Coolest Idea Ever

Ok, I actually prefer cold coffee but I saw something today that was just too cool not to share with someone.  You know those little warmer plates that you can plug in and you put scented candles on them and they warm the candle to release the aroma?  They're like little hot plates but they don't get quite as hot as a traditional hot plate.

Well I saw someone using one of these on their desk to keep their coffee warm!!  How shmart is that!!!  If I drank hot coffee, tea, cocoa, etc. I would so totally do that!

It kinda makes me wonder what other kinds of cool, unique ideas people have come up with our there in the world that no one knows about yet.

In other news: I'm trying to increase exposure to the author page that I created for my book so if anyone is so inclined to check it out, "like" it if you've got a second, even pass it along to your friends if you're so inclined.  I would appreciate it.  And for those of you that have mentioned you're waiting for the paperback version of the book; it's getting close to going to print and I keep the Facebook page updated as soon as I have new info so that's a good place to keep informed.  Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLMSmith
 




Food:
110 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
1 healthy choice lunch
1.5 tuna twisters
2 pieces tuna nigiri
1 monkey ball (mushroom dumpling)
1 mochi
------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 916




Activity:
Walking: Had a 20 minute wait for a table at dinner and went walking around to kill time
More stressing: No bueno
Playing: Woke up really early this am so I ran around the yard playing with Vladdy as opposed to torturing myself over not being able to sleep until the alarm goes off.

Sleeping Improvements

Alright boys and girls, as many of you know I've been having sleeping trouble for years now and I mention it every so often here on my blog.  Starting last week I tried Tylenol PM for the first time and noticed only a minimal improvement.  I still laid in bed for two hours trying to fall asleep (something that I don't normally do) and I still woke up around 3 a.m. for no apparent reason (something I've done every single night since October 2009).  After that I still slept so light that a mouse taking a shit would have woken me up (I've woken up to the cat sneezing in the kitchen, pigeons flapping their wings outside the bedroom window, and Snackers' tooting in his sleep before).  BUT, I did get 6 hours of sleep instead of my usual four because I went to bed at 7:30 and fell asleep at 9 instead of the usual 11, and I did feel like the quality of sleep between 9pm and 3 am was a lot better.

But I think I've found some more creative and less Rx ways of dealing with sleep.  First of all, in an attempt to cure my sleeping troubles in January I splurged on an extremely expensive mattress and some expensive, high quality sheets, to no avail.  In July I bought new, higher quality pillows, to no avail.  But part of the problem is that my extremely expensive mattress is SO THICK that even the deepest pocket sheets I can find won't stay in place on it so every night before bed I find myself running around the bed tucking all the sheets back over the corners and pulling them down on the sides.  They rarely ever come totally off the corners because they get caught on the memory foam pillow top that's sewn into the mattress but they do bunch up under us while we're sleeping and I got sick of fixing them, so I bought some sheet suspenders on Amazon.  They sat on the dining room table for a week or two before I finally convinced Snackers to help me put them on the bed Sunday night and SHOCKER, I slept for 8 hours straight!

No shit!  It was the sheets!  I figure I must have been waking up around 3 a.m. every morning because that's about the time that the sheets slip off the mattress enough to start getting on my nerves.  Monday night, 7.5 hours!  HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!!  Tuesday night, not so good because Casper likes to climb in the bathtub in our master bathroom and chew on the faucet.  I'm not kidding, he bites the tap in the bathtub and pulls on it, then lets it go and it makes this soft thunking sound.  I think he's obsessed with sounds because I know he's not looking for water - we bought the cats a water fountain with a filtration system and aerator on it.  So last night I put about an inch of water in the bottom of the tub and plugged it.  HAHA I'm so smart!!!  Casper doesn't mind water but he's not about to jump into a puddle of cold water when Snackers or I aren't around to save him if he can't get out.  I slept like the dead last night.  It's a miracle!!!!




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup of grapes
1/2 cup of blueberries
2 cups of honeydew cubes
1 ear of corn boiled w/salt
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 757
(sorry, I just didn't have an apatite tonight)




Activity:
Playing: running around the yard playing with Vladdy during lunch
Walking: Short distances at football practice
Stressing: Elevated heart rate, shallow breathing, sweating ... all the descriptions associated with exercise so I'm sure I burned some calories tonight because I was realllllly stressed.

Reconsiderations

Although I drank my coffee black yesterday and it wasn't really that bad, I'm kind of starting to reconsider my decision to give up my tsp of creamer every day.  When I gave up soda part of the reason that I started to drink coffee was because it, with a little bit of flavored creamer, felt like a little sweet treat every morning for only 35 calories or less (35 calories is for 2 tbsps but I cut back from that awhile ago).  Now that I've given up my creamer my little morning indulgence is gone and it's just a boring old cup of coffee.

I suppose I could just stop drinking coffee entirely but I like coffee, and coffee has a lot of health properties.  For one thing, everyone said that taking pre-natal vitamins might cause constipation and I'm relatively certain that my daily coffee is largely responsible for why that hasn't happened.  So I'm thinking of buying creamer again when we go grocery shopping.  I mean, 35 calories or less is NOT bad for a little daily indulgence that makes watching what I eat the rest of the day easier right?

Cheeseburger on Sunday, for example.  We left the house in such a rush that I didn't get to make my usual cup of coffee at home so we stopped at Starbucks and I ordered a coffee with skim milk over ice and put in a packet of Splenda.  Since Splenda is zero calories I got the count for the coffee/milk directly from the Starbucks website because it is actually on their menu (kudoz to them, by the way, for offering at least ONE semi-decent option among their caramel macchiato's and mocha double frappachino's with whip).  30 calories and it didn't even taste half as yummy AND because they have a tendency to STUFF the cup with ice I'm pretty sure I only got about 6 - 8 oz anyway.  And for the rest of the day I had this nagging craving for something totally unhealthy.  Just about anything would have fit the bill and it ended up being a cheeseburger that day.  I'm absolutely positive that it's all in my head but still ... 35 calories of creamer a day seems like a small price to pay doesn't it?  Or am I rationalizing again?





Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 serving leftover shepherds pie
1/2 serving peanut butter
1 avocado w/salt
--------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 949




Activity:
Walking: Walked to the mailbox to check the mail
Moving furniture: Moved a recliner that we're trying to sell out into the garage to get it out of the way.
Cleaning: Helped Snackers clean out up the garage finally.  It's become a dumping ground for misc. shit since we moved in but now it's somewhat organized and it looks so much bigger! lol
Misc.: Hung a few Halloween decorations.
Playing: Ran around the yard playing with Vladdy for 10 - 15 minutes before he got tired and crashed in his kiddie pool.  Big party pooper.

What a Monday

Yesterday was go-go-go all day long!  I had a super busy day at work and ended up skipping one of my ten minute breaks and cutting my lunch break short so that I wouldn't get behind.  I completely skipped breakfast in any format, inhaled the Healthy Choice lunch as fast as I possibly could and returned to work.  Thankfully, Snackers came home around mid-day and saved me with the last three bites of his ham sandwich and that got me through the rest of the afternoon.

After work I had dinner and went right to work re-reading/editing my book.  Just when I'm thinking a little peanut butter snack or a Fiber One bar might be good, Snackers come in and announces that it's time to leave for bowling and why am I not ready.  What?  Bowling?  Huh?!

So about a month or so ago we just happened to walk by this flyer for a "cheapskate league" at the local bowling alley (we just happened by it because the local bowling alley is in a casino that we often frequent) and at only $5 per week Snackers decided to join up and I totally forgot about it!  So no time for a Snack, I had to run around like a crazy person to get ready and head out the door.  When we got there I wished, almost instantly, that I had joined the league too.  I didn't join originally because I have to cut off all of the fingernails on my bowling hand so that I don't rip them off and I didn't want to do that.  Well now I'm wishing I had because they looked like they were having a lot of fun and it's a cheapskate league so they don't even really keep score from week to week, it's just a way to play, practice, have fun, and meet new people.  I wanna pway!!!

