OMG I'm sore...

Well, my lunges and weight lifting yesterday has left me SOOOO sore. OMG. Pain. I just had a bowl of cereal (fun to crunch!) I wonder if you can OD on clementines?

Week 3

Well, I've been terrible about writing regularly, haven't I? But I've been better about actually DOING the things that I'm supposed to do. Last Monday I stabbed my hand and couldn't put any weight on it, so I wasn't able to do my yoga routine, but I did the stretches and strength exercises that didn't involve putting my hand to the floor. Also been doing some work with the weights and running. Yesterday the scale said 188, which is good. I bought some plums at Nelson's and they were AWFUL. Blech. So I'm sticking to bananas and clementines.

I've wanted to go running again, but it's been SOOO icy that even I, the intrepid explorer, have had to take a pass. AND I can't find my brand new sports bra. It was $50 and now it's just GONE. Bums me out.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well!

Day Something: Weigh In #1

Well, I weighed in at the Community Center today. 191#. Which is down from 193.6, but not exactly getting me into "Top Model" or anything. That's okay. I'm going with the theory that I'm gaining muscle! (And that means I'm leaner if not lighter.)

Yesterday I jogged about 1/2 mile or so, at which point it occured to me that my morning of not eating or drinking anything might well have caught up with me. That thought crossed my mind as I was in the bathroom at Bernies throwing up into the garbage can. (I double bagged and then told them to take it out.)

Monday afternoon I stabbed myself in the hand while attempting to separate two salmon burgers, so I have been off the yoga bandwagon for the week while I waited for the two edges of the wound to adhere to one another once again. I'm sorry to say that my days of having my palm read may be at an end as some vital line has a zig zag in the middle now.

I've been eschewing meat pretty much entirely, and feeling better because of it. Today for lunch I had a salad and bowl of clam chowder. (Which probably is just CHOCK FULL of calories, but what can you do?)

Between the yoga and jogging, I feel like at least I'm getting in my exercise, building muscle and getting more flexible. And I've been eating more fruits and veggies, which is good, too. Staying away from sugars and processed carbs.

My lower back has developed some kind of a painful pinched nerve or something though which is VERY unpleasant. I have high hopes that it is a fluke and will leave as quickly as it got started.

Well, back to work!

Day 9 - I think!

Nicole and I went to the pool at the Community Center around 1:30 or so today. We weighed in on two different scales. The first one was 186, then the second was 185. My original weigh-in weight was 193.6, then the one at work was 188.8. I said we should just keep finding different scales until we reach our optimum weight. LOL

But the second scale that told me 185 before we got in the pool was 187 after. Talk about water logged!

When we got back from our swim, I did my yoga, so at least I got all my exercise in. I HATE doing the bows and bridges, but something when TWANG and my back was fine after that, and my shoulder is better. Go figure!

I stopped at HyVee tonight and got some more bananas and clementines along with plums and pears. The check out woman dropped a clementine and said, "I don't feel like picking that up" and bagged my stuff. I was like, "Ummm...so should I go get another one?" (I PAID for that clementine, sweetie!) And she said I could do that if I wanted to. (HUH!?!??!) So I went back and they were GONE. I had to find a guy that worked there and have him find where they went (they were restocking, and were bringing more from the back room.) Good grief. Just BEND OVER and pick it up! Marv was wondering where the heck I went. LOL

Anyway, Check and check on the five fruits and veggies, but it was hit or miss. The ratatouille from Nicole and spinach for dinner pushed me over the edge.

Tomorrow: The running begins.

Day 7 & 8: Week One is Done

I decided that for the sake of uniformity (and not necessarily self-esteem) I will head to the Community Center tomorrow to get weighed. I don’t think I’ve lost much, but I already feel stronger and more flexible.

I did “The Firm” Power Yoga yesterday, and it was closer to the workout level that I remember from my days doing yoga at the Y – though we’re still not there. But I figure another week of this, and I’ll find a more advanced yoga workout. I’m at four times a week for yoga, so I feel good about that.

Yesterday morning I had a piece of toast, a tall glass of orange juice and a glass of cranberry juice, then veggie pad thai with tofu for dinner. Today I went to Bernies and had an egg, half an order of hashed browns and a piece of toast for breakfast. I remain fruitless! But for dinner, I had a baked potato and broccoli. Tomorrow I’m even considering a quick swim at the Community Center since I’m already warmed up. The thought of getting into a swimsuit in front of people I know and having them talk to me makes me throw up into my mouth a little though, so we’ll see how I feel once I get there.

