Another Shorty

Well it's Wednesday and in spite of reading 3 chapters for school yesterday and two the day before I'm still feeling like I'm behind on my school work for the week ... there's a lot to do this week.  Snackers is sick and demanded some attention from me last night so we watched Harry Potter movies while I did my exercises and then went to bed early because neither of us had been getting enough sleep this week.  So this morning I need to make up for it by getting my study on - short post alert!





Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 yogurt
1 fruit bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 multigrain Snack bar
5 oz lean prime rib
1 cup crab salad
1 cup veggie soup
1 dinner roll, dry
--------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,237






Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Yoga: 45 minutes
Walking: 5 miles
Sprints: 5

Warming Up

I mentioned earlier that my legs were really sore from running stadium steps on Saturday so when I suited up for last night's walk/sprints workout I was really wondering if and how I was going to be able to pull it off.  Walking is such an awesome exercise, it really is.  It's low impact but does so much good if you maintain a nice brisk pace.  I'm pretty sure my pace was closer to 3.5 mph but because I was walking around the neighborhood I kept having to stop at cross walks to wait for cars and I had to stop at a few corners to let people pass because Vladdy and I together take up an entire sidewalk so that ate some of my time.  Anyhow, another good thing about walking is that it really warms and loosens up the leg muscles ... all of them.  I wear "rocker" shoes (the ones with the rounded bottom) pretty much everywhere that I go and that helps a lot to keep me from putting too much pressure on my heels, which is something I've always had a problem with.  It didn't take long for my leg muscles to loosen up and start feeling a lot better.

I did get a major charlie horse in the arch of my foot shortly after I got home but a swig of tonic water fixed that right quick and my legs feel a lot better today.  I did have to adjust the sprints though.  Running as fast as I can until I can't run anymore and then stopping to catch my breath before doing it again greatly reduces the number of sprints that I can do at a time.  I managed five sprints last night but I ran at least twice the distance per sprint that I was running back when I was doing 20 at a time and I did them without Vladdy so I was also able to significantly increase my speed.  Note: Running with Vladdy can be hazardous.  He still thinks it's fun to run in front of me and try to trip me or nip at my legs as we're running.  One of these days I am going to have to figure out how to fix that because it's pretty annoying.  I keep hoping he'll grow out of it.

I drank a little bit more water yesterday because of the walk/run and I feel nice and hydrated this morning so I guess that's probably a good balance.  I sat down at 8 p.m. to log my calories and was at just under 900.  CRAP!  That's even WITH a yogurt, a calorie bar, and some peanut butter earlier in the day!!!  So I ate another calorie bar and a fruit bar.  I don't love fruit and right now the produce at local stores is HORRIBLE but I might invest in some of those little mixed fruit cups so that I have one more option for boosting intake without boosting carbs.







Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 yogurt
1 Fruit bar
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 Snack bar
1 serving grilled skirt steak
>> w/1 serving A-1
1 cup salad
>> w/1 tbsp vinaigrette
1 serving movie popcorn
(started the Harry Potter movie marathon tonight!!!)
---------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,293







Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Barbell Squats: 90 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 60 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Curls: 90 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Bench Press: 90 reps @ 20 lbs
Sit-ups: 200
Knee Push-ups: 100
Laying Flyes: 90 reps @ 10 lbs (each arm)
Leg Lifts: 90 reps (each leg)
(Didn't get the yoga in.  Snackers and I ended up watching Harry Potter movies until bed time.)

Weigh-In #51

We had a fun Thanksgiving.  The dogs certainly love going to my mom's house, aside from the fact that they both have to be in their kennels most of the time.  We took them on lots of walks and Vladdy enjoyed playing with my dad's yellow lab, Bo.  Actually, we took them for more walks than they could stand in the long run.  Saturday morning Vladdy started walking like his back legs were really stiff so I put him on my shoulders and carried him for a little while.  Bo was practically having to be dragged on his leash because he was moving so slowly and then when we got in the car this morning both Vladdy and Piper crashed in the back seat and slept through the entire three hour drive home.

When we got home we let them into the back yard to do their thing and when we let them back in Vladdy went into his kennel on his own and laid down to go back to sleep.  When we got home from grocery shopping I let him out again but he came in and wanted to go back to bed and I even had to wake him up to get him to eat his dinner.  It's crazy but I think we might have cured him of whining while we were at my parent's house - he's been an exceptionally good dog since we've been home ... or maybe he was just too tired to care.  We'll see.

So I'm home and back with the program - today is day one of the three week plan so wish me luck.
p.s. Weigh-in = 229.5 ... ^_^ ... HUZZAH!!!!!




Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 yogurt
1 Healthy Choice lunch
2 - 100 Calorie Snack bar
1 tsp peanut butter
1 can turkey chili w/beans (low fat)
1 fruit bar
----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,221





Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Walking: 3 miles in 53 minutes and 15 seconds (includes time waiting at crosswalks)
Sprints: 0.3 miles in 1 minute and 33 seconds
NOTE: Ok I know I said I was going to do 20 sprints on Mondays but I also said I would sprint till I couldn't sprint anymore and call it 1 instead of sprinting for a predetermined distance.  These two claims do not jive.  Sprinting till I can't sprint anymore, stopping to catch my breath, and then doing it again means I can only handle about 5 at a time before I am seriously exhausted ... which is good, but 20 is out of the question, for now.  I will just start either running farther as I get in better shape, or doing more of them as I increase my stamina ... or both.

