GHG's - short half a dairy.

Friday: THE PLAN:

Morning: (5pts)
3/4C LF Soy drink, Cream of wheat, Unsw. Apple sauce, Coffee with 1/4C whole milk
Snack: (1pt)
Coffee with 1/4C whole milk, 1C Carrots
Lunch: (7pts)
4 oz salmon trims, 1/2C Rice, with 1C veggies & 2Tbsp dr.
Snack: (6pts)
1/2 Tim's Bagel w. PB, Lg Apple
Supper: (5pts)
3oz chicken with veggies, Sweet potatoe
Snack: (3pts)
Canteloup, 1C LF Soy drink

Activity:
Light walk at lunch - 20 mins, Evening walk (planned 30 mins)

Water - WW recommendation 4 so far
Water - extra will be consumed
F&V: at least 2xF
Dairy - 2-2.5
Oil - 2

Food and Activity - Thur 20th

Wednesday WI

OK, without fanfare this week. I gained 1lb.

Why?

• I did no exercise except Thursday
• I went over by an estimated 19pts on Sunday with very little whole foods included. The estimate is because the Blueberry Kruger/Danish thing I may have had more. I'm not beating myself up over 1 bad day, but it really took the wind out of my sails for the week.
• I've stopped eating my snacks. I didn't think I 'needed' them anymore, but I'm going to start have a little something mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
• This weight has been with me a lot longer (5+years) and I was around this weight for quite a while before 'movin on up'. I think our bodies 'settle' in periodically.

Plan for this week:

• Implement XBX Plan - do Chart 1, Level 1 at least 4x
• Walk and/or jog at least 30 mins 3x
• Attend Dance/Yoga class
• 2 fruit pts/day as part of my F&V
• 8 +cups H2O/day
• Maintain 25-26 pts/day - do not go over 28 pts even on weekends
• Have snacks in morning and afternoon (ForV in am and carb or protein {pretzels, nuts} in pm)
• Count pts, but stick as close to Core (whole foods) options as possible for main meals

C'mon Candace, we have 2 weeks left of Octoberbest, and need to kick start Christmas Challenge. If anyone else is interested in the Christmas Challenge, check out Carolyn or Randi's blogs (see links to left). I have a personal goal of getting to 148 by Christmas. It's doable, but whatever's been going on for the last 2 weeks has GOT to change.

Wednesday Anticipation

My activity this week has been little to none. I got a little over-tired and haven't gone for 1 walk, and have basically stopped my morning routine (this I feel badly about as I was doing so well).

A new week for the Octoberbest Challenge and with only a 2 weeks left I am determined to get back in the game. I am going to follow the XBX program I posted about Mon night, with only 3-4 work-outs/week. Other than that I want to just focus on walking, jogging only if I feel like it. Maybe I'll try the C25K in the winter (I'm hoping for a treadmill, but may end up joining a gym later if they have a 'membership waived' promo).

Sunday was bad food wise. As stated I was under the weather, but not sick to my stomach. I didn't feel like 'food prep' and picked at stuff I didn't buy for myself. How bad is that, and I know EVERYONE does this. Danish-type stuff for breakfast, and the seafood lasagna - 13 pts worth on Sunday, then pizza for 6pts, small piece of pie, large glass of wine. All totalled, I was over around 19 pts (couldn't get an accurate est on the danish stuff), but without excess quantity consumed. Just bad choices. Get over it, Get on with it.

Very little food to choose from Mon and Tues, but we didn't do so badly. I managed to stick with daily pts and get in my GHGs with 'odd' selections - at least odd to me. Last night I ended up needing an F&V and an oil and had 1pt left. No fruit in the house, so I fried up some frozen asparagus in olive oil, but a skimming of mayo on weight watcher bread and enjoyed for 1pt, an oil and an F&V. This would not have been a 1st choice, but it was good. After supper, the LO and I hit the grocery. We were scheduled to go to the pool, but with preschool starting she's picked up a bug and I'd rather her not be in the pool this week.

The scale has been sedate for 2 weeks now. This morning it still only looked to be just below 165, which means to me that tonight will be another stays same or minor move. It feels like a plateau, but I'll give this week my best shot to take that sucker down a notch.