I spent several hours today roaming around museums (check out my new articles on examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-36044-Minneapolis-Arts-Examiner~y2010m1d17-The-Museum-of-Russian-Art-in-Minneapolis) so that’s my exercise. We were WORN OUT when we got done, I tell ya!

Day 6: Apple Crumble IS a fruit!

I did my yoga tonight – Energy Balance. I schvitzed. It was great. I can feel that I’m more flexible already. According to this (probably inaccurate) scale I’ve lost two pounds since last Friday, so that’s something. And probably means that week one will be a success. I kind of like the idea of doing the yoga the first week and adding running the second week, so I might just hold off til Saturday on the running. (Which will really be walking and jogging!) Now it’s 2am, and I’m sitting and watching “Last Chance Harvey” with Emma Thomason and Dustin Hoffman.

Okay, time has elapsed since I wrote the above and it's now 10:32 pm - still day 6 tho'! I had veggies for dinner, and then went to Bostons to watch Marv eat. I decided to have apple crumble for dessert though. That's a fruit!

The kids and I took the dogs to the dog park and hiked around it three times. I'll do my yoga when I get to work tonight. (I have to be there at 11pm.)

My keyboard is sticking like crazy. I have NO idea what happened, but it's making typing this take twice as long as it should!

Day Five: The Naked Lunch

Well, let's see...I started the morning with an egg and two slices of toast at Bernies. I worked through lunch on this art piece that I don't think I'm going to finish, but it's moving to me to something else that I think will be better. I did eat a couple of clementines and a banana between breakfast and a very late dinner that I ate at 6:30 while watching "Just Add Water" (which was only $1, but save your money.) For dinner I had a baked potato with broccoli and cheese and a salmon patty. I have to be to work at 11pm, and I'm hoping to get a nap in before then. I'll do my yoga tonight since I didn't get to the dog park. Yoga tomorrow night, then running on Friday!

That's the plan anyway. I'd like to take Gypsy running with me, but I'm a little afraid that she'll run in front of me and possibly kill me like (as she did the last time I attempted to bring her along for a jog.) I bought a book on training your dog, and I have high hopes that we'll be able to pull it off. She's smart as a whip, so if we fail, it will be all me. In July, when I started fostering her, they thought she was a year old. (Of course now she's all mine!)

I waited too long to eat after breakfast, and am now waiting for my sugar to head back up and perk me up.

I can't wait to try out my CUTE new running shoes!

Day Four: Hunger Cues

Well, I forgot to mention that yesterday between work and the salad, I took the dogs to the dog park for almost an hour. I walked around and around the park, hiking through snow and balancing on uneven ground. Not only did I get exercise hiking, but also burned calories through shivering. Now, if I'd been leaping around and running through the snow like the dogs were, I'd probably be a size four today. I should consider joining them. Nah...

Today I got up and drove the kids to school. They received a free lecture with the drive. I think it wasn't as appreciated as it should have been, however. I didn't get to Qi-Gong last night as I had cramps really bad, but I did go to the Paradise and worked on a future batik project. There was no wax or dyes though as I didn't get that far. So my $10 is, IMO, good until next month. I'll sneak in another day.

Today I had an egg, a piece of toast, and coffee. Then I took the dogs to the dog park again and walked around twice. I'm now having a chai and waiting to meet a friend and then off to my Mom's house. I brought my yoga DVDs and mat so maybe I'll do that while she works on the computer.

I have yet to pass a fruit or veggie past my lips. Which reminds me I was going to give Marv some of the clementines I bought yesterday and grab one to eat, and I forgot. Rats. Well, I'll fruit-load later today.

Which brings me back to the topic. A few weeks ago Greyson was telling me that he didn't feel good. His stomach hurt and he was nauseous. I said, Have you eaten? To which he answered in the negative. I said, Well, go eat. He said he wasn't hungry. I said, That IS hungry. He ate, and felt better. And I knew that because that's how I feel when I need to eat. I don't get the mental note: I'm hungry. I simply start to feel ill. Like I'm going to throw up. Then I have to think, when did I last eat? And sometimes it's been a long time, so then I overeat, resulting in either me gaining weight or me actually throwing up. Neither is good. Plus it's difficult working nights to regulate when I'm eating. I have to think, "Is it dinner time? Breakfast?" Because I sleep sporatically, and eat when I'm bored rather than when I should eat.

Years ago, I solved this issue by having things like carrot sticks or fruit sitting in the fridge, so when I was peckish I could just run in and grab something on my way out rather than thinking, "I have nothing to eat!" and running to the closest fast food joint. So that's what I'm gonna have to do.

