Oh My - News and summer

Dear, I have totally disassociated myself with the internet I think. The stupid thing kept crashing all spring - we suspect there is a bad wire on the line somewhere, but once the technician showed up it's been working since. My brother has been here and we've been busy...sort of. There has been painting, sanding and staining of items as well as a clean-up that seems to not last long enough anywhere. But you don't want to hear about all of that.

I will start by saying that is has been a stressful spring. After my layoff I suffered from mild insomnia. When my severance ran out my employer submitted and inaccurate Record of Employment and my claim was threatened rejection for benefits. Over a 6-week period I had to keep contacting them and they submitted 2 more inaccurate Records; however, the last one only had a pay-out ommission, so I just reported it and requested they contact the employer with any further questions. My claim is still being reviewed, but the are at least making payments based on the information submitted.

Anyway, during all of this I broke out in...lets call them hives for now. Well, I had just read an article on bed bugs, so I freaked out and actually pulled my back during the ensuing 'investigation'. I finally got into see my doctor and he (erroneously) diagnosed me with scabbies. Ironically, I was the only one showing signs in my family and was totally confused by this diagnosis, but began treatment. After several weekly treatments that did seem to offer temporary relief I requested to be referred to a dermatologist who now has be on steroids for Lichen Planus. This may put a glich into my getting back on track.

Ummm, yeah...during all of this craziness and poisoning myself with nasty creams I did slip up. Come on...this is in my scalp, mouth, back, arms, lower legs and feet - very generalized but a classic case according to the dermatologist. In case anyone is interested it is extremely itchy on the skin and painful in the mouth. Anyway, one evening I was even 5 lbs over my goal weight. I began drinking my water immediately and was much more diligent about writing before biting. On Saturday I officially weighed and was 2 lbs under goal. I suspect I will really need to rely on tracking and planning to get through this - steroids and weight-loss don't often mix. It sounds too like the steroid treatment is 'phase 1' and that this disorder is not easily cured. I am being optimistic though - I can at least hug and kiss my family again.

Hope your spring was better. Take care, Candace

Enough Lallygagging

OK - not sure what is wrong with my. I don't expect a loss tonight. Last night I made an incredibly healthy dinner - well, I did use white basmati instead of the brown though. Anyway, a great stirfry with lean meat and lots of veggies made with a WW inspired sauce. I loved it and decided to...gulp...have a second helping. No biggie, right? Wrong. It wasn't in my plan. I didn't need it. AND I ate until stuffed. I did finally stop myself with half a plate left and put it in the fridge for today. I just finished it for morning snack.

If that wasn't enough, my daughter made an apple dessert from a 1970's cookbook and I had a (large) piece. It wasn't even that good and I told her afterwards that all recipes in that book need to have the sugar cut (at least) in half.

BUT, I am going to weigh-in tonight and am walking this afternoon. But before that, I have to finish some food prep and do a workout. Take care.

IS IT MARCH ALREADY!!!

Hello all!

It IS March already. Man - I'm not showing the virtual world any love lately.

WELL...OK, I'll fess up. Between mid-January weigh-in and the last week in February weigh-in I am (gulp) up 5.2 lbs. There you have it. I've been totally OUT of it. I'm not making any promises and what I'll do - because I obviously have no accountability to myself here. Still 0.6lbs under goal though.

SO - I'm going to Phat Camp with Phit-n-phat in June. Gotta start prepping for that. I also found my sign-in card for the gym, so when I'm ready to re-join I won't need to buy another one. Hubby is still on permanent evenings - so that still sucks.

What HAVE I done? Well, I realized my 'environment' was going to pot. Well, dirty pots, spilled molasses, frozen cake in front of the frozen veggies, pie on the counter, candy at eye level in the pantry instead of up high. You get the picture right? So, I resolved to fix it. I cleaned the pantry and am trying to take back ownership for the groceries that come into the house again.