So we got home sometime after 11 and I literally went straight to bed.  I didn't even think to publish yesterday's post or nothin'.  I even left letting the dogs out to potty and bringing them back in up to Snackers.  When he got done he came in the bedroom and was like "wow ... tired huh?".  lol  Being too busy to eat can be a good thing if it's not a common habit I suppose.  On the upside I wasn't very active yesterday so my true caloric deficit is a lot lower than it would have been had I, say, played three games of bowling.  (P.s. yes the bowling alley had a Snack bar but my options were cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and pizza.  No tanky! I did drink 3 styrofoam cups of water though, so my water intake was actually a little higher than what I posted for yesterday.)




Food:
130 oz of water
1 cup of coffee (no creamer, it's gone!)
1 serving cantaloupe juice
1 Healthy Choice lunch
4 strawberries
5 crackers w/ham cheese slices
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 medium artichoke boiled w/salt
1 ear of corn boiled w/salt
2 tbsps peanut butter
-----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 947




Activity:
Cleaning: Cleaned the patio, emptied Vladdy's pool, washed it out and refilled it
Cleaning: Cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes
Walking: Multiple short distances at football practice
Jogging: Jogged w/Piper across the football field just for fun

Weigh-In #47

In January I bought a new mattress and it's one of those big giant, deep mattresses that they don't yet make sheets big enough to fit but I discovered some Sheet Suspenderson Amazon a few weeks ago and we finally got around to putting them on the bed last night.  It was heaven!  I am just one of those people that loves a nice, tidy bed and hates wrinkles and crumples in the sheets beneath me.  Maybe that's why I slept so much better last night, even without the help of Tylenol PM or even a single glass of wine.

This morning my animals didn't wake me up ... nor did Snackers; my phone beat them all to it lol.  However, the purpose for our trip to Bass Pro Shops yesterday was because Snackers decided to invest in a high quality training collar for Vladdy because we're just sick of dealing with his spoiled rotten behavior.  I am pleased to announce that, so far, it's working.  He got a buzz last night for chasing Kody, barking at Piper when she opted to ignore his insane attempts to inviting her to play, and whining in his kennel after we went to bed.  And guess what ... he's been quiet alllllll morning.  Delighted sigh of relief.


Of all the dogs I've owned, part-owned, trained, or helped raise, Vladdy is by far the most stubborn, out of control, spoiled rotten, destructive, pain in the ass ever ... until now.  So this morning, I'm feeling pretty damn good despite the fact that I weighed in at 228.0.  I am so tired of seeing losses mid-week and then being right back to where I started come Monday morning.  From 228 to 225, a new all time low, and then right back up to 228 by weigh-in.  I either need to change my weigh-in dates or do something different about my weekend habits because this is getting insane!








Food:
120 oz water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1/4 ham sammich from Snackers
1 healthy choice lunch
1 serving leftover shepherds pie
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 727
(I know, this is lower than even I like but I'll explain what happened in today's blog post.  It wasn't on purpose.)




Activity:
Very unproductive.  Snackers has joined a bowling league now (yeah football 3 nights a week and bowling 1 night a week) so I sat and watched him play three games.  Actually, I'm kind of wishing now that I had joined with him but, at the time, all I could think about was how much throwing a damn ball hurts my hands.

No Plans

I know I posted, on Friday, that I would be going to Art in the Park today but I found out last night that we had the dates confused and Art in the Park is actually next Sunday, not today.  I immediately asked Snackers about going kayaking today instead but he said his back still hurts and he needs to let it heal so I have no idea what our plans will be for today.  He'll probably just want to hang out at the house and watch football today.  I like football but I really look forward to spending Sunday out doing something fun so I'm trying to come up with some ideas that maybe I can do without him if he insists on being really stubborn.

If I'd had more notice I might have been able to ask one of my friends if they want to go kayaking with me but I hate asking people about doing something day-of because it usually, in my experience, puts them in an awkward spot.  I'm the type of person that usually likes to plan ahead for most things (I know my family is thinking 'since when?') so I don't like possibly putting others on the spot with no notice.

I'm sure we can come up with something to do ... I hope.




Food:
80 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 cheeseburger
1/2 order fries
1 cup shepherd's pie
--------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 978





Activity:
Walking: Snackers and I walked around Bass Pro Shops for 2.5 - 3 hours because the one here in Vegas is that big and THAT COOL!  Also walked through the Silverton Casino adjacent to the store.
Stairs: 2 flights up and down
Shopping: Stopped at Kohl's for a new pair of skinnier pants for me and then did our weekly grocery shopping.  I volunteered to carry the 60 lb bag of dog food and when Snackers accused me of making him look like a wuss in public I had to remind him that I've lost as much as the bag of dog food weighs so I used to walk around carrying that much weight every day of my life!!  He was stunned and just reflected on that for a minute ... all he could say was 'wow'.

The Author's Club

Well, the day I thought would never come is here.  I've become a member of the author's club.  After being rejected by over a dozen different publishers because "the market is saturated with vampire books" (their words), I decided to self-publish on Amazon because vampire book enthusieists like me just can't get enough of them.  I've read every one I can find, some suck, some are good but I read them all seeking the gems among the rough.

I first started writing short stories and poetry when I was a kid but could never finish a story to save my life.  Last year I finally woke up one morning with an idea: an idea that had a beginning, middle, and end - so I wrote it.

I'll be the first to admit it's not the best book I'll ever write (the one I'm working on now is going to be awesome) but I did make myself cry while writing my own ending ... that's saying something right? :)  I'm not expecting to become super famous over night or for this book to ever hit the #1 best seller's list but it feels good to finish something like this and see it through, all the way to print.  I even did my own cover.

So the eBook version is available on Amazon already.  I have ordered the proof for the print version and am awaiting it's arrival.  Once I proof it, if there aren't any major formatting issues, I'll be able to submit the paperback for print-to-order which means Amazon will print each copy as it is ordered so there will be no up-front costs on my part which is nice.  This is a great way to start the day ... I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Oh yeah!  Here's the link in case anyone is curious. :) 
Oh, and as a side-note: I weighed just for shits and giggles at 5 a.m. this morning: 225!!!! BOOM BABY!!!!





Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving peanut butter
2 grilled ahi tuna steaks
1 piece manapua
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
2 sugar cookies
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 814




Activity:
Walking:  Walked to the mailbox and back where I found my copy of my book, in print.  YAY!
Walking: We were the visiting team for football this week so we had to walk from the back parking lot to the field entrance.  Climbed the stadium steps 3.5 times and then walked back to the car.
Not Active: Spent the rest of the day reading my author's copy of my book.  I couldn't put it down!  The ending even made me cry ... again!

Art In The Park

I received and invitation yesterday to join three of my gal-pals for Art in the Park here in the Vegas area and I am stoked!  I went with one of these gals last year and we had a lot of fun but we were both having a really hard time walking around enjoying everything.  Me because I was still so overweight and my friend because she has some hip problems from her childhood.  Well she and I have both lost weight since last year and she's had surgery for her hip so we can both get around better than we did last year and we are way excited about going again this year!

Art in the Park is this awesome little cultural event where lots of local (and some national) artists set up booths to show off and sale their work.  The art ranges from sculptures and paintings to crafts and knick knacks and the event is just huge.  They have little booths set up throughout the park for food and beverages as well and, because it's Vegas, many of the beverages are alcoholic.  It's just going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait until Sunday!!!




Food:
110 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 medium artichoke
>>boiled w/salt
1 large ear of corn
>>boiled w/salt
1 serving fish and chips
>>w/vinegar
-----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 818




Activity:
TGIF - I took a long hot bath, laid in bed for awhile watching the History channel and now I'm going to be early again in the hopes of getting some good sleep.