Weekend @ Moms

I'm home, safe and sound. I didn't get any of my 3-week plan days done so I guess I'll be starting it fresh tomorrow. I did do ok on both intake and activity though ... ok but not good. We had drive-through on Wednesday night, in the car, while driving to moms. Then I took Vladdy for a 0.6 mile jog when we got there to stretch his legs before putting him and Piper in their kennels for the night. Thursday the family took a 2.2 mile walk together with the dogs and then Snackers and I did our annual seek-and-destroy black Friday shopping the next morning.

Snackers and I don't black Friday shop like most. We hunt on www.BlackFriday.com the night before to figure out which stores we're going to and exactly what we're getting from each store - we even make a list. Then we go out in the morning when we get up, early but not butt crack of dawn early. We hit precisely the stores on our list, we get in, get what we're after, and get out as quickly as possible. We even power walk the stores to avoid the temptation of browsing for things that aren't on our list and then over spending or spending way more time than we wanted shopping in the hectic mess of black Friday. This year all of our stores except one were in the same intersection so we found a parking spot near the middle and walked to each store, dropping items off at the car as we went. It's a very athletic experience for us and if there is something on our list that we don't get because we didn't get up at 3 a.m., oh well.

When we got home we found that the rest of the family had gone for another walk up Rockville hill so we set out and met up with them on their way back. Saturday morning Snackers and I got up and went for another walk with my brother, sister-in-law and the dogs and then Saturday evening I went for another walk with the family to the amphitheater in Springdale where I ran 160 stadium steps before walking back. Then this morning we pretty much loaded up the car, came home, unpacked everything and started a load of laundry and then went to do our weekly grocery shopping. After that I gave Vladdy a bath before finally sitting down to relax. Oh and, my room at mom's was on the second floor so I went up and down quite a few flights of stairs over the weekend. Not bad all in all.

I did have a slice of cheesecake last night and a little stevia pudding cup with thanksgiving dinner (a non-traditional overly healthy meal at an up-scale health food spa in St. George) but I was pretty smart about my breakfast choices (mostly fruit and eggs, one pancake this morning, one piece of french toast yesterday), skipped lunch most days, and made up for it at dinner without going overboard. I'm actually pretty pleased with myself and looking forward to tomorrow's weigh-in. Though I have to admit my legs are KILLING ME today from those stadium steps. That was tough stuff.

Three-Week Plan (Take 2)

I'm a day late but I'm going to create the plan today anyway as opposed to putting it off until next Monday and risking flaking out on it.  I'll also be at my mom's from Wednesday night until Sunday morning so sticking to the plan this week will be hard.  I'm gonna try anyway, BUT, if I do a crappy job this week I'll just make it a four-week plan instead. :)  And, I am going to continue to commit to a minimum of 300 Jumping Jacks on each day in addition to the routine.

Monday: Walk 3 miles and do 20 sprints
Tuesday: Lifting routine and 45 minutes of yoga (see below for routine)
Wednesday: Walk 5 miles and do 10 sprints
Thursday: Lifting routine and 45 minutes of yoga
Friday: Walk 3 miles and do 20 sprints
Saturday: Sprint for 1 mile (not straight, of course)
Sunday: Open

Details:

• Sprints: No more picking a distance and calling it a sprint.  1 sprint = sprinting till I can't sprint anymore and have to stop and take a breather.
• Lifting Routine:
• 3 sets of 30 barbell squats @ 20 lbs
• 2 sets of 20 shoulder raises @ 20 lbs
• 3 sets of 30 barbell curls @ 20 lbs
• 200 crunches
• 3 sets of 30 bench presses @ 20 lbs
• 2 sets of 20 butterfly's @ 10 lbs (per arm)
• 3 sets of 30 leg lifts @ 10 lbs (per leg)
• 100 knee push-ups

• Yoga: Crunch candlelight yoga on Netflix
• 1-mile Sprint: I can't do a single 1 mile sprint but I'm going to Map-quest a 1/2 mile route and then sprint as far as I can.  Stop and walk in place until I catch my breath, then sprint as far as I can again, etc. Until I make the 1/2 mile mark.  Then I'll turn around and do it again to get home.
• Open:  My decision last time I did the 3-week plan to keep Sunday's open because they're the only day that I know Snackers will be home was a good one.  We almost always end up doing something active whether it be walking/shopping, kayaking/fishing, or hiking.  And if we don't do something active together then I'll take some time to do something active by myself but at least I am leaving myself open to Hiking/Kayaking/Bowling etc. by not pinning down this day.

Food:
90 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 yogurt cup
1 Healthy Choice lunch
3 Turkey and herb Bratwurst links
>>w/sauerkraut, mustard, and franks red hot
1 s'more cause Snackers made it for me
-----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,207
(Note: Per today's comments I tried to up my intake.  I ate a yogurt cup for breakfast and I literally forced a third turkey brat for dinner.  Sure, a serving of veggies would have been better, but we didn't buy any veggies grocery shopping this week because we're leaving tomorrow night after work and won't be back till Sunday so I went with what I had.)




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Walking/Packing: (Walked to the mailbox to check the mail and ran around the house getting everything together and ready for the trip tomorrow so we can throw it all in the car as soon as I get off work.  I still have one assignment to finish, two chapters to read, and four posts to write for school this week and chances are I won't have internet for the next four days while I'm at my mom's so instead of working out I have to finish school.  IF I get it done at a decent hour I'll do my lifts but it's 9:00 p.m. and I still have to finish packing once the laundry is done so it's not looking good).

Lo-Down and Catch Up

Here's the lo-down and the catch up based on yesterday's comments to answer some questions and acknowledge some of the most wonderfully supportive friends a girl can have.  I love you all.  You're amazing people.