I was thinking about not weighing in, but I want to every week until Octoberbest is over. I feel the need to be accountable to my group. After that, I may skip the odd week that I know I haven't had a change. I had the summer saver plan, so my first 15 weeks I was paid for anyway, but now I pay-as-I-go (or pay with coupons) and am just not sure how it works. Just wondering if, by not going, do I not have to pay? And how often can you do that without losing your 'paid-up' status.

Rare before footage

Unbelievable that I allowed my picture to be taken without the 'child coverage' last Christmas. Only a head shot, but nonetheless. This wasn't at the largest I got, but I was not far off. I know - always hard to judge on a head shot. Stay away from full-length mirrors and you can bury yourself in self-denial for a while longer. It appears that I was having some fun anyway, so that's good.

I can't believe Christmas is only a few months away. Every year I plan to start early and never do. First thing first - gotta get through this week.

Oh, I finally got that link for an exercise program from my friend. My Dad, who was in the Royal Canadian Air Forces, likely used this. I also remember having to do many of these exercises in gym classes growing up. Here's the link http://www.gettingfitagain.com/ the program is the XBX for women or the 5BX for men.

Cheers all,

Weekends aren't Evil, But...

OK, If I'm going to be sick it generally never happens during the week. My body gets sluggish and the work days get more difficult, but never enough to call in and say, "I'm sick and won't be in today." then take the children to the sitters and suffer in peace. No, that rarely happens.

INSTEAD, I am sluggish all week and push to meet deadlines. My body awaits the magic of the weekend to shut down. Mark is on-course and I said I'd take the kids to his Mom's for the weekend. My mother was actually driving my brother home (he lives in the same town as mil) and was there for a visit when we got there. OK, we planned to meet there so I could get the convection oven and she could get her stain for the cottage that was at my house. Everyone got fed, then Mom left to go home. Within an hour I was in bed. Not in a good way. A headache hit that spread throughout my whole body. I hated to do it, but I left the kids with mil - but managed to tell them to turn the TV off and get ready for bed around 8:30. Amazingly, it worked. Could've gone the other way (i.e. they see your weakness and take advantage), but they were perfect angels all weekend. Guess I'll be in for it during the week.

I slept or was sluggish all day and finally came alive again last evening in time to pack the car and head for home.

Saturday I did great for food. I'd finished eating before the headache. Sunday...not so good.

Morning: Some kind of Blueberry iced danish thing - and too much of it as I kept taking slivers throughout the morning.
Lunch: Nothing substantial other than 1C Milk (a lame attempt at remembering Dairy GHG)
Supper: 1/3 of a very cheesy and saucy (frozen) seafood lasagna (I was starting to feel better), some brocolli (a lame attempt at remembering my F&Vs)
Late evening with hubby: 1/4 chicken parmesan thin crust pizza
Water: Maybe 4-5cups

I didn't meet any of my GHG's (maybe dairy) on Sunday and have no idea how many points I ate. I may try to calculate them later today. To make matters worse, my fridge is bare and I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I do have some bread, veggies, and 1/6 of that lasagna at work, so we'll get something in me and go out for lunch. Tonight is a definate trip to the grocery.

For exercise I've sucked - haven't done a thing since Thursday night. I'll blame it on whatever hit me and get moving again today. September - the season of back-to-school and catching every bug going. Woohoo.

Dance, Yoga, Food

Yesterday I ended up using 3 WPs and met all of my GHGs. Not bad and I was comfortable with the volume. I think the potatoe-leek soup had just passed its prime and did a bit of a number on me. Next time it'll get frozen until eaten. I think I'll make some more this weekend.

Dance class was slow as we're just getting into the season after the summer off. A few newbies in class, so we're reviewing all of the basics regarding form, etc. The leg kicks across the floor helped to build up a bit of heart rate. Last year the class would have really pushed me, but I'm more toned than before going in. A few commented on my hair (shorter), saying they knew something was different. I just said 'thank-you' and smiled on the inside. I put 10 lbs at least on in front of them over the last 2 years, so really, I'm not down so much from when I started dancing.