I've also re-established my weekly meetings with my friend and unofficial life-coach. We're working our way through some 30 year-old Anthony Robbins tapes. Continuous improvement is important. I mean change is inevitable - we're not going to be in this same place next year anymore than we were here last year. Changing in a positive direction though is entirely under your control.

Next on my list is moving my computer into the dining room space and cleaning up my gym space. Right now the computer and related clutter as well as winter gear have taken over my gym space.

And the Scale drops the morning AFTER Weigh-in

OK, so last night was not my official weigh-in. But, I had stepped on the scale last Monday evening (with indoor jacket and boots on) and kept track of my points all week. So, last night I stepped on the scale again to get a feel for what was happening - and because all of this was related to a new meeting project for the travelling journal. Yesterday morning I had also stepped on my home scale. Let me give you a re-cap of what the various scales said:

Monday the 5th - evening: WW scale: 150.0
Monday the 12th - morn: Digital devil: approx 152
Monday the 12th - evening: WW scale: 149.6
Tuesday the 13th - morn: Digital devil: approx 148

Just goes to show you that the scale provides feedback only. The general trend is down (yay for journaling). Having said all of this, I will only be weighing-in once a week in the future. Multiple weigh-ins are not good for stress level (of course, WW already knows that).

By Wednesday evening I will have my 'official' WW WI (sweaters and shoes removed). The last 'official' WI was well before Christmas and I am not expecting to see a number below 145 again yet, so I have some work to do. And, I am looking forward to attending a meeting as a member. Sticking with WW pts for weight-loss again this week.

The Best Defense

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I walked into the lunch room at work and saw not one, but several boxes and bags of treats. From chocolate and cookies to pretzels and chocolate-covered caramel popcorn. Then what landed at lunch? Food from a cancelled meeting. Sandwiches, soups, sweats and a veggie tray.

I didn't do so well with the chocolate, had a bowl of leek soup, a half sandwich made with real chicken (not the processed stuff) and stuffed myself on the veggie tray. It could have been worse. The treats are still here today. What would you do?

Ahem...what would you do?

Jan 5/08 - Day 1 of a commitment to write it before you bite it.

Coffee with whole milk (1)
Oatmeal with blueberries, 2/3C soy drink and splenda (5)
Water and multivitamin
Coffee with whole milk (1)

Make pulic my commitments:

1. Track all foods eaten for this week
2. Cardio - 30 mins - 5x
3. Strength training - 2x
4. NO chocolate this week

It's 9:40am on Day 1 - So far, so good. I will be tracking in my handy-dandy WW 3-month journal this week and then hand the journal on to one of my members to track in next week. Talk about accountability!

So, what do you think about a rotating journal in meetings? Is this something you would do? We'll be marking the weekly weight-loss of the different members in the book - hopefully starting with me. Also, is it a good idea to start the book with me. My thoughts were: I wouldn't ask you to do it unless I was willing to do it myself. Plus, it provides a good template (I think). Thoughts and feedback on this are greatly appreciated.

What goes up MUST come down:)

Well, let me fill you in on sommin. After last weeks 4 lb gain I experienced a 3.2 lb loss this week. I'm going to tell you this - that gain was a much-needed kick in the caboose.

Without the gain I likely would have gone through the next couple of weeks blissfully thinking I could 'cheat' the system. One cracker with brie would have turned into 2 and a couple shortbread cookies. And next thing you know, I'd be butting 150 and looking for some size 12's. But no - instead I have renewed vigour.

I have documented my not-so-stellar week and watched my daily eating habits improve a bit each day as I made adjustments based on the previous days results. Most importantly, I am eating enough in the mornings now. No more 3-4 pt breakfasts and skipping snack. Not for this 'lil 'ole Weight Watcher. Yesterday and today I ate a huge breakfast and made sure I had my morning snack. Wanna know what my breakfast was?

Into a microwavable safe dish add:
1/3 C oatmeal
a little less than 2/3C water
a whole egg

Microwave for 2 minutes or less. Stir. Mic until egg finished cooking.