Hormones:  My Dr. is confused just like me.  I'm on Depo Provera, I've been on it for years and yes, it causes weight gain.  In October 2009 I started experiencing all the classic symptoms of early menopause, which does run in my family.  Night sweats, hot flashes, mood swings, thinning head-hair and sprouting hair everywhere else (even a course gray whisker on my cheek that keeps coming back).  This spring I finally had my hormones tested and my OBG-YN declared that I was experiencing pre-mature perimenopause.  Menopause, technically is the state a woman is in AFTER she's been "menopausal" for several years.  It's the end result when you stop having cycles, hot flashes, etc. and you're free to be a happy, sterile old lady.  Perimenopause is the time before full menopause when women are miserable, cranky, and hormonal.  It's caused by dropping estrogen levels and my Dr. said my estrogen was all but non-existent so she put me on supplements and assured me that "most people LOSE weight on estrogen".  Now, on Nov. 1st of this year I went in for my regular depo (I'm not sterile yet) and my clinic had a new OBG-YN who looked at my chart and said "Why are you on depo AND estrogen?"  So I explained it to her and she said "Well Depo is PURE progesterone and that's probably why your estrogen is so low.  If you're having symptoms of menopause it could just be the depo, we need to get you on a non-hormonal form of birth control and off the hormones so you can lose weight" ... YAY she seems like a much smarter Doc!!!  So Monday of last week I dropped the estrogen.  I slept good, had more energy, got more done, and felt good until about Friday (it takes time to build up and leak out of the system, hence the delay).  Friday was hot flash city.  So I started taking them again.  I have an appointment in January to get an IUD.  Birth control without hormones.  No progesterone, no Depo, no estrogen supplements (hopefully).  Until then I guess I'll take the estrogen on an as-needed basis because school is starting to get really stressful and I need to be able to sleep so that I can concentrate.

So for those of you asking - that's the full blow-by-blow.

Giving up: You re ALL right.  I took your advice Dr. Swan and something even more interesting popped out at me that I hadn't even realized.  I've stopped eating breakfast.  I don't know when it happened but aside from my Sunday morning breakfasts with Snackers I've completely stopped eating until my Healthy Choice lunch at 1 p.m.  That's my bad.  I've also grown accustomed to drinking a gallon or more of water a day which, during the summer, was good but now that it's winter and I'm not really sweating much, I think it's overkill.  I upped my sodium as a result of my increased water intake.  I need to lower them both - I mean it's 50 flippin' degrees outside and I've had these little blinders on because I'd become obsessed with routine.

I've also started to think that 50 jumping jacks 5 to 6 times a day is the best exercise ever.  It's not.  It's a super great boost but I need to get back to walking.  I've notice MOST of my exercise now for months has been muscle-building exercise.  No, I haven't gained 10 lbs of muscle.  My brother tells me in the body building world professional lifters are lucky to gain 2 - 3 lbs of muscle a year.  BUT I've all but given up on good old fashioned cardio.  I started to get obsessed with wanting to run and then when I got shin splints from it I just pretty much gave up.  My goal is to run after I'm under 200 lbs so I'm jumping the gun there.  I was losing the most weight when I was walking 3 -5 miles a day.  I need to get back to that - and I am sure Vladdy will appreciate it too.

The hardest part right now is school.  It's gotten really hard.  I just got the first C on an assignment that I've ever gotten in my life.  I've never even gotten a B before in my life and I got a C last week.  I know it sounds dumb but that is emotionally devastating to me.  I need to get over it.  Last night I stayed in my office after work for 3 hours working on an assignment and when I finally stopped working on it I was psychologically, mentally, emotionally, and (for some strange reason) even physically exhausted.  I'm finally working classes that focus on my major instead of gen-eds and that added stress is eating at my drive to exercise in the evenings.  Anonymous is right.  Somehow I have got to find a way to get my butt up and get it moving again.

How I feel:  Several of you addresses how I feel.  Here comes the uplifting part.  I feel awesome.  I feel stronger, more confident, I have higher stamina, and I find myself wanting to dress nicer and take better care of myself than my usual pony tails and no makeup because I FEEL like I LOOK better.  Well I do look better.  At the start of that hike in Red Rock last weekend I was afraid of my own legs.  I wouldn't hike that rock ridge with Snackers and Vladdy because I didn't trust my legs to carry me.  Half way through I swallowed my fear and tried it out and I felt like I was 15 again!  It was beautiful!  I used to get winded trying to climb the stairs at my apartment one time.  When we moved I was up and down those stairs like a jack rabbit on crack and I loved it!

The conclusions:  You're all right.  I can't give up.  Failure is temporary.  Quitting makes it permanent. 

• Maybe the hormones are playing a part - if that's the case I need to power through and fight to keep my weight at least stationary until January.  
• Maybe school is part of it - if that's he case I need to power through and do as much as I can until I graduate in April and will have a bit more free time (which I might use to get a second job to pay off student loans depending on how big my raise at work is and, if I do, I'll get something physical like busing tables or something).  
• I probably need to go back to eating something small in the morning whether it be a Fiber One bar or a yogurt or something.  
• I need to cut back on my water - the Mayo clinic recommends approx 96 oz and I've been drinking between 120 to 140 oz which can cause the cells in the body to swell.  (Dangerous levels of swelling are extremely rare and it is called water intoxication, I'm not to that point but I could be retaining too much water due to an excessively high water intake and not being active enough to actually sweat).  
• Actually, that's another interesting fact from looking back on the early posts of this blog.  When I first started to increase my water I was sweating profusely all of the time, even just sitting at my desk.  Whether that's the hormones or something else, I've stopped sweating recently except at night (yeah still get night sweats from time to time) and I'm not going to the bathroom more so where is all of this water going?
• The three-week plan was really helpful.  It gave me goals to accomplish and a routine to follow.  I am routine-centric.  I tend to have a higher drive to follow routines than I do to just "wing it".  Lately I've been winging it and getting nowhere, I need to get back on a routine.