Then upstairs to yoga. It was interesting. We did the plank and some other stretches that I've been using anyway. There was a fair bit of lwr ab exercises. 'Rock the Baby' lifts your foot up into the cradle of your arm and is not so pleasant with smelly feet. I did enjoy it - the plan is to go for the 1st 10 weeks then re-evaluate if I want to continue or go into the 'just dance' class. All-in-all it was 90 minutes well-spent. Someone said about the 'others' who chose not to take this class that they couldn't afford the extra time. We laughed and laughed! Yeah, an extra 30 minutes to MYSELF, without kids or chores. Good lord it's such a sacrifice!

Ci says she doesn't like tap (after I spent $100 on tap shoes since she's now in women's footwear - selection is small, too) and I told her to stick it out for 10 weeks and we'll re-evaluate. I also think it's important to have the right footwear - who wants to be on their feet for an hour every week in shoes that hurt. I still need to get her some jazz shoes and hip/hop sneakers as her feet just grew so much this summer. I told her that bad weeds grow fast in the sunshine.

Today's eats:
Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Crunch with soy drink - 5pts
Lunch: 6" Subway Sw Onion Chicken Terriyaki with extra oil - 8pts
Coffee with milk (x2) - 2pts
Coffee with blend - 1pt
Lg Apple - 2pts

This leaves 4DPs+3-4WPs for supper. I'll need to top up my dairy servings and get in a veggie. KD for the kids tonight and tomorrow is grocery day.

Water - 6cups so far
F&V - approx 2 on the sub+apple, 4/5
Dairy - 1.5/2
Oil - 2/2

Today's ramble

Boring post today, but hey, it's whatever floats my boat, right? And I really feel the need to post something.

For the past 2.5 months I have been on some king of bi-weekly schedule. Every second week is a minor loss or a small gain. I actually expected it this week and am finding the whole thing rather amusing because - no matter how hard I work in the minor week it doesn't matter. Good thing Octoberbest ends Oct 3rd - should be a loss week.

I tried Wendie this past week again and have decided just to stick with my daily pts + an average of 3-4 weekly pts. Although I have been exercising, I don't think APs are worth 'eating' at this point. I will play this one by ear.

Between the whole milk in my coffee and the processed cheese I'm giving myself a dairy. Will likely have half a glass tonight as I do recognize that processed cheese doesn't technically count. Cup 4 of water finished while writing.

Weigh-In, Crazy Busy, Daily Eats

Up 0.2 this week. Weighed in at noon, so it may have impacted. Think I'm gonna give up Wendie. I think I was doing just about as well with an average of 4 ptd/day extra. Gonna go back to that and just track my APs - I also ate them this week for the first time.

I knew this would happen in September. I am crazy busy. Just booked hotel for October for a Dance competition. Hubby not sure if he can make it. Great, a 4 hour drive alone with the kids twice in 1 weekend.
I owe for this, I owe for that. Need dance shoes and stores say everything is back-ordered. Last night was rush, rush, rush - The 9yo to dance, hubby to study, I took the 4yo swimming (at least that was 25 minutes of relaxation. Tonight I have an appt and hubby is taking the monkeys with him to meet-the-teacher night - yeah, I said good luck. Tomorrow, the 9yo is taking tap, then I have half hour to get her home and back down for my class. Plus I need to pack her lunch for Friday as it's pizza day and she can't have it. I hate food allergies!!!
Busy means more difficult to eat healthy, but not impossible. I took the last 'home-made' frozen dinner out of the freezer this morning, will bring sandwich stuff for tomorrow and probably Subway on Friday.

Today's eats:

Breakfast - coffee with 2oz whole milk, approx 0.5C yogurt (end of carton), approx 1C frozen berries and 4-5 Tbsp granola (est 6 pts)

In lunch can:

• Orange 1pt
• Apple 2pt
• Some flax tortilla chips (LF) - 3 pts
• 6 pt frozen rice & chicken meatball dinner
• 3 pts potato-leek soup (will have this between 5-6pm after weigh-in as I won't get home until around 8pm)

Wow, that's 21 pts before I eat supper. Plus, I'll likely have another 1pt coffee before long as I stayed up and read a bit last night, so that's 22 and my daily pts. Guess I'll make supper light or just have a snack as it'll be late. Regardless, I'll need 1 serving of dairy for 2pts. I have a few weekly FPs left, earned 1 AP this morning, so we'll see. I don't usually worry too much about it as tomorrow is a new week.