Missed A Day

I had a horrible day yesterday - I mean just horrible.  I'm still having major problems with being able to stay asleep once I fall asleep or being able to go back to sleep once I wake up.  I got about 4 hours on Sunday and Monday night (each), and probably less than 3 hours on Tuesday night of really good, quality sleep.  Sometime around 3 a.m. every single morning I wake up for no apparent reason and from that point on I am drifting in and out of such a light sleep that I sometimes can't even tell if I'm asleep or awake because I'm fully aware of every little tiny thing that is going on around me (Snackers rolling over, though he's not a disruptive sleeper, the cats moving around the house even if they're not being loud, etc.).  Sometimes I think that I can hear things when I am in this state of sleep that I probably wouldn't even be able to hear if I were fully awake.

So yesterday was horrible.  I had an emotional break down first thing in the morning that set the tone for the rest of the day.  I won't go into it but, suffice it to say, it was just one thing after another.  So I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. last night and laid there, in the dark, waiting for the Tylenol PM to kick in (first time I've ever taken one) until sometime around 9 pm when I finally fell asleep.  Still woke up at 3 am, but at least I got about 6 hours last night so that's nice.  I can definitely feel it!  I mean, I'm not chipper this morning but I'm not dragging with exhaustion either.

I didn't do bad with my food yesterday, I just didn't post because everything else about the day was bad.  I had a cup of coffee w/creamer, 110 oz of water, a healthy choice lunch, some raw mixed nuts, two tsps of natural peanut butter (with the raw nuts to give them some flavor), and a fish burrito = 991 calories.  I got plenty of activity yesterday, thanks to the dog, but I won't go into the gross details of it.  Suffice it to say he made a HUGE mess and I cleaned it up which included giving him a bath and practicing my javelin throw on some brooms and shovels to blow of steam.  Oh yeah ... I was definitely active yesterday despite going to bed so early.






Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
5 oz chicken strips
>>w/frank's
1 foot long chicken sub
>>the usual
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 947




Activity:
Cooked my lunch for tomorrow
Walking: Short bursts at football practice
Jogging: The width of a football field, both ways
Cleaned Vladdy's kennel and the kitchen, again
Emptied and refilled the litter boxes

A New Habit

I know this is kind of odd but I've started a new, goofy habit for myself.  See, I wasn't really upset about yesterday's weigh-in but I realized awhile ago that if I want to start seeing weekly losses again I'm going to have to really step up my game and work hard at it.  I've realized, more recently, that a series of circumstances are systematically attacking my motivation to actually do that: the heat, the new house, and new weekly routines are just a few of them.

So I started to think about how I can increase my activity even in the face of countless hurdles - something during the day while I'm working, that I can make a habit out of.  It's really dumb, I know, but yesterday I started to experiment with different alternatives to walking from point A to point B around the house.  For example: I get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom, then to the kitchen to let the dogs out, then to the fridge to pour coffee and water, then to my office to boot up my computer, then to the kitchen to let the dogs in, then to the bathroom again, then back to my office.  At 9 I take a break and get up to refill my water, another at 11, lunch at 1, multiple bathroom breaks in between because that's what a gallon of water will do to you.  Well that's cool, lots of walking around but I thought maybe I could up that somehow.

Originally I wanted to buy weights to strap to my body; they make ankle straps, wrist straps, and vests that you can weigh down.  But those things aren't cheap so I got creative ... again, and I started to bunny hop everywhere.  Dumb huh?  I won't do it when Snackers is home because he would think I'm insane and even the dogs gave me funny looks but every little calorie burned is better than a calorie stored on my thighs right?  So yeah ... I bunny hopped all over the house (except when I was carrying my coffee, or lunch ... for obvious reasons).  I dunno how much good it did but I'm sure it was better than simply walking.  Because it's kind of just a daily alternative to walking around the house I'm not going to post it in my activity logs every single day, but I felt it in my calves when I woke up this morning.  Maybe I'll become like those tribes in Africa that can do 3 foot vertical's ... that would be awesome!

p.s. A note to bro: So I've been drinking cold-pressed coffee since Sunday and I'm diggin' it!  You're right, it is a LOT less bitter.  It's also kind of less strong so I'll probably up my grounds in my next batch but I discovered that I can drink it black and not even wish it had cream in it.  I'm trying to use up the creamer I have left just to get it out of the way but yesterday and today I drank half of my coffee black, then added creamer.  It was kind of nice because I used the same amount of creamer (1 tsp) that I normally would but with half the coffee it was much sweeter.  I felt like I was rewarding myself for drinking the first half of the cup black.





Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 healthy choice lunch
25 asparagus spears, boiled w/salt
1 large artichoke, boiled w/salt
3 1-oz slices kielbasa
1/4 serving sunflower seeds
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 795
(Don't freak readers, it's 9:51 p.m. and I still feel full from the asparagus and artichoke ... I'm not starving).




Activity:
Walking: Distance unknown, small bursts at football
Jogging: Across the football field (width) and back
Dancing: DWTS is back!  YAY!  I can't watch it without getting up and trying steps throughout the show!
Note: I did knee-highs and skipping today instead of bunny hops because my calves were KILLING ME when I got up this morning.

Weigh-In #45

I normally post, each day, about the previous day's events but I jumped the shark yesterday and posted about yesterday!  So today I have nothing much to say!

Another roller coaster ride gain - 228.0.  But I can't stop looking at those pictures of myself at the Atomic Testing Museum ... especially the one where I have my hands on my hips.  Those arms ALMOST look normal!  I'm happy today.  A little retention gain from being out in the sun at the Nature Preserve isn't going to get me down.  I'm happy.  Happy, happy, happy.  I found out you can get a one-year membership to the Preserve so you can go back and go hiking any time you want, they have events all year and you can get in to some of those for free and get 50% off on others (like the wine tasting in October) and I think I'm going to go for it.  It's kind of a long drive but it is a really beautiful place to go hiking and it's a lot closer than Red Rock.

On the other hand the entry fee is HIGHLY affordable in and of itself (only $10) and membership is $50 so if I thought I was going to visit at least 5 times in one year it would be worth it but, otherwise, it would be better to just pay each time.  Decisions, decisions.  I'm going to put some feelers out to Tia and Cass and see if they want to join up with me, if they do then we can drag each other at least 5 times to make sure we get the most out of our membership but, on my own, I'd probably waste it.  I don't think they allow doggies though - booooo.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 healthy choice lunch
4 oz flank steak
>>grilled on the foreman
1 huge ear of corn on the cob
>>w/salt, no butter
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 812




Activity:
100 Knee-highs
5 push-ups (boy style)
45 push-ups (girl style because I ran out of steam)

Museum Day

Well Snackers didn't want to do anything that involved paddling or swinging because he said his back hurt so we decided to have a museum day.  First we went to Freemont Street for champagne brunch and walked the shops, then we hit the Las Vegas Natural History museum and walked through every single room in every single exhibit but it was easily the dumbest, most boring, sparsest natural history museum I've ever been in.  Even in spite of reading a bunch of plaques, pushing every interactive button, and playing with the hands-on items in the kids room exhibit, we were in and out in under an hour.

Next we went to the Springs Preserve which I thought was awesome but Snackers wasn't a fan.  They had a bug show but it was geared for kids and we were bored so we left and went to walk around.  They had a small selection of live desert animals, an exhibit about Hoover Dam, one about the Mormon Pioneers, a pretty spiffy flash flood room, and some cool interactive water features.  I've marked our path on the map below, click it to see a larger version.