So I am posting this post for now in response to your comments, I will post another post tonight with food/activity.  Thank you all for your support.

The Verge of Quitting

It's been suggested, numerous times, that the reason I'm not losing weight anymore is because my calories are too low.  I have an issue with that because I was eating more calories when the loss first stopped and that's why I dropped back down.  It's being suggested that I should be eating 2,000 calories ... which is the regular recommended daily intake for maintenance not weight loss.  That's not gonna happen.  3,000 calories in or out equals approximately 1 lb.  So that said there's not logical way that a person should gain wait if they're eating 1,000 calories and exercising daily - especially not 3 lbs per week.  But here I am, again, with yet another Monday morning gain and I am starting to get really pissed off and frustrated and ready to just quit.

Before I started this blog I had let myself believe that I was "born to be fat".  That it was genetic and there was nothing that I could do about it.  The day that I started this blog I'd had en epiphany that that was a bunch of bullshit and if I wanted it bad enough there wasn't any reason that I couldn't be skinny just like anyone else.  And what did I do?  I lose over 60 lbs in less than a year.  AWESOME!

Yet here I am now gaining weight for no apparent reason.  233.5 this morning.  I've gained back 10 lbs now despite being active and counting intake.  Do you have any idea how frustrating this is?  I thought it was bad when I was weighing and not going anywhere but now to be going in the opposite direction ... I just can't even put it into words.  I feel helpless.  I feel like I'm on my way back to 287 and there's not a damned thing that I can do to stop it.  I'm pissed today.  Really pissed and I'm starting to crack.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice lunch
8 oz baked chicken
1 cup parmesan noodles
-----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 843





Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 250

The Strangest Thing

So the lowest I've weighed since I started this blog was 223 and my last weigh-in put me back up to 230.5 so that's a "gain" of 7.5 lbs.  Now I know that, at my size, 7.5 lbs probably isn't enough to really notice a different in how I feel or how my clothes fit but get this:

I feel like I've lost weight, rather than gained it.  Even my newest pairs of pants feel more loose on my hips than I think they used to, my arms seem smaller to me, and in general I just feel lighter.  Now ... that said - remember those brand new size 36C bras that I bought last month?  Well the other day I put one on and it felt a little tighter around the ribs than I remembered.  Later that day I bent over to pick something up and when I stood back up again something didn't feel quite right so I looked down and, lo-and-behold, half of my right tata was hanging out of the cup of the bra.  Odd ... that didn't used to happen.  Now ladies, we know that sometimes you just forget to do the bra jiggle when you put it on and thinks don't always end up where they're supposed to be so I assumed that was all it was...but then it happened again.

Now I feel like I can't wear the new bras out in public because I would be mortifed if that happened in front of people.  I mean, my shirt was still covering everything so it wasn't like I was baring myself or anything but there was a distinctive lump under my shirt that shouldn't have been there - I'm sure ya'll know what I'm talking about.  So ... is it possible that at least some of my weight is in my chest and around my rib cage?  I mean the Dr. did put me on estrogen supplements a few months ago - very strange.

I am pleased to report that I've been off the estrogen since Monday and I'm still sleeping well.  Maybe I can stay off of it until I start noticing a problem again and then take a bit.  Maybe the dosage was just too high or something.  I dunno but I have a feeling that Monday's weigh-in is going to be a good one.  Cross your fingers for me.





Food:
80 oz of water
2 cups of coffee w/creamer
1 egg white burrito w/turkey bacon
1 serving champagne shrimp
>>w/lentil soup
----------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 991





Activity:
Walking: 4.8 miles (pedometer tracked); Christmas and grocery shopping - literally ALL DAY LONG!

Dreaded Phone Call

Background:  When I was with my ex I didn't have a car and he did so I drove his car whenever I needed to go somewhere that he didn't want to go.  One night I was headed to the gym and my cell rang so, like a good responsible driver, I pulled over on the shoulder of the road just around the corner from home to answer the cell, plug in my hands free set and put my ear buds in my ears.  It was just a quiet little neighborhood so pulling off on the shoulder seemed perfectly safe.  As it turned out, the caller was a friend with bad news so I stayed parked to talk to her.  As I was parked a car came around the corner and pulled into a driveway directly across the street from where I was parked.  A few moments later the car backed out again, straight out, without looking, and right into the driver's side door of my ex's car (the other driver was sixteen).  So then I had to make a horrible phone call to my ex to tell him "Hi, I just got in an accident in your car."

Call me crazy but every so often when Snackers takes my car I think back on that phone call and hope that he never ever has to make that call to me.  So last night my phone rings, Snackers is at football, I'm at home studying, and I say "Hi hunny how are you?".  He says "Not good."  I INSTANTLY think "oh shit this is 'the call'" and ask "What's wrong?"  He says "I had an accident" and I think "CRAP!  How messed up is my car?" then he continues to say "...and I cut the top of my thumb off" so then I think "CRAP!  How am I going to get to the emergency room?".  Just then ... T-Mobile drops the call.  Ya'll, I can't make this shit up.  I tried to call him back but I had zero bars.  I hadn't even been moving, I was sitting with my iPad in my lap the entire time!  So I jump up and run into the office to call him back from the office phone and just as I get into my office my phone rings ... oh look, I have bars again.