6 Years of Blessings

Today seems to be the perfect day for reflecting on how we live, and giving blessings for our way of life. Much like many people, 6 years ago today I sat crying, staring at the television in disbelief. Our world changed, but thankfully not as much as some would have liked. I passed the Halifax International airport and the normally quiet little place was lined with airplanes that had landed in our little part of the world. Buses took travellers to shelters all day. I was so fortunate to be able to just go home.

6 Years of Blessings:

• I have a wonderful family and a husband who loves me. My children are full of love and not afraid to show it.
• My house, although not perfect, keeps us warm and dry.
• I was only without pay for 2 weeks after returning from maternity 4 years ago when my position was down-sized and they let me know 2 weeks before I was scheduled to return.
• My family has had some tough times financially, but we have always managed to pull through and come out better than when we started.
• We are healthy and free of illness which was so important during my time working without health coverage.
• Although I am still overweight, I am on my way to a healthy lifestyle and feel wonderful as a result. I am so thankful for all the support I get at my meetings, home, and on-line.

Swimming Away the Stress

Wow, what a great weekend. I bought some new-to-me 'duds on Thursday. Got them all washed up and ready to go. Got rid of a bunch of 16s on Sunday, woohoo!

Saturday afternoon I took the monkeys to the pool - our 1st trip to the indoor pool (Tues we missed the swim). The shallow end is 4ft, so the LO was in her lifejacket and had a noodle and just wanted to play on the table (they put it against the wall and she can stand waist deep). I took her out a bit and forced her to kick and follow me back to the 'board' as we call it. Next thing I know she was running down the board and jumping off with her noodle, kicking her way to the steps. Meanwhile, the 9yo was playing on the rope, diving board, and hanging around us. She was getting very annoyed as she thought this man was flirting with me. She reminded me that I was still overweight a number of times and was generally quite rude. I tried to tell her that Daddy was always chatty and with other Mom's. She responded, "Yeah, but... (huff), OK". I told Mark and he laughed that she felt she needed to 'protect' me (or maybe it was him she was protecting, lol).

On Sunday, hubby decided to come with us and was much impressed by the LOs comfort level in the water. She still thinks she needs the noodle, but she's having so much fun. I was glad Mark came with - not only did I get to go out in the deep end a couple of times with Ci, but it was nice just having us all do something together.


I made spaghetti squash with a tomatoe and bean type sauce (zuchinni, green cabbage, oregano, etc). I've only had spaghetti squash once before and didn't like it. I tried to eat it much like I've always eaten winter squash - as a side on its own with butter, not good. This time, even hubby liked it. I'm not having much luck with the kids, but I figure if I stop feeding them crap they're eventually gonna have to give in or starve.

I tried a new type of smoothie - Silken tofu based. Saturday morning I asked the 9yo if she felt like a chocolate and strawberry smoothie for breaky. The look said, 'YESSSS!' Soy chocolate drink, frozen strawberries, silken tofu, wheat germ and a bit of honey and you don't even know it's good for you. Yup, now she's hooked on silken tofu. Called me at the grocery last night to remind me to get more, LOL.


And finally, I started week 2 on my modified C25K. Well, I figured I could do more than 60 jog, 90 walk, but not 90 jog (as per schedule, see http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). I found that 75/75 works well. Did that Saturday morning and again today (3.6km in just over 30 mis). Hubby is impressed, saying that I'm more motivated towards this than anything he's ever seen me work at before (meaning getting in shape). I guess he missed the hours I spent studying my arse off - or maybe I should say studying my arse on. But Mamma's takin' it off now! Anyone interested in getting rid of the flabby arse and replacing it with a tight one, this is where I got my glute exercises, http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=727. These things are tough, but I'm going to keep doing them 3x/week - not the whole thing, I just picked 3 of the moves and will switch it up periodically. This would be considered part of my strength training, I guess, although I prefer to think of it as my butt workout.

