Days 67-69 Out of Town at the Moment

Sorry for being away for the last couple days. We are out of town and I will update as soon as I get back tomorrow.

Day 66 Getting Moving...

First, thank you to Diet Chic and Amelia for the words of encouragement! I knew the day would come when the kids would start to leave home, I just wasn't prepared for it quite so soon, and I'd always thought they would be close by, even when they moved out. Ugh!! It's much harder than I ever imagined!

____

So it's back on the bandwagon now.

Youngest got me going last night for our C25K run. We are up to week 4, day 2 tonight. My original plan was to run a 5K by November 7th, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it. I was trying to squeeze all the runs in by then, but I'm running out of days. Even if I ran every single day, I'm not going to get them all in. Poop.

Well, I'm still trying to meet Jack & Kelly's challenge of running this 5K by the 14th of November. I'm going to be out of town that weekend, so my original thought was to run it a week early. Now it's looking like I'll have to push it out till about the 11th. AARRRGHHH!!!! I have to make this happen!

_________

Well, lets hope that my neighborhood doesn't blow away tonight. We are expecting some severe storms and very highs winds tonight. On the news last night, they were talking to the utility company spokesman who said they are ramping up for some serious overtime, expecting possible power outages and downed electric lines.

yay.

Welcome to Michigan.....

If you don't hear from me for a couple days....you'll know why.

Day 65 Bad Emotional Day of Carbs....

I put my almost-19-year-old son on a plane today. He's moving to Arizona to work and go to school, but also because he likes the climate better than Michigan. He'll be living with his aunt, uncle and cousin (same age).

It's breaking my heart!

This morning, we took him to brunch at Bob Evan's. For those of you who aren't familiar, Bob Evan's is a "hearty home-style" kind of restaurant that originated in South-Eastern Ohio, and is all over the Mid-West now. Pretty much everything on the menu is loaded with carbs, potatoes and/or sausage, with the possible exception of a few wonderful salads they now have that make up for the lack of potatoes by adding different kinds of cheese, bacon and "sugared" nuts.

Sigh...

In any event...see! See how that just happened?!?! Here I am relating the story about me having to say goodbye to my only son, and now somehow I'm off on a tangent about bacon!!

It's no damn wonder I'm trying to lose this weight!

I have a feeling I'm not alone on this.

So, back to the story at hand, we took him to breakfast, came home and basically, for the next 3 hours, there was a steady stream of his buddies stopping by to say their farewell's.

Then it was time to go. I tried. I really did. I tried very hard to not cry, to be positive, to be encouraging and enthusiastic. In the end I cried like a baby. Hugged him over and over. And now I just don't know what to do with myself. Its not like we were joined at the hip or anything. He has his friends and his own life. But I'm so going to miss his hugs, and his awesome dry wit, and his handsome face. Its sucks because he didn't just move out, he moved away.....far away. And I can't just snag his arm as walks in the door and give him a hug. God, I'm gonna miss him.

And as far as my diet is concerned, we are back to the carbs. I ordered this chicken and noodles deep dish thing. Basically, it's simmered diced chicken in gravy, with home-made dumpling-style noodles, ladled over mashed potatoes. I ate half of it for brunch, and the rest for dinner tonight. It was somewhere in the 700-calorie range. Ugh!!

All I really wanna do is sit on the couch and pout....but youngest is being my savior. She just asked if we are running tonight, ........and we are....so, see ya tomorrow.

Day 64 Too Busy with Goodbyes...

Sorry folks, I'm just too preoccupied with saying goodbye to my son...

Back tomorrow.

Day 63 Super Quick Check In

Youngest and I completed Week 3, Day 3 of the C25K program. Each time is feeling a little bit better. I was actually able to hold a labored conversation with her as we ran! Lol!!

Previous times, I'd be too winded during the run portion, and too busy catching my breath during the walking parts. Today, I was actually able to hang in there a little with the conversation, not that well mind you, but better than last time! Its an improvement!

On another note, I've gotten 12 nights in a row of 7 hours of sleep. WOOHOO!! Starting to feel like a different person!

Day 62 The Morning After

Ok, so here goes.

Yesterday's food re-cap: coffee, water, a small banana, handful of pistacios, 8 prunes, more water, about 3oz of chicken paprikas with about 10-12 oz of dumplings, with paprikas gravy on top, a glass of apple cider, a piece of cheesecake, and a cup of decaf with 1oz of Baileys, more water.

I have no idea how many calories I ate yesterday, but I can tell you this: no second helpings on the chicken paprikas and dumplings. I did not stuff myself like I used to. I felt pretty satisfied with the amount.