So I answer it and ask if he's going to the emergency room and he says he doesn't know.  I ask if he's called the police to report the accident and he says "No, why would I?".  DUH BECAUSE IT'S THE LAW!  Ok well turns out it wasn't a car accident - thank you for the heart attack!  He was putting together some piece of metal equipment at football practice and one piece slipped and gouged a chunk out of the tip of his thumb.  He opted to stay at football practice for another two hours so really there was no point in calling to scare the hell out of me other than he felt like it.  Geeee thanks.  He said "I'm gonna finish practice and then we might need to go to UMC."  I said "If you're able to finish practice first then it's not bad enough that you NEED to go to UMC".  Checked it out when he got home, the 'tip of his thumb' was not cut off.  Whatever it was gouged about 10 layers of skin out of the tip of his thumb but it was a gouge not a laceration so they wouldn't have been able to sew anything back on or even put stitches in it.  All that can be done is to clean it, lubricate it, wrap it, and wait for the skin to grow back.  *sigh*.  Oyvey.






Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 veggie sub
1 cup of coffee w/coacoa powder and brandy
(nightcap to get warm after the dog park)
-------------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 853




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Walking: 1.2 miles at the dog park

Marathon Study Day

It's a good thing I got my jumping jacks in, peppered throughout the day!  I woke up at 6 a.m., studied until work at 7, studied during lunch from 1 to 2, and then studied after work from 4 till 8:30 when I finally completed a very difficult assignment and turned it in for school.  It was a highly stressful, exhausting day and I still have three more chapters to read and two more assignments to do by Sunday.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fruit and yogurt parfait
1 Healthy choice lunch
1 bowl of veggie chilli
1/2 can of tuna
---------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 912




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 400

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday was my birthday.  In spite of that I think I did well on my calories.  I told Snackers a bazillion times that I didn't want a cake because even if I splurged and had one piece for my birthday, there would still be left over cake that I wouldn't be able to resist for days after.  So he got me a cup cake from the Cupcakery!  What a genius idea!  Of course no cake would have been fine too but with a cup cake I was able to cut it in half, he ate half and I ate half and now it's all gone and there is nothing left behind to tempt me.  Genius! 

I worked, ate my usual coffee, healthy choice lunch, and water and did my jumping jacks during the day.  When he got home we made dinner reservations for an Italian restaurant nearby and then headed to a local ceramics shop to paint our own ceramics. 

We had so much fun painting them that we decided to skip our dinner reservations and stayed at the ceramics place until they closed.  I painted a dog figurine to look just like Piper (our Min-Pin) and he painted a coffee mug with a cat on it to look just like Casper (our Birman Seal Point).  We had to leave them there when we were done painting so that they could be fired.  We should get them back sometime between now and Sunday so I will post pictures of them when we get them.  We then came home and I had a leftover fruit and yogurt parfait from the fridge and my half-a-cupcake and went to bed early (which was something I really wanted for my birthday).  It was fun!  Actually, it was probably the most fun birthday I've had in a very, very long time!!!




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 healthy choice lunch
1 fish burrito
6 dried chaerries
-----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,041




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300

Weigh-In #50

This post was written on Monday but blogger has been down since Monday night so I am only now able to publish it.

Sunday Snackers and I took the dogs to Red Rock Canyon just outside of Vegas to go hiking.  You can't see him very well because he blends in with the rocks but the picture to the left is Snackers and Vladdy on top of an escarpment.  Vladdy got a little scared about half-way up but Snackers refused to let him turn around and run back and he adjusted to it pretty quickly.  We did three trails and some body climbing, with the dogs.  We discovered that Vladdy thinks hiking is the greatest activity ever, Piper is part mountain goat, and my leg strength just isn't what it used to be.

When I was younger I used to go hiking all the time and I would have no problem climbing big steep mountains with drop-offs on both sides (like Angel's Landing in Zion).  Last time I tried to hike Angel's I got scared and made the whole group turn around and go home because it was snowing and I didn't want to slip and fall on my tail bone.  Yesterday I was scared to go up on the escarpment with Snackers and Vladdy and I realized that it wasn't because of the heights, it was because I don't trust my own legs the way that I used to.

Later, on a different hike I decided to swallow my fear and climb this rock face.  It wasn't a full 90 degree wall but it was pretty darn close.  Piper zipped up it no problem, shocking the hell out of everyone, so then I had to go up there and get her.  Of course then Vladdy decided that he wanted to go too and, before long, we were all body climbing this wall, lifting the dogs from ledge to ledge.

At one point we did a trail that when down through a wash in some trees and, at one point, I ran into a sawed-off branch that was sticking straight out toward the path.  I was focused on showing Vladdy the rock stairs that had been placed on the trail because he was trying to climb a huge, slick boulder instead and having a hell of a time of it.  Next thing I know, WHAM, speared right in the shoulder.  It hurts like hell today and I bled all over the inside of my shirt. :(

As a side-note, today's weigh in was 230.5 so that's another 2.5 lb gain.  That does it, I'm going off the estrogen supplements.  I would rather have night sweats and hot flashes than gain back all of the weight that I've lost so far.  Stupid effing hormones!!!!!!





Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
6 dried cherries
1 healthy choice lunch
1 serving italian veggie soup
2 slices of toast
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 977




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300

Playoffs

Yesterday was game one of the playoffs for Snackers' football team and they won.  Yay them!  It's single elimination so next week will be the deciding factor as to whether or not they play in the local championship.  If they make it there, and win, we'll have to go to LA for the regional championship and then from there to Chicago for the national game.  I hate to say this but I hope they lose the local championship.  I don't want to go to LA or Chicago again.