Add some frozen berries or fruit

Mic until fruit defrosted

Enjoy with a cup of coffee made with splenda and 2Tbsp whole milk (1/8C, btw)

OK - This may be on the high side for a lot of you, but let me tell you something really important that I've learned during 2008. Ready?

If you eat more in the morning, you'll be less tempted to eat in the evening. Sounds crazy, but it's so true. At my best, I ate at least 6 pts each morning, 2-3 pts mid-morning, 5-6 pts at lunch and 2 - count them - 2 afternoon snacks before landing home at supper. This turns out to be 7 pts, but that could easily be reduced by using 2 egg whites instead of a whole egg (I'm just uber lazy).

Commitments for this week:
1) Track all food eaten in my handy-dandy WW tracker which is kept in my sexy new pocket guide.
2) Walk for 150 minutes (back to basics here, too).

Tonight at Weigh-In

I do not expect a loss over last week. In fact, I expect that gain to solidify or grow slightly. Why do I not feel badly about that?

1) I've been tracking all week in e-tools and my handy-dandy new tracker.
2) My food choices and evening slurge choices have significantly improved over the course of the week.
3) I have been faithfully reporting into Phit-n-Phat and doing some reflection of the past year.
4) I turned down chocolate today.
5) I turned down chocolate today.

The chocolate was worth mentioning twice because it signifies a chance in thought process from"one piece won't hurt" to "it really isn't worth it".

Oh, and did I mention that I turned chocolate down today?

+4 - Say Wah?

OK Folks...I know I haven't been stellar, but 4 lbs in 2 weeks after maintaining within a pound for 4 months is a little nutty. And likely erroneous. Why do I say that?

Well, I weigh in EVERY Monday night when I give my meetings - very informal thing because our floors are tilty and we have to check the balance and make sure we're on a flat surface so people don't tip (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Well, because of my weekend habits - I wouldn't say unhealthy, but this is when I indulge a bit - the scale is a wee bit higher. Now, in the grand scheme of things, it is also fairly steady one Monday to the next - just to reassure Monday weighers that it's about consistency.

I will digress right now and say that the scale number is NOT the reason I still officially weigh on Wednesdays. I like to check out Fiona's meetings - she's awesome and I focus on different things like how I could improve my own meetings. Also, I love the feedback and group talks in these meetings. So, it makes sense to weigh-in and attend monthly meetings there. I also have plans of attending other meetings in the New Year with some of the other leaders. Call it training.

Now, the scale on Monday night was a little higher than it has been, but not significantly so.

Also, Tuesday nights meal consisted of grabbing some cold chicken breasts and apple pie and stuffing my face while standing at the fridge. Oh, don't give me that look like you've never done it. In fact, I was being rushed out the door to get to the Christmas Concert. After the concert, there was also an incident with J's gingerbread house. It's too painful to talk about right now, but I think it contributed to Wednesdays number.

My Tuesday

After eating whatever struck my fancy for what feels like 3 weeks, I stood on the scales on Monday night. OK, I'm ready to fess up. I did have my shoes on and hadn't done my usual potty trip, but it read 151.4lbs. WOW! Well, it had said the same thing the week before. Keep in mind, these are unofficial weighs taken directly after the weekend without concern for accuracy. Call it a weigher-inner perk. After I got home at ate supper on Monday my own scale was in the high 150's.

So, yesterday I have calculated eating around 20 pts of pretty good choices. Mostly f&v, but also coffee with whole milk, some WW multi-grain bread. I ate at Tim Horton's for supper and chose a bowl of chili and only ate half the bun. All told, the scale move down for this morning to around the 146/147 mark. I tend to find my home scale first morning weigh relatively representative of my before supper evening weigh at WW. I think a week of eating clean foods will help. I'll be moving to more of a 20% protein intake and working on around 60% carbs, mostly complex. I need to move away from sugary, fatty foods entirely for a while.