I'm excited about getting my life back!The idea of having time and energy to do yoga, run, eat the way I should, read, write, and all that other stuff is pretty cool. I had no idea four years ago what I would lose (and GAIN) when I started this chapter of my life, and I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Day Three: Mind over Matter

That's right, I'm losing my mind, but not any matter. I weighed myself on the work scale when I got there last night, and apparently had gained 5 lbs in the few hours that led to this morning. I didn't eat anything, and I'm sure I didn't drink 5 lbs worth of water. Conclusion: work scale is F'd up. So I'm left without an accurate way to weigh myself. I refuse to believe that I'm 5 lbs heavier now than I was Friday anyway. I've been too good. Too virtuous.

Anyway, I've had an apple and a salad today. It was a definite cheater salad from Bostons. But I still have yoga and Qi-Gong yet today.

Tomorrow: Hunger cues.

Now: Sleep.

Day 2: Starvation Sets In

I did the two Strength yoga DVDs today, but didn't have enough energy to get to the "Energy" one. And actually, something went "TWAAAAANG" in my foot, and I couldn't point it without excrutiating pain, so I was unable to get into the inverted crane position, and the double helix fighting stance. And if you can't do that, well, why bother? I had two waffles and an orange for breakfast at 7am, and I'm afraid that I also had several cups of coffee, so I was WIDE awake when I got off of work at 9am. I went to Bernie's with Marv and had an egg and another serving of mixed fruit. (And hot chocolate.) Then I hit a wall, and had to come home and sleep for 6 hours.

I got up around 5 and had a cup of carrot ginger soup and a banana. So I'm pretty sure I'm set on fruits and veggies today! I'm having some water to drink.

I also had a visit from Aunt Flo, if you know what I mean, which means I'm not supposed to do certain yoga postures, but they are probably the ones I can't do anyway, so I guess I'm not overly worried.

I told a woman at work about the difference between the scales and now she's all worried about her own weight. LOL She's suddenly gained 5 lbs, and she didn't have to do a thing! I'm thinking we need a third opinion.

Day One: Setting the Pace

Well, yesterday was the weigh-in! According to the City of Faribault, I weight 193.6 lbs. According to work (also a medical scale) I weigh 188.8. I prefer the latter, but fear the former is probably correct. So I will just adjust my reporting accordingly. Reported weight will be a difference of 4.8 lbs. Which is really pretty depressing since according to the scale at work, I'm DOWN from my top weight of 193.6!!! Coincidence or conspiracy? You be the judge.


So attractive! Oy!

Prior to the weigh-in, I went to the Running Room in Burnsville and got myself a nice pair of running shoes, shorts, a sports bra and socks. I'm completely excuse-less now. (Well, other than the fact that it's 19 below - windchill of UNFREAKING REAL fahrenheit.) Anyway, I've decided that I'll do my yoga DVDs (Rodney Yee) every night that I work, and run on the other days. I yoga'd this morning at midnight, so that counts for today, right??? I broke a sweat, but will be able to be more vigorous once I can fold myself properly.

Here's an even LESS attractive picture of me!




There was a day - about three years ago - when I could probably have taught a yoga class, and I ran a 5K. (I'm wearing the shirt to prove it.) But now I'm starting all over from scratch. But at least I know what it takes, I have the time and the equipment. I actually can't wait to get out there. And I felt so good after doing the yoga this morning, that it's really it's own incentive.

Included in the challenge this year are three components: weight loss, eating 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, and exercising 30+ minutes a day.

I had to look up what constitutes a serving, and found this chart on cancer.org (the American Cancer Association's website):

Eating at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits each day may not be that hard to do when you look at how small one serving really is:

1/2 cup of fruit
1 medium piece of fruit (banana, apple, orange)
1/4 cup of dried fruit
3/4 cup (6 ounces) of 100% fruit or vegetable juice
1 cup of leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables
Trying to visualize the serving sizes? This may help:
1 medium apple or orange: the size of a tennis ball
1 cup vegetables or fruit: the size of a baseball
1 medium potato: the size of a computer mouse
1 cup of lettuce: 4 leaves

Snack Your Way To 5 A Day

Keep dried fruits and vegetable juice boxes in your desk drawer and glove compartment.

Keep a bowl full of fresh veggies and fruits on your kitchen counter.

Short on time? Look for prewashed, precut vegetables such as baby carrots and broccoli florets at the grocery store. Dip them in nonfat ranch dressing for extra zip.

Limit French fries, snack chips, and other fried vegetable products as nibbles, as well as at meals.

So far today I've had two bananas, which equals two servings. I just got home from work, so I have to sleep for a few hours, then I'll worry about getting the rest of my servings! BTW, I may or may not look better after I get sleep!