Food:
100 oz of water
1 fruit and yogurt parfait
3 oz tater tots>>
(Snackers made lunch, he was very pleased with himself)
1 cup chicken tortilla soup
1 flautas
3 dried cherries
1/2 serving mini fried ice cream>>
(it came with my birthday dinner)
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 934




Activity:
Walking: 1 mile @ 3mph
(shopping, parking lots)
Hiking: 3 miles
(moderate to steep hills, lots of large boulders and steps)
Body Climbing: 45 minutes
(w/o equipment, extremely steep but not straight up)
Lifting: 6 reps @ 10 lbs
(had to lift Piper up and down to Snackers on some ledges)
Lifting: 3 reps @ 82 lbs
(also had to lift Vladdy up to Snackers on some ledges)

Saturday Again?

It seems like the days are just flying by.  Every Saturday feels like it comes up so fast that I can't hardly remember making it through the week and every Monday feels like it's skipped Sunday just to get here.  My parents warned me that this would happen as I got older.




Food:
80 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fiber one bar
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 serving greek chicken
1 small dinner salad
1 boiled potato
1 cup mixed grilled veggies
1 - 100 calorie snack bar
-------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,050






Activity:
Walking: 2.5 miles
Stadium steps: 3 flights
Barbell Squats: 2 @ 10 lbs
Barbell Squats: 4 @ 82 lbs
(bathed the dogs: piper = 10 lbs, Vladdy = 82 lbs.)

Like a Baby

Wow did I sleep good last night ... I mean really, really good.  Snackers was watching Vietnam in HD on this history channel (one of the best docs I've ever seen, btw) and he fell asleep but I stayed up to watch the end.  I kept falling asleep during commercial break and then waking up again when I would realize it was back on.  It ended around 11 p.m. so I turned off the TV and must have been asleep pretty fast because I don't even remember putting the clicker on the night stand.

This morning when I woke up I realized that my body is FULL of aches and pains but, fortunately, none of them woke me up during the middle of the night so I feel really refreshed and well rested.  My morning jumping jacks were hard to do because my body is so stiff and sore but I did them anyway.  My right shoulder hurts especially and I suspect that, because I'm left handed, my left arm is handling my barbell lifts better than my right arm - or it could be leftover soreness from bowling since I bowl right handed.

The weather is going to be pure crap this weekend which saddens me because I would love to get out on the kayaks again on Sunday.  Snackers' football team has their first playoff game tomorrow and it's right in the middle of the day.  He'll probably want to spend Sunday at home watching football so I'm thinking I might try to find access to a treadmill and see if I can't get some real distance in at some point this weekend.  It just hurts my shins way too much to run on the sidewalk.  :(





Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 rainbow roll
8 pc sashimi
2 - 100 calorie snack packs
-----------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,136





Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 250
Walking: 1.5 miles

Fitful Dreams

I had some absolutely horrible dreams last night and I can't even remember them now.  I just know that I woke up several times in the middle of the night, upset about something.  They weren't scary - I woke up feeling like I'd been fighting with someone and getting nowhere in the process so I was frustrated and angry.  I would wake up, realize it was a dream, go back to sleep, and be awake again within an hour because of another dream - or maybe it was the same dream and I just kept picking up where I'd left off every time I went back to sleep.  I'm not sure because I never remembered exactly what the dreams were about.

It's funny because I honestly can't remember the last time I had an actual scary dream.  For years my nightmares have been centered around arguing with various people because they weren't grasping a concept that was incredibly simple.  Instead of jerking awake in fear I always wake up angry and aghast that whomever I'm arguing with in my dreams could be so daft.  I'm not sure why I've been having dreams like that - they say dreams are the brains way of dealing with subconscious situations but I don't feel overly frustrated with anyone and I'm always arguing with someone different in each dream (when I can remember them, that is).

I had a dream once a few years ago where some strange guy showed up with a kid, claiming it was mine, and my mom just openly accepted that as fact.  So I was frustrated and pissed off because I couldn't make either of them understand that if I had a kid I WOULD know about it because I would have been the one that would have had to give birth to it! lol.  When I woke up and calmed down it was hilarious but during the dream, which seemed so real, I was furious!  I'm sure Freud would have had a field day analyzing my crazy messed up dreams if he'd had the chance.  Ah well.  I'm awake now and all is well.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice Lunch
1 bowl of chili w/lime and cayenne
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
--------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 937




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Running: 0.6 miles
Yoga: 45 minutes

Study Day

Hi everyone.  I have two chapters to read and an assignment to write before work this morning so today's post is gonna be short and sweet.  Mwah!




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice lunch
1 Tbsp of peanut butter
1 fish burrito
1 ear of corn
------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,056






Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Walking: 0.53 miles
Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 30 @ 20 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 2 sets of 30 @ 20 lbs
Barbell Curls: 3 sets of 30 @ 20 lbs
Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 30 @ 20 lbs
Crunches: 4 sets of 30
Dumbbell Flyes: 2 sets of 30 @ 10 lbs (each arm)

Bad Bowling

Last night Snackers had his bowling league and neither of his two teammates showed up so the lanes let me sub for one of them just for fun.  We bowled three games and I gotta tell ya, those were the three worst games that I have ever bowled.  After the first few frames I had to chew my thumbnail off because I kept ripping it a little bit more with every throw.  I did get two strikes in one game, one strike in the third game, and a few spares here and there but I also got a whole lotta gutter balls.