Forgot the school supply list yesterday, so Ci and I went shopping. She bought some beading supplies and then we went to the mall. She found a great sweater at The Childrens Place and I also picked up some lunch bags there as well as a 3-ring binder (for myself). We also bought some gym slippers for dance for the girls and window-shopped elsewhere. I resisted Cinnabons coming in and out of the mall - I think I'm going to have to boycott that entrance.

Have a great week.

Thoughtful Thursday:

Be warned, this post is a bit lengthy, so I’ve included a summary.

1. Did the virtual post-it note work? You asked, I answer.
2. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Eating Clean. What happens when you don’t have your cooler?
3. Weigh-In Results Show.
4. Would you consider working for Weight Watchers?
5. What’s a BLT? The act or the food? A musing.
   

1. The virtual post-it note. Did it work? Yes – and No. Or maybe No – and Yes. No, I did not get in my ST session on Tuesday night, but thanks to all my great blogging buddies I felt extremely guilty and put in a session this morning. Superman, Chest press, Overhead press, toe taps, lunges, squats, bicep curls, lat raises and some others. 3 sets of mostly 10 reps using mostly 10 lb weights - 12 activities in total. Check that one off. Next scheduled workout is Saturday.

2. My meals for any given day consist of breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, late afternoon snack – all before going home to supper and evening snack. Well, that’s a full 4 meals I take in my cooler every day. Yesterday I asked my 9yo to take my lunch to the car. I looked around on my way out the door and saw that my cooler was gone and proceeded with the morning kiddie drop-off. When I got to work I looked in the back seat. Hmmm, maybe she put it in the trunk. No – look back in the car, again in the trunk. I’m very confused and really not sure how I am going to get through the day. My yogurt and berries; My chicken, broccoli and asparagus; My tuna, egg and rice cake; My cottage cheese and almonds. All gone. Well, I survived. The 4yo hadn’t wanted her oatmeal, to I ate that late morning, then went around 2pm to Tim Horton’s for chili, ham and cheese roll, coffee and a donut. The donut should have been a don’t, but I’m moving forward. Meanwhile, the 9yo felt extremely guilty for having stuffed my lunch in her backpack so she asked her teacher to keep it in the teachers’ fridge. The teacher asked if it was OK for her to look to see what I packed. Well, I’ve told you what was in there. Her comment was that this was the healthiest lunch she’s ever seen. That comment made me feel very good indeed.

3. I went to weigh-in last night and am in new territory, with a 0.8 lb loss. I am now 143 lbs. Ooooooh, so close to 140, but I am aware these last few pounds are painfully slow to take off.

4. After the WW meeting I was asked to hang back a bit. Would I ever consider working for Weight Watchers? Yes, I would. My leader will put my name forward and I am not to be surprised if I get a call. I have thought about this, but really didn’t ‘think’ about it in reality terms for just yet, you know. It made me feel very good, though.

5. Finally, a musing. The definition of BLT: Bite, Lick, Taste. I kind of laugh, because my musing isn’t really about not BLTing, but the definition of a BLT. It's not about how you shouldn't like the knife after spooning out ice cream for the kids or 'steal' a fry from someone else's plate. For instance, if I am making my snacks in the morning and lick the spoon after filling my container, is this a BLT? The food was measured and is on my eating plan for later today, but is that the point? Or even weekly food prep – if it is my food for the week, does it matter if I taste-test on Sunday? Now, part of me says no it's not a BLT – it’s your food, destined to land in your stomach (I would otherwise scrape the spoon into the container, see). Another part of me says, the ACT is BLT and there is a treacherous path between going from licking the spoon of yogurt in the morning to licking the spoon of ice cream for the kids in the evening. The act is a lick – and the act is mindless and often goes unnoticed. The act is a bad habit that I, for one, need to focus on.

That’s it for today. I had a lot to get out, so I hope you enjoyed some or all of my daily ramblings. Cheers for today.