Map of the Springs Preserve

I color coded the path to avoid overlapping, starting with green from the car to the bug show.  Red from the bug show all through the indoor exhibits and the outdoor animal exhibit, outside to the cafe where we had a coffee because it was all we could afford (astronomical prices!!), over to the playground just for kicks, and down to the gardens.  I wanted to walk all through the gardens but Snackers started to complain about being bored, loudly, to utter strangers - so the blue line is where we went straight back to the car and left.  Here is the only picture that we took at the preserve:

Snackers rides a bunny-wabbit

From there we hit the Atomic Testing Museum which Snackers originally didn't even want to go to but it ended up being the coolest location of all.

Me with a piece of the World Trade Center from 9/11

Me with a piece of the Berlin Wall

Snackers and I hanging with an A-Bomb, pre-detonation

Snackers and I, hanging out with an A-Bomb, post-detonation

We were out running around between museums for over 5 hours plus we spent an hour or so walking around the Freemont Street experience.  We climbed so many flights of stairs that I completely lost count and I wish I had bought a new pedometer.




Food:
100 oz of water
8 oz champagne
1 veggie/cheese sandwich
2 cups of coffee
12 oz cold green tea
2 tuna hand rolls
3 slices tuna sashimi
4 pieces california roll
--------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 962




Activity:
Walking/Standing: 5 hours, no clue how far but over varied terrain - in some cases walking quite fast
Stairs: At least 5 flights that I can remember for sure

Bass Ackwords

This morning I woke up, fed the dogs breakfy, saw Snackers off to work and took a hot bath/pamper session.  When I got out I did my hair, tidied the kitchen and decided to check the mail.  After that I took Vladdy for a short walk (I planned on going for a long walk but i waited too late in the day and the hot concrete was burning his footsies).  Now I'm all sweaty again and I realized that I started my day in the wrong order.  I should have gone for a walk early when it was cooler so I could have stayed out longer AND I could have bathed/cleaned up after.  *sigh* I'm so smart. lol

Snackers's football team has a game again tonight so we'll be at the park, in the sun, for several hours tonight anyway so I guess I'm going to need another bath today either way.  I've been browsing for things to do tomorrow and I've planned a museum-filled day of fun.  Snackers said he's down ... I hope that doesn't change by tomorrow morning.




Food:
135 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 cup of granola w/milk
12 oz of watermelon juice
1 banana
1 grilled ahi steak
1 serving manapua
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
---------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 975




Activity:
Walking: 1.5 mile with Vladdy plus short distances at the football game
Stadium steps: 3 flights
Cleaning: Kitchen and living room
Hung a few Haloween decorations

Let Them Eat Pizza

So last Saturday Snackers and the other coaches told the boys on their football team that if they won the game they could have a pizza party, and they did.  So last night I went, with my friend, to pick up the pizza's toward the end of practice.  They were laid out on a tailgate and the boys were set loose on them and oooooh those pies smelled so good.  Well by the time the boys had cleared out every last slice was gone and my friend and I stood on the side lines watching them enjoy their prize wishing we'd have gotten even just one piece to share between us ... after all, we did go and get them.

But once the boys had finished eating and the boxes had been taken to the trash I realized I was grateful that the 20-something hungry teenage boys and coaches had saved me from the guilt I would have felt if I'd eaten any - especially after cheating and having nacho's for supper.  OH!  The nacho's, by the way, weren't half as good as I remember them!  I'm not sure if that was the fault of the cook or because I've gone so long without ordering them but it was kind of like closure for me.

I can't believe it's Friday again already.  I really want to do something fun this weekend, if we can afford it.  I'd like to go golfing now that the weather has cooled off again and it's not so hot but Snackers has had a major knot in his shoulder muscles so I'm not sure if he's going to be up for it or not.  Still ... I wanna do something fun and highly active.  I hope Snackers does too.

Today I am having watermelon juice for breakfast.  I cubed up the rest of the watermelon which came out to about 8 cups.  I put the cubes in the Ninja little-by-little and pureed them into a juice.  It made just over 3 servings of 12 oz per serving so I poured the extra ounces into a glass, added a splash of sprite, and served it up to Snackers last night ... he liked it!  I was going to add my last two banana's but forgot so I guess I'll put them in with the cantaloupe when the watermelon juice is gone.




Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
12 oz watermelon juice
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 Healthy choice lunch
1 tbsp of peanut butter
1/2 cup glass noodles
1 cabbage roll
1 cup stir fry mushrooms
1/4 cup cherry cobbler
-------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 967




Activity:
Walking/shopping: I wanted to get all of our weekly shopping done tonight so that we wouldn't have to do it Sunday like we usually do. We want to enjoy our Sunday together this week.

I Made It

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be but I made it - three days of fruits, veg, and nuts.  I probably COULD continue drinking my coffee black, and should, but today I looked at my delicious creamer and thought 'it would be such a shame to waste it' lol.  So I'm having a splash today but when it's gone maybe I just won't buy more and see what happens.  I did the fast to clean out my system and it definitely worked.  I probably could have stood to go longer on it but my willpower could only handle three days - I had a huge internal fight last night as Snackers was munching DingDong's 12 inches from me on the sofa.

Not that I feel like I can go and eat DingDong's now but it was a lot harder to fight those types of foods during that fast than it was before the fast.  I can see now why my dad always thought that I would make a great lawyer, I can argue/debate with the very best of them - even when I am arguing/debating with myself.

Yesterday I posted a fruit shake and realized, this morning, that the ingredients list may have been deceiving on portion size.  I used 2 pluots, 2 nectarines, 2 kiwi, 1 banana, and 4 cups of watermelon but it made a full 36 oz with the Ninja so when I posted 12 oz I was actually only having 1 serving.  I had another serving last night (not posted because I drank it after posting so my intake yesterday was + 270 to what I posted) and the third serving this morning, finishing it off.  Later today I think I'm going to blend up a bunch of the watermelon to refill the pitcher because drinking my breakfast is a nice alternative to Fiber One bars for a little while.





Food:
120 oz of water
1 glasses of coffee w/creamer
12 oz fruit shake (same as yesterday)
1 healthy choice lunch
1 serving nachos
>>w/chicken, jalapenos, and pico
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,025




Activity:
Walking: 1.5 miles packing a folding chair, a cooler, and my water belt
Jogging: The width of a football field

The Fast: Day 3 (& Pictures)

November, 2010 (287 lbs)

September, 2011 (226 lbs)

This is what -61 lbs looks like.  I may not be all that impressed by this month's picture compared to last month's picture but I can sure as hell say I'm impressed by this.  Every once in a blue moon I have to remind myself that just because I'm stalled out right now doesn't mean I've gotten nowhere - I try to remember back to what the scale looked like when I was looking at 280's and 270's and remind myself that I haven't seen those numbers in a long time!  Of course I can't let myself get too excited with the progress I've made or I have a tendency to think 'well that's good enough' and then I fall off the wagon (as you all have seen me do several times) but I also can't focus too much on my recent lack of progress or I'll get frustrated and lose hope.  It's a balancing act but that right there (up) is inspirational.  That's me .... those are pictures of me.  Sometimes it just boggles my brain.

We went to the local buffet last night and I thought for sure it was going to SUCK being on a fruit and veg fast but, as it turns out, it was a WONDERFUL place to find fruits and veg!!!  Oh the selection!  They had this lovely salad bar (which was why I had agreed to go in the first place) but by the time I'd raided the steamed veggies I barely had room for a few bites of fruit.  Everything tasted so fresh and I asked the chefs behind the counter how this or that was cooked and did it contain butter?  There were a few things that they had that I didn't try, like the veggie stir fry and the mustard greens which were cooked in butter.  But there was one chef that when I asked him if the broccoli was cooked in butter, he said 'no but there are pats of it on the salad bar by the rolls', and I said 'I'm avoiding butter' (as I'm heaping broccoli on my plate) and he started pointing out everything he thought I would like!  It was AWESOME!  When he pointed out the stir-fry tofu (cooked in peanut oil) with peas and carrots I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  It tasted just like chicken (only slimier) and helped me really feel like I wasn't depriving myself.  When Snackers hit the dessert bar I hit the fruit section - he left feeling so full he could barely walk and I left feeling invigorated and ready to run the mall.