Oh well, practice makes perfect.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 Healthy Choice lunch
4 oz steak - rare
1 lobster tail, no butter
1/3 ear of corn w/salt
1 charity chocolate bar
---------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,063




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Walking: 1.3 miles
Deadlift: 1 rep @ 82 lbs (lifted Vladdy like a barbell to weigh him on the scale with me)

Backfired Weigh-in #49

Well my plans to take a month off from weighing in seem to have backfired.  I'm up 2 lbs from when I weighed a month ago.  I guess I'm not surprised.  I've been working out even more over the last two weeks than I did when I was losing the most weight but it's been mostly muscle building exercise and my diet has completely sucked.  I've managed to keep my intake relatively low but my choices have sucked.  I'm having a hard time taking control over my cravings.  I'm frustrated but not surprised.




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
6" subway club sandwich (leftover)
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 can light progresso soup
>>w/shredded cheese
1 serving cheese and pretzel thins
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 977




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 300
Bowling: 3 full games

Gone Fishin 2

Woke up at the butt crack of dawn this morning, loaded up all of the fishing gear, cooler, dry bag etc. in the car and headed for WalMart to get a one-day fishing license.  We then came home, loaded up the kayaks, grabbed some subs on the way out of town and hit Lake Mead.  It was bitter cold and lightly raining but we put the boats in the water none-the-less and found a cove.  It was a bit of a challenge trying to fish from a kayak but it was a fun challenge.  You row to a spot, cast and reel a few times, then you have to row back to your spot because the wind/current has pushed you a half-mile from where you started.  We were out there for about 3.5 hours before we got so cold that we started to hurt and decided to head in.  We didn't catch anything, again, though people all around us were catching.  That's how it was last time we went fishing too yet we're using the same lures everyone said they were using ... guess we just suck.

We did have fun though, and got lots of exercise.  After we came home and dropped off all the gear we decided to check out a lead we heard on a really affordable back yard fire pit.  We got a nice fire pit and four chairs for a killer deal, then we headed to Best Buy because Snackers wanted to pick up my birthday present.  Now we're at home, getting warm, spending time with the animals, and watching football.  Not a bad day - even if we didn't catch any fish.




Food:
100 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 fruit and yogurt parfait
1 foot long chicken sub
>>the usual
2 fire roasted turkey dogs
>>w/mustard and franks red hot
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,104





Activity:
Walking: 2.84 miles
Stepping x 12: Climbed up on the car to put each of the four cradles for the kayaks on the roof racks, again to add the straps to tie the kayaks down, and again to take each one down when we got home.
Lifting 15 lbs x 8: Lifted each of the 30 lb kayaks up on the car with Snackers to load them and unload them both at home and at the lake.
Weighted Squats 15 lbs x 2: Moved both kayaks from the ground by the car to the ground by the water with Snackers' help.
Lifting/Other 30 lbs x 1: Carried my own kayak from the water to the car when we got done all by myself!!!
Kayaking: 3.5 hours of actual paddling time (estimated)
Fishing: 30 minutes of cast and reel time including one brief battle with a large fish that did, eventually get away.

Pain Pays

Sometimes it really is best to rest an injury and give it time to heal.  Sometimes the old adage "walk it off" is appropriate, depending on the nature of the injury.  Yesterday when I woke up my foot hurt bad but I swore I would do JJ's as soon as I woke up so I did them.  At 9:00 a.m. on my first 10 minute break I did ten more and it hurt, but when I stopped doing them and walked into the kitchen for water I was surprised to find that my foot hurt less than it had before I did the JJ's.  At 11 a.m. on my second 10 minute break I did 50 more, then more at 1 when I went to lunch and more just before my break ended at 2 and then 50 more when I got off work.  By the time I did my last set of 50 right before bed I was barely limping at all.  This morning, no pain.  It's still super bruised but the swelling is mostly gone and I feel no pain at all.

I guess it's like the PF.  Stretching it in the morning hurt but, ultimately, helped it heal overall.  I'm now thinking maybe I had jammed my toes and the jumping jacks helped stretch them out.  I did that with my thumb once playing softball and my dad grabbed it and yanked on it and I was SO PISSED at him for doing it (I was like ... 7, tops) but it instantly felt better.  Odd sometimes how our bodies work.  I'm glad I'm not down for recovery though - I was going to be really pissed if I woke up hurting this morning.




Food:
108 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
3 oz thinly sliced prime rib
>>over poached eggs, toast
>>tomato slices, and salsa
1 homemade turkey chili dog
1 calorie free virgin margarita
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,202






Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 50
Walking: 2.8 miles

Broken

Last night I decided to try to do some more planks to work my abs and just as I got into the position for a front plank, my feet slipped backward on the carpet.  I dropped to my elbows in an attempt to catch myself and, instead, succeeded in hyper-extending two of the toes on my right foot.  I instantly hurt like hell and I rolled to my side as fast as I could to alleviate the pressure from them but it was too late, the damage was already done.

They started to purple within 20 minutes and it's actually the bones in my foot right by those toes that hurt, not the toes themselves.  I figured I could sleep it off and be fine by morning but no such luck.  I woke up in the middle of the night to investigate a loud noise (the cats knocking Vladdy's choke chain off the counter and onto the tile floor) and pain shot half way up my shin when I tried to stand on it.

This morning it's a little bit better, I was able to do jumping jacks as soon as I got out of bed, but it hurts pretty bad.  I had to just grit my teeth and force through them to get them done.  This close to pseudo-marathon time I can't afford to be injured.  I'm kinda pissed at myself.  I probably should have realized that my ab muscles were too sore and tired from the previous day's workout to support me in something as demanding as a plank.