Cheers,

TGIF

Hope Everyone Has an Awesome Healthy Weekend!

So excited that Dance is Starting

Officially a Dancing Geek Barbie

Wendesday WI, Measurement update, and School Started!

First off, I LOST 2.8 lbs this week.

And, in the past 8 weeks have lost 10.5 measured inches (9.2lbs in the same time frame)

Guess I did each thigh, but combined the arms - oh, well. Interestingly, I had no 'arm flex' 8 weeks ago. Hubby said to flex so he could take that too. I said, "I have no flex". He told me to anyway - and guess what? - 12.5 with a flex, baby!!! Woohoo! Guess those girly push-ups are doing something.

Also, since the summer saver program is over, I picked up 5 coupons. They were giving out desert recipe books for buying 5 or 10 coupons this week. 2 recipe books in 2 weeks - not bad. Think I'll pick some apples in the back yard and try this upside-down apple thing I spotted.

This morning was hectic. Last night Ci came to meeting with me and we went to the grocery to pick something up for her lunch for today. She wanted sushi and was upset because they ran out of chop sticks. Hubby found some in the cupboard - youda thought the world was ending if she didn't have these chop sticks. She also wanted her hair braided wet last night so it would be crinkly today. Then was getting stressed that she'd miss the bus this morning and couldn't or wouldn't eat breakfast. C-r-a-n-k-y. She does not transition well. It's started now, though. By next week we'll be old-hand.

Exercise, Gain - Reasons revealed

None of this is stuff we don't really already know, but to have it spelled out and put together so tight was a real revelation.

I would love to write this stuff and claim it as my own creation, but instead I'm going to tell you to go here (um, read the rest of my post first): http://phitnphat.wordpress.com/i-started-exercisingwhy-am-i-gaining-weight/, which explains, amongst other things, why it may take up to 6 weeks to see scale results after beginning to exercise. This lady also promotes the notion of strength training which I don't disagree with, but I personally need to build up slowly. As a side, I am very pleased with the amount of push-ups, crunches, and leg lifts (lay on side, lift top leg up, heel into thigh, down, repeat - 40 on each side, then later another 25) I can do after only a few weeks. I feel that I am adding muscle and trying to incorporate as many muscle groups as possible. Currently my resistance weight is just my own self, but that's good enough - for now. This site is awesome and full of information. I have added her link to the left: http://phitnphat.wordpress.com/

And, on top of that, here is an excerpt from her most recent post which I found most interesting. I took my measurements 8 weeks ago. I will post the results of inches lost tomorrow after I can take new measurements - kiddo's decided that the tape was a toy and I have NO idea where it got.

I endlessly discuss how you cannot live by the scale. It is such an inaccurate way to see weightloss success.

1. It doesn’t tell you what type of weight you are losing. Plenty of people who burn, burn, burn on the cardio neglect to add in strength training to their routine. These people lose a combination of fat and MUSCLE. Losing muscle may drop the scale numbers, but it also drops your ability to burn calories. Your goal in weightloss is to maintain or slightly build your muscle tissues while focusing on burning the fat off your body.
2. The numbers on the scale are faulty at times. Day to day you can gain and lose up to three to four pounds. Factors that influence the scale are stress, sodium, water retention from weight training, dehydration, hormones and so on. Even weighing once a week can be deceptive and that’s why I look at four weeks of numbers before casting judgment on the success of an eating and exercising plan.

Inches on the other hand…ahhh…this is a good sign of successful weightloss. Let’s say you in month one you lose 5lbs. After the first month you take your measurements and see you have lost 8 inches. Wow! That means you are losing fluffy fat and people are noticing. Now, take an identical person who just dieted and didn’t really exercise much. They lose 8lbs but only lost 2.5 inches overall. This person likely lost a lot of muscle and some fat. Not only is their appearance to other people just about the same as it was 8lbs. ago, but they lost their lean, metabolically active muscle tissue in the process. What does this mean to you? Less food you can eat when you hit your goal weight, the risk of developing osteoporosis, and a flabby appearance.