Oh, and p.s. another little triumph.  This month's picture was taken wearing my spandex walking pants.  I originally bought them to wear under my normal jogging pants to cut down thigh friction but I've decided that I look better in them than I ever thought I would.  The triumph?  I feel comfortable enough with my progress to take a picture of myself wearing spandex and post it on the internet!  HOLY CRAP BATMAN!




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
12 oz fruit shake (made last night)
>>2 pluots, 2 necatrines, 2 kiwi, 1 banana, 4 cups watermelon
1 serving cucumber slaw
1 serving sunflower seeds
1 large artichoke, boiled w/salt
1 ear of corn, boiled w/salt
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 849




Activity:
Not much, made dinner, cleaned up after myself, picked up poop in the back yard and that's about it.

The Fast: Day 2

(Written on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 11:31 a.m.)

Have ya'll heard the term 'empty calories'?  It's a favorite on CalorieCount.com and I've come to learn that it generally refers to calories that contain no nutritional value.  Well I have a bone to pick with whomever coined that phrase.  By this time in the morning I have usually only consumed about 37 calories in the form of a cup of coffee w/creamer and I am just starting to get hungry so I would grab a Fiber One bar.  Well so far today I've had 176 calories in the form of a banana, a nectarine, and a cup of black coffee - all very nutritional calories - and my stomach is feeling decidedly empty.  I know I said in Monday's post that I'm not going to worry so much about count, I'm just going to eat to be satisfied and see where it puts me but GEEZ!  I didn't expect to feel this hungry this soon after eating 3 pieces of fruit and drinking 70 oz of water and coffee.

(Written Tuesday, Semptember 13, 2011 at 7:15 a.m.)

Well I learned something interesting last night.  Putting a banana, a nectarine, and a kiwi in the Ninja and blending them up with 10 oz of water is a WHOLE lot more filling than simply eating them ... I wonder why that is?  Last night after supper I chopped up my cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, and a jalapeno in the Ninja so that I would have some salad for lunch today, then added the chickpeas.  I went a little overboard with it though and now instead of salad it's more like a slaw - yummy though!  After that I rinsed out the Ninja and popped in the fruit because Snackers was eating ice cream and I was going out of my brain wanting something sweet, plus my calories were still way too low even for my comfort.  It was delicious and there must have been just a hint of oil left in the Ninja from the jalapeno because it had just the slightest little kick that I really liked - strange I know, but tasty.  It filled me right up and I didn't feel hungry or have any cravings for junk food at all for the rest of the evening!  Snackers chopped up my watermelon for me so it's in a big bowl in the fridge ready to go for today too so I'll have some options.

Last night was the first time I've ever eaten corn on the cob and an artichoke without butter, that's going to take some getting used to but it wasn't bad.  The corn was actually so yummy that Snackers was almost jealous after I had him try it.  Hmmm big fat turkey sandwich with mayo, tomato, and dorito's on it or an ear of corn? lol

I weighed myself this morning out of pure curiosity because I got up three times in the night to go to the bathroom and then again first thing this morning - all the way back down to 227 already.  Weeeeee!  -  Two potty breaks later, 226.5




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
1 bananas
1 nectarines
1 serving mixed nuts (raw)
1 serving cucumber slaw
8 oz steamed carrots & broccoli
2 oz sauteed mushrooms (sliced, in EVOO)
1 cup tofu stir fry
1/2 cup mixed fruit (cherries, pears, cantaloupe)
1/2 an ear of corn, boiled
-----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 935




Activity:
Walking: Snackers and I got bored so we walked the mall, again, and wound up in the sporting goods store drooling over kayaks again.  Also, the new roof racks arrived so we put those on the car, I did most of the work because Snackers couldn't figure out the diagram that came with them.  And shoveled/bailed water off the back porch in the rain storm we had this morning ... weee.

The Fast: Day 1 (& #44)

Today is day 1 of the fast.  It did not start off well.  Last night Snackers gave the dogs his leftover hashbrowns from breakfast and at 4:00 a.m. guess who had an emergency need to be let outside.  Well Snackers didn't have to get up for work until 10 this morning so I made him get up and let Vladdy out but then laid there, wide awake, until 5:00 a.m. anyway before getting out of bed and going to school.

But, on the up-side, I need coffee BAD today and I am determined not to put creamer in it so I am pleased to announce that there's little more than an inch left in my cup and it's black as tar.  Day one of drinking black coffee - almost check!  This morning's breakfast is a banana and a nectarine.  Since I'm going all fruits, veggies, and nuts I am going to try to avoid keeping a minimum caloric intake during the fast - I'm going to eat something when I feel hungry (because, trust me, with nothing but fruits and veg I'm not likely to snack out of boredom) and eat as much as I need to eat in order to not feel hungry anymore.  If that amounts to 800 calories or 1,400 calories I'm not going to stress ... something tells me I'll probably lose 8 lbs out of my colon alone.

Oh yeah and today is Weigh-In #44: 229.  Kind of frustrating to see another gain but, again, I know it's swelling because my fingers and toes are like little snausages right now (my ring is stuck) so I'm going to refrain from whining about it and move on.  Picture day in 2 days - my expectations are average.  I'll probably look the same as I did last month but I FEEL better and I had another positive moment the other day.

I pulled a shirt out of the bottom of my drawer the other day, one I wore a lot when I was still 287 lbs but haven't worn much since because it has cap sleeves and I prefer tanks.  Put it on and the sleeves are so loose that they looked like ruffles instead of caps ... my turkey arms are shrinking!  WEEEE!  Oh and I forgot to add something to my activity list yesterday, it wasn't super active but Snackers found an indoor, black light, mini golf spot that was only $8 per person so we gave that a shot too.  It was fun, I lost, but the setting was very cute and romantic.




Food:
110 oz of water
1 cup of coffee, black
2 bananas
2 nectarines
2 pluots
2 kiwi w/skin
1 serving baby carrots (raw)
1 ear of corn w/ salt
1 large artichoke w/ lime juice
1 serving mixed nuts (raw)
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 840




Activity:
Not much, after waking up at 4 a.m. I had no energy to do much more than stay awake.  I did fill a hole, chopped up my veggies for salad, cooked my supper, and cleaned the kitchen.  That's about it.

Football Has Begun

Well it is officially football season - I know because I had to make a late night run to the local casino with Snackers to cash in his first win of the season last night, $98 off a $14 bet.  Go Snackers!  We got the Red Zone package this year so it's blasting through the house right now and last night the team Snackers coaches won their first game: 31 to 0.

We went grocery shopping and I bought a bunch of things for my three-day fruit and veggie fast.  Here are the rules: I can still have my morning cup of coffee but I'm going to TRY to drink it black.  I can have nuts and seeds as fillers but, other than that, it's all fruit and veg.  I bought tomatoes, nectarines, plouts, kiwis, bananas, a watermelon, and a canteloup for fruit.  And I got cucumbers, chickpeas, corn, artichokes, carrots, and onions for veggies.  I wanted to get some fresh asparagus but they didn't have any that looked healthy - I might pick some up at a different store later if I start running out.  I'd like to get some fresh blueberries too - Snackers bought some a month or so ago and they were tasty.

So tonight will be my last taste of carbs or meats for three days - it's going to be hard because I'm not a fan of fruit at all but I bought a lot of it and I HATE throwing food away so hopefully my frugal personality will help me stay strong.