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 healthy choice lunch
1 homemade wrap
>>6" flour tortilla, salami, provolone, and franks
1 white grapefruit
1 glass red wine
---------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 875




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 350

You Know When...

Everyone ever heard Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." jokes?  Well I have a new one, maybe they're not jokes but they should be entertaining none the less.

You know you've had a good workout when...

"You have to bend over in order to pull your shirt over your head because you can't lift your arms."
"You try to chug water and it makes your ab muscles hurt so much that you gag on it."
"You start to stand up and your thigh muscles tell you to piss off."
"You have to wake yourself up every time you want to roll over in bed."

Now you try!




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 healthy choice lunch
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 fish burrito
1/2 serving sunflower seeds
1 oz beef jerkey
----------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 981




Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 200

A Choice to be Made

I made some bad choices yesterday that I need to account for.  First of all, I chose to sit on my hiney while my food was cooking instead of doing jumping jacks.  Then I chose to sit on my hiney a little longer even after I finished eating lunch.  Eventually I opted to get up and do some lifting but by the time I made that decision my lunch break was more than half over so I didn't get nearly as many reps done as I'd wanted to.

At football last night I chose to sit on my hiney and freeze it off when I should have gotten up and jogged around the park.  It would have been good for me and it would have kept me warm but nope ... bad choices.

When we got home I chose to take a nice long soak in a hot bath after helping my mom with some computer questions when I should have done some more exercises and yoga.  I will begin my weekly weigh-ins again soon and I'm worried about them.  Not knowing has been almost as crappy as knowing every week but not getting anywhere.  How am I going to feel knowing I've been working out every single day if that damn scale still says 230?




Food:
140 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving leftover goulash (the last of it)
6 oz lean steak, broiled
1 cup spanish rice
1 last piece leftover birthday cake
--------------------------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 1,162






Activity:
Jumping Jacks: 100
Walking in circles: Had a dr. appointment today, walked circles outside while waiting
Barbell Curl: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Press Behind Neck: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Tricep Extension: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Crunches: 200
Planks: 3 @ 10 seconds each
Side Planks: 3 @ 10 seconds each
Barbell Bench Press: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Dumbbell Butterflyes: 50 reps @ 10 lbs per arm
Knee Push-Ups: 100
Front Leg Lifts: 10 (last thing I did, ran out of steam)

Deadman's Party

Snackers in his costume w/the candy

Yesterday morning I woke up and put on some black sweat pants and an orange sweater and didn't even remember that it was Halloween until Snackers said something 30 minutes later.  I forgot again, quite quickly, as I entered one of the busiest work days I've had in a long, long time.  I finally got around to taking a lunch at 2 p.m. that was 12 minutes long and then I was back at my desk working again - oblivious to the fact that it was my favorite holiday of the entire year.  When I got off work I was a little depressed because it just didn't FEEL like Halloween to me.

I started to put on my costume anyway as Snackers and I started discussing options for where we could go or what we could do to make the day feel more like it should.  He decided to grab some take-out from the burrito shop and I turned on the Ghost Hunters Halloween Live special that I like to watch every year but the sun was still up (partially) and it just wasn't as fun as it usually is.  When the first trick-or-treaters arrived we opted to sit out front for a little while to pass out candy and then it happened ... we were filled with the Halloween spirit.  Our little neighborhood was PACKED.  The streets were so full of people that it looked like Mardi Gras!  We went through 160 pieces of assorted candy from those big variety bags (two bags of 80 pieces each), 50 boxes of junior mints, and 30 packets of Smartees.  We were getting hit in groups of 20 - 30 kids at a time.  A pick-up truck drove by so full of kids that it bottomed out going over a speed bump and then it parked and all the kids piled out and started running door-to-door.

Contacts, a wig, and fangs, I love Halloween!

When we ran out, the first time, we came in the house and started to tear the kitchen apart looking for more because it was only 6 p.m!!!  We'd been handing out candy, not letting kids take it from the bowl, so we know they were only getting one piece per kid yet we'd gone through 240 pieces of candy in less than an hour!!!  We found airline peanuts and pretzels that our flight attendant friends give us - huge bags with 50 packets per bag so we broke them open and filled the bowl again.  We also opted to turn on some tunes like "Dead Man's Party", "Monster Mash", and every other Halloween song that we could find on YouTube, hooked them up to the woofer, locked up the pets and left the front door open so that the tunes spilled out into the street.  Then we had our own little party, dancing to the music while passing out candy.  Everyone LOVED the orange paint we did in the living room and one guy even asked if we were going to "paint it back tomorrow". lol  aka he thought we did it just for Halloween.  Nope, we just like the color.

2 hours: 200 packets of pretzels, 150 packets of salted peanuts, 5 packets of honey roasted peanuts, 2 packets of Lorna Doon 100-calorie snack packs, and a lil' Debbie Snack Cake later we were out again and this time there was nothing left in the pantry but Ramen Noodles and Peanut Butter so we put a sign on the door saying we were out, turned off the lights (the universal parent-to-parent signal for 'don't knock on my door please') and called it a night.  We closed up shop just after 8 p.m. but the streets were still packed until well after 10.  Next year we'll have to buy candy a few months in advance before the prices go up so that we can afford to get a lot more of it!!!




Food:
120 oz of water
1 cup of coffee w/creamer
1 serving leftover goulash
1 fish burrito
----------------------------
Daily Caloric Intake: 958




Activity:
Barbell Squats: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Press Behind Neck: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Curl: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Reverse Curl: 50 reps @ 20 lbs
Barbell Lunges: 25 reps each leg @ 20 lbs
Walking: 1 mile