_______

Update: I just went to Nutrition Data and punched in my recipe, and it looks like my calorie count for the Chicken paprikas was somewhere in the neighborhood of about 516 calories. I'm saying neighborhood, because I'm guessing at the actual amounts I ate. I know exactly how much went into the entire recipe, just not sure what fraction of that recipe I ate.

So I guess that's not terrible. Its the cheesecake that did me in.

I'm not very good at measuring the quantities of the food I eat, but after watching the video from Lanie the other day, I was pretty stunned to hear that we eat about 10 times as much meat was we should in our society. Mark made the comment that we should only be eating about a half pound of meat per week, not per day! (That is, if you aren't a vegetarian/vegen). Unbelieveable! Let's all remember THAT the next time we go out to a steakhouse for dinner! Just try and order a 1-2 ounce steak!!

________

I fully intended on going for my C25K run last night after dinner had settled, but my best friend and her family stopped by to say goodbye to my son, and have some coffee and pie/cheesecake. By the time everyone left, the dishes were done, kitchen straightened, etc, it was too late and I was too tired. So, today for sure I will be out there! No excuses! No time conflicts! Tonight is week 3, day 2.

_______

And last but not least: thank you to Kelly and Diet Chic for the suggestions on how not to blow it in the face of temptations! Had I not been "ripping-my-hair-out-busy" yesterday afternoon, and had I seen your posts before dinner, I surely would have taken your advice on the healthy snacks beforehand. I think the smoothie would be a good one for future reference because those always feel very filling to me.

Day 61 Gonna Be a Rough Night

Well, my almost-19-yr-old son has decided he wants to move to Arizona. And he's leaving Monday.

Which has me in a bit of a tailspin. But I've know of his plan since August, I just kept hoping he'd change his mind.

It's not that I'm against it, I'm just going to miss him terribly. But I want him to be happy and to succeed.

He'll be staying with an aunt and uncle and cousin (his age), and they are requiring him to be in school in order to stay with them, so that's a good thing. I hope he likes it, and that he acclimates well. But I'm gonna miss him.

So a couple days ago I asked him if there was anything in particular he'd like for dinner before he leaves. His answer: Chicken Paprikas. With homemade sour cream dumplings. Lots of dumplings.

This happens to be one of my all-time favorite foods, so you can see the dilema, right? Big, BIG temptation here. Carb-frickin-city!!

So, I am going to try and keep it to a reasonable amount, and I will go out and do my C25K tonight, so hopefully I can mitigate it at least a little bit.

This is really one of my biggest weaknesses. Hopefully there won't be any left-overs in the fridge!

____________

So here's my question: when you know you are going to be faced with a strong temptation, what do you do to successfully minimize the damage? How do you prevent an all-out binge?

Suggestions, strategies, please!!!

____________

One more note: I caved and got on the scale today. Lost 1 lb. I guess its better than nuthin!

Day 60 What's Wrong with Our Food?

Lanie Paine over at Healthy Schmealthy posted an excellent video that I just had to pass on. TED.com is a wonderfully inspiring and enlightening site that has tons of educational videos on practically every socially important issue we face. The one Lanie posted pertains specifically to the food we eat, and it's impact on the environment. Very informative...take a look.



_________

On another note: the runs have been feeling good, but today my back is aching too much from work today. I just need a break.

Food recap:  Small Greek salad with chicken, a glass of lemonade, lots of water, 2 thin slices of lean roast beef (about 3 oz) a handful of pistachios, 6 prunes, and a glass of apple cider.

Day 59 Slow News Day

Not too much to cover today. Youngest and I did our C25K run tonight, week 3 day 1. Its getting pretty cold out, so we're wearing more layers. brrrrrrr!!! But felt really good afterward!!

Food was a pumpkin bagel for lunch, with OJ

Dinner was a small amount of last night's leftovers, pork stir fry and a bit of rice.

An apple and some currants for snacks, and a tablespoon of hummus with a mini-pita. (about 2" diameter).

Lots of water....

I'm hearing lots of good reports all around, so I just want to say keep up the good work to you all!!

I'm quite worn out....'nite all!

Day 58 This C25K thing is feelin' pretty good

I just finished week 2, and today felt much better than Saturday! Youngest child was busy, so I went by myself. At first I was waffling about it....debating whether to go or not. Then I just decided I was going. I'm so glad I did. I felt so much better afterward!

Food recap for the day: coffee, water, a small hamburger for lunch, lemonade, more water and for dinner I had stir-fry pork and onions with Jerk seasoning with 1/2 cup rice. More water. Just took my melatonin a bit ago. Heading for bed and a bit of reading. Nite all.

Day 56 (and 57) Its A Beautiful Day

Saturday: Youngest and I did our C25K run/walk today, covering 2.0 miles in 29 minutes and 6 extra minutes of brisk walk at the end. This one seemed to hit me pretty hard...but I kept it going. Just seemed like more of a struggle. But now that I'm done, I feel so much better. I have to keep remembering this part of working out, the after-glow.