Food:
138 oz of water
1 chili verde omlette w/avo and pico
1 slice pumpkin bread
1 cup coffee w/creamer
1 bowl banana granola w/skim
2 glasses red wine
-------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,039




Activity:
Walking: Walked to the post office and up and down the neighborhood with Snackers while he chased down the ice cream man
Speed Walking: Snackers and I got bored in the evening so we went to WalMart and had speed walking races all over the store and parking lot
Shopping: Our usual weekly grocery shopping trip
Playing w/Snackers and Vladdy in the back yard

Weaning Myself

So I have been gradually adjusting my preferences for coffee since November of last year and I am quite proud of my personal progress.  I started out ONLY liking coffee if it contained about 4-6 of those little things of cream that they have at diners and gas stations and 3-4 packets of sugar PER CUP!  No kidding!!!  Under those circumstances I loved coffee but I just couldn't understand how anyone could ever drink it black.

Well after I'd successfully given up soda (minus the occasional indulgence, in which I realize cola doesn't even remotely taste good to me anymore - this coming from someone who used to REQUIRE 4 or 5 cans of Coke PER DAY!) I realized that it really IS possible to change your preferences through gradual modifications.  I'm not lying here people, if you want to give up soda you really can and you WILL get to a point where you'll take a sip one day, thinking you're cheating, and you'll want to spit it out.  I PROMISE!  I watched my mom go through it and thought 'never, I'll never not like the taste of Coke'.  Well I was wrong, as usual.

Ok so back to coffee.  So I started to gradually modify my coffee tastes.  First, I started putting 3 tbsps of sugar directly in with my coffee grounds pre-percolation.  Why?  It made the coffee just as sweet, but I was getting three or four cups of coffee when before I was putting that much sugar in ONE CUP.  Add some skim milk and bingo, triumph #1.  Then, once I'd adjusted to that method and it started to taste good, I dropped it to two tbsps.  (It only took two or three weeks).  Once I'd adjusted to that I dropped it to one tbsp.  Then I realized that two tbsps of CoffeeMate had less calories and sugar than my skim milk and sugar routine.  Pre-adjustment I would never have been able to drink a cup of coffee with only two tbsps of CoffeeMate and nothing else but I've adjusted my taste buds and now CoffeeMate has 8 billion flavors, all yummy, most of them only 35 calories per serving - so I switched, dropping an extra 27 calories off my cup of coffee.

Well I stuck with that ratio for several months but then decided I want to get used to drinking coffee black - maybe I'll use creamer on special occasions as a treat instead of a daily indulgence (because the shit isn't cheap!).  So I tried reducing the cream but didn't like it, at all.  Too much too fast - so instead I increased the amount of coffee in the coffee-to-creamer ratio.  Once I'd adapted I could then start reducing the cream and I am proud to announce that today I am down to 1 tsp (teaspoon, not tablespoon) of creamer.  WEE!  I'm still counting the calories of a full serving because I'm too lazy to do the math on a tsp vs. tbsps. but I think, starting Monday, I am going to go creamer free.  I'm going to TRY to drink black coffee all week next week but don't hold me to it because I might find it's just awful.

I actually tried to drink black coffee yesterday and couldn't gag it down - but I make my coffee really strong so today as I filled up my pitcher for the week I cut out 1 tbsp of grounds per batch (I prefer cold coffee so I make three or four batches of coffee in my french press and then pour them all into a pitcher and keep it in the fridge).  Hopefully that will help.  (I'm a dork, I know.  I make uber strong coffee and then drown it in cream and sugar ... don't ask me why but that was just how I liked coffee before I started adjusting.  Weak coffee was gross to me because it tasted like flavored water.  I like coffee that leaves a little bit of coffe-mud in the bottom of your cup ya know?  I'm odd, I know).




Food:
137 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 tbsp peanut butter w/carrots
1 oriental chicken salad
1 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving cheese and crackers
-----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,156




Activity:
Digging: The drainage trench I dug had started to fill up so I redug that this morning and extended it a little longer.
Filling holes: Ironically I also filled Vladdy's collection of holes after digging my trench.
Cleaning the yard: I washed the patio chairs, scrubbed out Vladdy's pool with a scrub brush, and hosed off the patio
Cleaning inside: I also cleaned the kitchen, picked up Shawn's dirty laundry, and cleaned the sheets on the bed
Walking: Distance unknown, short bursts here and there
Stadium steps: 3 times up and down

I Felt Normal

Raise your hand if you've ever tried to run while being significantly overweight and you were certain that you looked silly or awkward in the process.  Well I've never been much for running, even when I was in better shape as a teen, I always felt like I had to lean forward to get my get-up-and-go on and that it probably made me look silly.  I also haven't ever really had any confidence in myself while running because I'm a bit of a clutz so I always feel like I'm going to trip over myself, step in a hole, or do something else really stupid that will result in a painful fall.  Several years ago while sprinting with my brother I didn't tie my shoe tight enough, it slipped off, and I went sprawling with skinned hands and knees - and I felt completely moronic.

Well last night Snackers and I were late getting to football practice so when we parked the car Snackers took off running and after a step or two I thought 'why not?' and took off after him.  Across a parking lot, through the landscaping, up a burm, across the park, around the volley ball courts stacked 2x3, which meant running in the soft beachy sand that has accumulated on top of the grass around them, and up the length of the football field.  I felt normal, I was running in front of dozens of people and I didn't even feel self conscious about it - I even jumped a curb mid stride without fear.

After practice I sprinted across the field to talk to Snacker and then he and I raced back across the parking lot to get to the car (I won because he wasn't really trying).  But the important thing is that I liked it... a lot.  Oh ... and I forgot to buy more Healthy Choice meals last weekend when we went shopping and the house is practically bare so I have no idea what I'm going to eat for lunch today ... guess I'll wing it.




Food:
132 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1/2 cucumber sliced w/vinegar
2 oz leftover noodles
1/4 cup dry granola (no milk)
1/2 cup edamame
1 garlic tuna roll
2 scallop rolls
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,041




Activity:
Running around the back yard w/Vladdy: 45 min
Shopping: Snackers & I hit another sporting goods store to window shop kayaks

Not Funny

I found out last week that I will graduate with my Associates degree on April 1, of next year ... April Fool's Day.  How ironic is that?  I'll be getting my diploma on the day that celebrates ignorance and gullibility.  I don't find that funny.  Of course the up-side is that the ceremony won't be on April 1st, I'm not sure yet when that will take place, but that will be my last day of finals in my last classes.  It's a good thing that's not when the ceremony will be or I probably wouldn't be able to get anyone to show up because they would all think I was pulling their leg.  It will be good to finally complete something of merit and have something to show for it.




Food:
142 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 home made lunch wrap
>>salami, muenster, sesame dressing
>>tomato, cucumber, onion
1 tsp peanut butter
-------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 913




Activity:
Walking: Unknown, short distances
Sprinting: 1 super long sprint across a parking lot, and around four volley ball courts, 1 sprint across a football field (width), 1 sprint back across the parking lot ... pretty decent distances.  Felt awesome!!!

Poor Doggy

So we upgraded Vladdy's kennel a few weeks ago because our friend had one that was larger than the one we had but he was selling it for $20 to get an even bigger one.  We bought it and then sold our old one for $20 on craigslist and moved Vladdy into a bigger place.

Last night I had put Vladdy to bed and was sound asleep, Snackers was out doing his night jobs, when I awoke to the most horrible screaming I've ever heard in my life.  It was like Vladdy still had his boy parts and someone was squeezing them in a clamp - huge, violent, blood curdling screams.  I jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen to find him with one toe stuck in between the bars of his kennel and the plastic tray that goes in the bottom of it.  He was jerking on it so hard that he was moving his entire kennel across the room inch by inch.  I immediately ran to free him but no matter how hard I pulled on the bar I couldn't make it budge enough to free his toe.