Oh - and woohoo - the yoga room is upstairs from dance class (2 different businesses) and this year they have teamed up and are offering a 90 minute combo class (45/45). I talked to hubby and get to take it. I am sooooo excited as I don't have to choose;-))

Bought a 3-month pool membership last night. Open swim on Tuesday nights is out for 9yo as it conflicts with her competitive dance class, but there's still swims on weekends plus discounts on lessons.

Finally, I'm doing week 1, day 3 of C25K at noon. I brought a change of clothes and scoped out my route. Weigh-in is tonight, so will report weight and measurement results tomorrow.

Cheers, and Happy Hump Day!!!

Good Thoughts ONLY

So, BB and I made a pact to think only the good things about ourselves this week. Bad thoughts must be squashed, hahahaaahaaaaaaaa (that's my wicked laugh).
OK, so then I was reading another post by Phit n Phat that talked about the power of the mind. Check it out http://phitnphat.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/mind-over-matter/
To chop this up even further, a couple of weeks ago, Swizzle said "Post something positive about myself every day to help boost my self image" as part of her goals. She's still doing this. I followed suite and posted one thing for 6 different days about myself here: http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal.asp?id=CANDACE101&showall=YES
The process actually assisted in some self-evaluation and I found that I needed to justify WHY I was saying what I was about myself. Why can't we just say the nice thing and drop it. Probably for the same reason we can't just say 'Thank you' when offered a compliment. I must teach my children how to do that.
I've come to the conclusion that part of our plunge into self-abuse (i.e. letting ourselves go) is that we don't feel, on some level, that we deserve good things. I think posting something positive - WITHOUT explanation - is required. Something good about me, NOW - not 20 lbs from now. It's the power of positive thoughts that will win the day.

So, without further ado: I am a very forgiving person. Just because I forgive does not mean I forget. Forgetting is a bad thing. No, I can forgive and still love/like someone for who they are - in spite of themselves in some cases. This allows me to take the good from these people - enjoy them for everything they have to offer me - and leave the bad at the door. There, no further explanation required.

Staying Motivated and Moving

I finally found a link to the C25K this week. Not sure I'm gonna do it all, but I am gonna do week 1, at least for this week. Also, shaking up my morning routines and increasing time to 12 mins.

Day 1 - Glutes (3 types - 2 sets - 20 and 12) - no push-ups. Will do alternating toe touches and various other stretches instead, including some lunge-type activity I learned in dance class last year. I find daily push-ups too much on my arms.

Day 2 - Crunches (I did 60 Friday), push-ups (2 sets of 20), arm twirls, toe touches, leg lifts, etc.

Sundays - off

Sat/Mon/Wed - Daily walk will be done with 8 1-minute jogs. I did this yesterday with hubby and it wasn't too bad. WOW! Did I just say that? Also, I got permission to take some extra lunch time since I'm here late most nights (and Sundays, as in today)

I'm not doing bad on the food front. I've GOT to get some groceries, but it looks like I'm stuck until Tuesday evening now. Main bummer is that I have none of my milk or yogurt, we only have homogenized (my coffee 'cream') and regular soy drink (an extra point per cup). I could pick up 1% dairy at the convenience store - I hate dairy milk. My fault for not getting to the grocery before it closed.

Went shopping for school supplies yesterday. I love this annual trip. We got the stuff on the list, then went over to Cleve's (a local sporting goods store) to look at their sneakers. Ci has outgrown 'children's' shoes and is in a size 7. Wal Mart had nothing. She saw a couple pair that she liked. One was on sale, but the soles were discoloured. The others were not on sale. But wait, the lady said they were a part of a promotion where you buy 1, get the 2nd pair for $1. Ci was like, "I get 2 Pair!" - Uh, no honey. Yes mame, may I see those tres expensive walking shoes over there - yes - they are part of that promotion too? Yes! Great! I love them! No - I don't need to try on a different pair, these are fine. - Anyway, we both got sneakers, and at a price that I would have expected to pay for 2 pairs. My Reebok's are so comfortable.

Oh, and just because, here's the results of 14 weeks OP- the summer of change. I just can't believe how far I've come. The last few weeks have been slow from a weight-loss perspective (3.8 in 5 weeks), but activity has become much more regular and enjoyable. It's all good.