Haven't been on the scale this week. I'm afraid to. Last time I got on, I was pretty much stuck, and I don't want to be disappointed again, cuz I know I am doing the right things.

Patrick mentioned that maybe getting on the scale less frequently might be a good idea. That way I give my body more time to react to the changes in my choices and start reflecting those changes in my weight. Hmm....have to think about that.

_____

Sunday: well, had too many things going on today to run. I'll be back out there tomorrow. Salad for lunch, coffee in the morning, water and lemonade to drink. And my dinner: a biscuit and a sausage patty (ugh!). Worst of all, it didn't even taste very good. It was just filler....and bad filler at that. Tomorrow is another day.

Day 55 C25K app irritation

Does anyone use the app for the C25K? I downloaded it to my adroid phone, and for the most part, I love it, with a few key points of irritation.

Now, admittedly, I am using the *free* version. Maybe the full version doesn't have these problems.

But here's the deal: last night, youngest and I went out for our run. (By the way, I'm really enjoying having company on this!) In the course of our travels, I received 3 phone calls and two text messages! Which killed the C25K app. Which meant I had to re-start it. Which meant I had to "guess" at "ok, time to run now", "time to walk now". Crap!! I restarted it like 4 times!!! We ended up just running and walking for about 38 minutes. I'm pretty sure we got in the necessary run time.

The app sat on the counter in my kitchen to finish the "counting". I had to restart it and just let it sit there and time out, just to get it to "complete" the day's workout.

My other irritation is that, in order to actually see the time remaining, I have to keep the screen on, which means I am constantly fiddling with the phone to turn the screen back on. Yeah, I know I can probably adjust the time on when the screen times out and turns off. But I have a couple of other apps that just don't let the screen shut off. Is that too much to ask?!?

In any event, we covered 2.4 miles last night. And it felt great!

Done with my rant for the day.
__________________

Another objective of mine has been to get better sleep. I'm notorious for not getting enough. So, my 7-hrs-per-night-for-2-weeks plan is still underway. Last night made 4 nights in a row. I take 8mg of melatonin at about 9pm, and climb in bed by 11. Last night I was a bit mentally stressed, and so I didn't fall asleep till about 11:30, and then didn't get up until 6:30. Still got in my 7, but I sure didn't wake up feeling rested. Matter of fact, I felt pretty crappy this morning. I think I need to find some ways to de-stress before bed. It's not enough to just get in the hours.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Day 54 And still counting....and Rain and Sleep

I am still putting the day in my post title. Got a little feedback on that....seems others have done that too, and also got a bit tired of it. Trouble is, I have a hard time letting go of something right in the middle....too random!! So I think if I'm going to drop the "counting days" thing, I'll have to pick a specific day of significance to do so. I guess I'm kinda uptight that way. So maybe it'll be "Day 100" or something like that....

Onward....

No walk/run for my C25K yesterday: I walked in the door from work, ran a quick errand, and it starting raining. And it was cold. No thanks! So I'll have to make sure I do something today, even if it rains again. I don't want to lose my momentum.

On another note, I've started taking melatonin at night to try and help me get a better night's rest. I've had such a hard time for the last couple years. So I'm taking 8mg at about 9pm, with the goal of getting to bed by 11pm. This, I have to tell you, is one amazing feat for me. For 10.5 years I went to school at night, after work. Most of the time, the only peace I'd get to do homework was after the kids were in bed. That coupled with the fact that I've been a night person my whole life, has resulted in me getting to sleep most nights some time after midnight. It's not uncommon for me to be up until 1am. And on the nights when I struggle to fall asleep, it can be as late as 2 or 3am. And then up at 6am.....or 6:30....which often meant I got to work late. This has been a very long struggle for me. So with the help of my little droid alarm app, I take the melatonin at 9, and "force" force myself to climb into bed by 11.

A couple nights ago, I actually took the melatonin and THEN went for my walk/run with the youngest, and was still able to fall asleep! That is a good sign indeed.

And I have actually gotten 7 hrs of sleep for 3 nights in a row! WOOHOO!! Unbelievable!

I'm actually trying to do this for 2 full weeks. See, my problem is that I really don't like to go to bed.....I always feel like I'm missing something. So for me to commit to the idea of going to bed at 11pm forever is just way too uncomfortable for me. By choosing to do this for 2 weeks, I think I am giving myself the opportunity to see the results and feel good about it, without feeling the rebelliousness of "I don't wanna go to bed!!!""

Such a kid.....