I had to open the kennel door, grab his foot and push it toward the hole so that I could turn his paw pad slightly to the side and slip it out.  It felt like it took FOREVER to get it free and I am sure that his screaming must have woken up the neighbors - every dog in town was outside barking a few minutes later.  I brought him out of his kennel and wiggled, prodded, and flexed his toe but he didn't show any indication of tenderness so he must not have been hurt, just terrified.  He laid down on the kitchen floor and started licking my arm all slow and gentle like he was thanking me for coming to his rescue.  It wasn't until a few minutes later that I realized my own middle finger hurt like hell and there was a big black bump forming on the back of it between my hand and my first knuckle.

I must have crushed it on the bar of the kennel while trying to free his toe but I don't think it's broken - I did break that finger in that exact spot when I was younger though so it could be cracked or it might just be a hematoma.  It still hurts this morning but Vladdy is running around outside right now like a bat out of hell so I guess he's fine.  I took the tray out of his kennel before putting him back to bed last night.  I have half a mind to call the kennel manufacturer and chew their asses.  Why would they put holes along the bottom of the kennel like that?  On the other hand I don't think our buddy's dog ever got his foot stuck in the kennel so maybe Vladdy's just "special".




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1 foot long chicken sub
>> the usual
4 pieces tuna sashimi
12 oz unsweetened green tea
-------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 917




Activity:
Walking:  We went to a new park for practice last night and ended up walking all over the place looking for the right team, while packing a chair, cooler, water belt, and book.
Walking: We also hit the mall after practice but only briefly
Loading/Unloading the car: Snackers sold his saxophone the other night and last night he used the money to buy a new drum set, so I helped him load and unload it into the car.
Cleaning: I cleaned the kitchen last night after we got home from practice and helped Snackers rearrange the guest bedroom to make room for his drum set.

Holy Cow

Owchie.  Seriously ... Owchie.  100 push-ups have got NOTHING on kayaking for upper body workout and now I am even MORE hooked than I was yesterday.  Just imagine what a sexy core and upper body I would have if I kept at that sport?!  I found a simple little picture showing muscles of the body, again, and am guessing at which of my muscles hurt based on the proximity of my soreness to the areas shown on the diagram.  Basically if it's green in this picture, it's sore and THIS is why kayaking is an AWESOME source of physical activity ... and you can do it sitting down!!!!

As with all the photos that I post to my blog, you should be able to click on this image to view a larger version.  Use your browser's back button to return to the blog when finished.

I know the recolor job is imperfect but I have to get some school done before work this morning so I couldn't spend too much time working on this image to make it pretty.  I'm pretty sure my inner thighs and sides hurt from stabilizing myself on the kayak in the choppy water.  There were a lot of boats and wave runners out there making ripples and though neither of us tipped over, even once, you do have to do a fair amount of core adjusting to maintain balance ... like when Mr. Miagi made the karate kid stand on one leg for long periods of time to strengthen his leg muscles and improve balance.  That works, by the way.  You don't have to look quite as silly as 'the kid' but I used to have super weak ankle muscles and Ki, my ... well far too many adjectives fit her to pick one but suffice it to say I have learned a great deal from her, told me to stand on one leg and hold the other foot just an inch or two off the ground in front of me.  I wobbled a lot at first but as I used my legs and ankle's to compensate they got stronger and stronger and now I am probably the only person in my family that doesn't have weak ankles (my knees and feet still suck though).  (Hint, hint bro.  You could do this while holding X before bed and it might actually rock him to sleep and help with your ankles at the same time ;).





Food:
144 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
3 dolmas
3 falafel
3 tbsps hummus
6 oz red wine
--------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 865




Activity:
Walking: Not far but toting a folding chair, water belt, mine and Snackers' supper, and a small cooler full of drinks.  My thighs hurt so bad and I thought 'Once I get walking they'll loosen up' but the more I walked the more they hurt.  I cannot believe that SITTING in a kayak can cause so much muscle strain in the legs.  What an awesome sport!

Weigh-In #43: Awesomeness

First thing's first: 226!!!  A new low!!!!  WHOOOOPEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
Item #2: I cut off all of my hair, took a picture, and am changing my main side-bar pic from:

OMH I look like my mother!!!

And now, for the main theme of today's post ... KAYAKING!!!  Snackers and I have been wanting to go for years and even considered buying our own kayaks but because neither of us had ever been kayaking before we always hesitated to buy them because ... well what if we didn't like it right?  So we got this coupon, a full freakin' day on the river for $30!!!  BOOYAH!

The rental was so out of the way, which totally explains the massive discount.  It was this little mining town about 45 minutes from Henderson and about 7 miles from the Colorado River.  Stepping out of the car felt like stepping back in time and we couldn't stop just staring in all directions.  It's teeny tiny but so amazing!

That is the mine entrance up on the hill

We headed over to the little store, signed the paperwork, paid our measly little fee and loaded up our kayaks!

Me and Snackers in front of the store: We both look so much smaller than we did the last time we took a photo standing together!!!!

Me, my car, and our kayaks!  Ready to go!!!

 First we paddled straight across the Colorado river to explore a cave that the rental place told us about.  We got about 20 feet into it, saw our first snake, and high-tailed it right back out again.  That's ok, we didn't need to see it that bad! lol.  After that we paddled to a cliff where people were cliff jumping.  I've been before, not a fan of heights, but this was Snackers' first time.  He's totally hooked!!!

I'm rocking a spare tire in a wet shirt here but oh well, I look awesome compared to 10 months ago!!!

Snackers gets truly air-born for the first time in his life and LOVES IT!

After that we paddled back to the car, had a granola bar and some water, then headed back out again.  We cruised up and down the river, found a quiet little cove where we had some sandwiches, did some more cliff jumping, did some swimming ... and maybe some discreet kissing :) and then, alas, our time was up so we loaded up the kayaks and headed back to drop them off.

Me on the left, Snackers on the right.

And then we had to high-five, paddle style, for one more pic before packing up!

This was absolutely the most fun thing I've done since my family had our own horses and I used to just let my horse open up and run until she felt like stopping.  We're hooked ... guess we'll have to budget some kayaks into our savings plan - hopefully before the season ends because we both wanna go again!  I had a few more calories today than my 800-ish average but I also burned a lot more calories.  We hit the water around 8:30 - 9:00 and by 11 I felt like I was going to pass out so I ate the granola bar and drank the tea/ginger ale.  By noon I felt like I was hungry again and we had the sandwiches we packed and some water.  By the time we got home I was feeling hungry again but I showered and got cleaned up before supper.





Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Fiber One bar
1 homemade sandwich
>>sourdough, genoa, muenster, and EVOO mayo
2 mini-fish taco's
12 oz green tea and ginger ale
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Daily Caloric Intake: 1,002




Activity:
Packing up the car for kayaking
Loading the kayaks - yep, I totally helped load them at the rental place and at the river when we were done
Unloading the kayaks - I unloaded them with Snackers at the river but I was inside doing paperwork when they unloaded them at the rental place.
Swimming / Kayaking / Hiking (we got out of the water and hiked around in several places in addition to the snake-cave)
Shopping: After supper Snackers and I couldn't resist, we hit two sports stores to "window shop" / "price" kayaks of our own to find how much they would set us back.

A New Do

So I got a wild hair yesterday when Snackers and I went for haircuts (another discount coupon, I'm loving those things!) and I cut all my hair off.  Yep, shoulder length, shaggy, with bangs.  Still trying out different styles but loving it so far.  I'll try to remember to take a good pic when I find a style I'm happy with.




Food:
154 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 egg white omlette
>>w/ spinach, mushroom & tomato
2 slices what toast, no butter
>>w/ pico de gallo
2 servings baby carrots
1/4 cup hummus
12 oz green tea and ginger ale
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 769




Activity:
Shopping: 1 hour (3 stores)
Packing/Prepping: Got an AWESOME coupon, full day rental of a two person kayak for only $30!!!!  So we're going first thing in the morning and we got our coolers, food, drinks, life vests etc. out of boxes in the garage so we'd be ready to go.
Cleaning: Bathroom and kitchen

An Unexpected Side Effect

It was recently stated that it doesn't seem like there are many veggies in my diet.   ALL Healthy Choice steamers include veggies, I had salad yesterday (lettuce, tomato, onion, olives), I had greek salad for the last three or four days in a row.  That's cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, garbanzo beans, and asparagus with chicken and vinegar.  On my chicken sub I had tomato, onion, cucumber, and olives.  When we had chinese food I ordered beef with broccoli.  And that's just in the last five posts (and yes I know tomatoes are a fruit because of their seeds but that is a technical distinction, nothing more).  For breakfast this morning I had a veggie and egg white omlette - mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes.

I have stuck with this blog, and will continue to do so, because it keeps me accountable on my food choices.  I've mentioned this before but when I feel the urge to eat something that I know I shouldn't I think 'I can't post this on my blog' and more often than not I don't eat it.  Sometimes I give in and when I do I post it and the feeling of having to do so helps me resist the next dozen or so urges to eat something bad again.

But blogging has had an unexpected side effect.  It seems many people in the world have an opinion and they like to share it, which is fine.  But all too often when I choose not to take someone's advice, or when someone offers advice based on incomplete information and I attempt to 'fill in the blanks' I tend to offend them.  Suffice it to say, in the end, I am going to ultimately make the decisions that I think are best - or that are available options for my personal situation.  It doesn't mean I'm not reading everyone's comments but I can't take everyone's advice because several of you are offering precisely opposite suggestions - I can't eat more and less at the same time so someone's advice must go unheeded.  Please try not to take it personally.

To recap: I am not starving myself.  I eat on a schedule on most days, I don't wait until I'm hungry, I don't allow myself to feel like I'm "starving".  If I do feel hungry outside of my schedule I compensate with a reasonable snack like peanut butter or sunflower seeds and I am open to suggestions if they are for things that are readily available and affordable and practical.  I don't mean to offend but sometimes I do get frustrated with having to repeat myself for new readers and sometimes that frustration comes out in a non-diplomatic way.  I would also like to invite all new readers to please take a moment to review the articles of faith post, permanently located in the upper left margin of this blog.  Some things have changed as I've progressed but the basic principles of my mission have remained the same.





Food:
102 oz of water
1 veggie and egg white omlette
2 slices wheat toast with pico (great jam substitute)
1 skinny cow ice cream
4 tbsps hummus
>>w/8 baby carrots
1 serving green tea and ginger ale
--------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 862




Activity:
Grocery Shopping: 1 hour
Walking: (Distance unknown but about 30 - 45 minutes)

Coming Back Down

Weighed this morning, 227.5 - I'm coming back down again but the question is, with so little physical activity this week, how low will I go?  My lowest weight ever thus far was exactly where I am at now and I have three days before the official weigh-in so the question is this ... will I continue to drop and reach a new low (which would be totally odd and hard to understand), will I gain right back up over the weekend like I seem to do every damned week, or will I stall out?  I guess that depends on what I do this weekend but I'm pretty confused - I didn't do anything of merit this week so I can't imagine that I would lose any fat by Monday, water sure.  So if I spend the next three days doing nothing, logic dictates that I will probably stall out right?

But if I spend the next three days exercising, my own personal history has shown that I will probably retain copious amounts of water and have yet another shitty weigh-in come Monday.  I wish I could hook my body up to a machine that would help me to understand it better.

One thing that I do know is that I've been on prenatal vitamins for a month now and I love them!  My hair and nails feel stronger than ever, I'm not shedding hair nearly as badly as I used to, I haven't had any of the problems that everyone claimed I would have from prenatals (constipation, etc), and they don't seem to drop my blood sugar levels or make me sick to my stomach like every other vitamin I've tried so far.  YAY!

They also seem to be improving my mood, along with the low-levels of estrogen the OBGYN has me taking, because I've been a lot less bitchy lately which means, overall Snackers and I are getting along a lot better.  I remind myself of my dad in that regard too - he's diabetic so he'll just fly off the handle over the dumbest things when his blood sugars are out of whack and I've kind of been like that at home.  (Though I'm not taking all of the blame, we've both been stressed throughout this whole house buying process and we're finally both starting to relax a little).

We still have some unpacking to do around the house, stupid little things that we've put off because we didn't really know where we wanted to put them or because we just didn't need them right away.  I'd like to rearrange the living room again (still trying to get it just right), and clean out the guest room (full of furniture we've decided to just sell on craigs list).  I don't know if it'll happen though, Snackers has another football function on Saturday and we want to go hiking on Sunday ... but I'm an 'a place for everything, and everything in it's place' kind of person so this being half-unpacked thing is starting to make me twitch. lol




Food:
130 oz of water
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 small salad
1 serving whole wheat pasta
>>w/chicken and tomato basil sauce
1/2 cup green tea and ginger ail
------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 820




Activity:
Rearranged the living room: Moving furniture, cleaning, unpacked two more boxes and put stuff away.
Walking: 1/4 mile
Sprinting: 4 long sprints, about twice as long as usual.  On grass, felt great!!!

Dying Foot

Oops.  Ok so last weekend Snackers and I went looking for two things that I needed to make walking/exercise easier.  The first item was a pair of compression pants which we found at Target for super cheap and I love, love, love them.  The second item was a daytime brace for my PF which we found at Walgreens.  The instant I put the little stocking like wrap on I felt relief ... it was like a whole new foot!  I wore it all the rest of Sunday evening, took it off before bed, and put it back on first thing Monday morning.

Wore it all day Monday, took it off before bed, and put it back on first thing Tuesday morning.  When I woke up yesterday morning I went to scratch my leg at the top of the brace and it felt bruised but the relief that the little sock brought to my heel was too wonderful so I simply folded the top down a smidge and went on with my day.

Last night at football practice my whole foot started to hurt so I took the brace off and my foot and leg were purple everywhere that the sock had been.  Two of my friends insisted that I needed to spend some time without the sock because that was bad and I knew that they were right but no sock meant no walking and once I took it off my foot started to hurt even worse, all over ... you know, like when you sleep on your arm and it falls asleep and then starts to ache everywhere due to loss of blood flow.

My foot remained purple throughout practice, though it did start to improve.  When we got home and I told Snackers he looked at it and said he could still see a color difference even though it had been almost three hours since I'd first taken the sock off.  So I guess I'm going to go without it today, which means no walking today ... but on the up-side I weighed this morning and am back down to 228.0.

Ok, so it's definitely still not fat loss, but at least I can take comfort in knowing it wasn't fat gain either.  My diet yesterday felt so much more normal to me!  I had one little hand-roll for supper on the way to practice and thought I would be starving when I got home but I wasn't.  I had a bite of hummus on a spoon because I wanted to take my vitamin and I didn't want it to upset my empty tummy but it felt a lot better to be back to eating less and not feeling like I HAD to eat a certain number of calories.  Cass was right, my food choices lately have sucked.  When I'm choosing healthy food options and just eating until I'm satisfied an 800 calorie average just happens.  When I was actually trying to eat 12,000 + I felt like I was having to either eat twice as much healthy food as I wanted to or eat bad food in order to increase my count.  Maybe that's just the way I am ... different people have different metabolisms after all.  I knew a gal in college (Ki knew her too) that could put down a full rack of ribs with sides at Chili's and finish whatever anyone else at the table didn't want and she only weighed 96 lbs.  Maybe caloric recommendations aren't 'one-size fits all'.  Clearly she needed more calories in her diet on average and maybe I'm just someone who needs less than average in mine.




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving peanut butter
1/2 serving greek salad
1 serving sunflower seeds
3/4 chicken quesadilla
5 cherries
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 859




Activity:
Walking: 0.75 mile
Rough housing w/Vladdy