And last but not least, yesterday's food re-cap:

Coffee for breakfast
soup and apple cider for lunch
2 hard boiled eggs and an apple for dinner.
Water all day

I know this isn't much of a menu, but I just wasn't hungry yesterday. And the things I did eat made me feel full, so I didn't want to make myself eat and feel miserable. It was just one of those days....

Just want to add one more note: thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement!! It really means a lot!

__________

And later....

Youngest and I went on our C25K run/walk tonight. Took my melatonin...getting sleepy. Almost time for bed. "Nite all...

Day 53 Hmmmph!

Well, I'm doing the right things, but the weight is just staying stagnant. I'm ramping up the exercise and cutting back on the calories & quantity, but not much is happening. I am the same weight today as I was last week. Dang!!

Diet Chic reminded me that building muscle adds weight, so I think I just need to concentrate on doing the right things for awhile and know that sooner or later, the scale will start to show my progress. Christina is feeling the same frustration, I know. She's working her butt off and not seeing the numbers change much, even though she feels the changes in her body.

Last year when I tried to do this, I got so mad I just threw in the towel. For weeks I was eating better, drinking water, going for  walks, blah, blah, blah. But quite honestly, I hadn't gotten to this point. Yes I want the scale to change, and yes I want to be smaller, but more importantly, I want to be healthy. I want to walk into my next doctor's visit and see perfect blood pressure, healthy cholesterol and blood sugar, and I want to *****feel good*****.

I'm not going to get on the scale every day. But I am going to do that C25K run. And then I'm going to do a 10K, within 2 months. Because the goal is to be healthy and fit, right?

Days 52 Feeling really good

Yesterday's food re-cap:

Coffee for breakfast (yeah, I know...)
chicken tortilla soup for lunch, water to drink
an apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter for snack
more soup for dinner (I just love it), more water to drink

Pretty sure I was well under 1200 calories yesterday, and I really didn't feel hungry.

The best part about yesterday was that hubby went for a walk with me in the afternoon (1.9 miles), and later in the evening, youngest child and I went for our C25K run/walk (2.5 miles), so I got in two rounds of exercise! Woohoo!

And the best part is that when I went to bed last night, I actually fell asleep right away. I am so tired of struggling with that nonsense of tossing and turning, or not being tired when I know I should be. So yesterday was great: reasonable food, exercise, shower, good sleep.....

Day 51 Success!

As promised, I went for the C25K run/walk, accompanied by our youngest, who's 15. She was great company! We covered 2.2 miles in 33 minutes.

For dinner, we had chicken tortilla soup, which was mostly the soup, without many tortillas! Not shown in the pic is the two Tbsp of shredded cheese and the small handful of mini tortilla chips crumbled on top. YUM!!

Ingredients in the soup:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, diced
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3 Anaheim peppers, finely diced
2 Jalapenos, finely diced
2 containers of Jack's fresh salsa: one Wild Mild and one Medium
3 quarts of organic chicken stock
3 Tbsp olive oil to saute' the onion and peppers

Basically, saute the onions, add the peppers, stir for a minute or two. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer an hour.

Top will a bit of shredded cheese and a few crumbled tortilla chips. Salt & pepper to taste.

Objectives met with this recipe:
good fat (olive oil)
anti-inflammatory food (Anaheim and jalapeno peppers)

Day 51.....cont'd.....I Am Excited!!

I am excited because I am actually looking forward to getting out there and running today, doing the C25K. I am excited because, as I mentioned below, I am not over-doing it. I am starting to feel that energy I have missed for sooooooo long.

And I am excited about this whole blogging it thing. I am really enjoying reading about the journeys of others, I'm inspired by the successes of other people and the stories they share. I've been looking through Jack Sh*t's posts on W.I.D.T.H., and have seen some really brave people taking a stand on their lives and futures. Thanks, Jack, for doing what you do. (By the way, W.I.D.T.H. stands for "why I do this here", and you can see lots of posts at Jack's with people that have shared their reasons for losing the weight.)

Day 51 Why Am I Counting Days?

So, it seemed like a good idea when I first started this blog, to count the days and put them in the post title. Now I'm just wondering why I ever thought it was a good idea.....I just have to keep checking the calendar to see what number day I'm on. Hmmmph.

Maybe I'll just switch to week number. Thoughts? Suggestions?

So I got back on the scale this morning, and I am down to the lowest weight since I started this: a total of 7 pounds lost. What is the deal with this 3-4 pound fluctuation? How can I be 3 pounds lighter today than I was yesterday? I understand 1-2 pounds, but 3-4?!?

Whatever.....I'll take it.

So, getting back to the counting/milestone thing. How do you mark your milestones? What is your method for keeping track of progress? How often do you do a weigh-in to check? I think weighing myself daily is just going to make me crazy, with these goofy fluctuations. What is a good interval for checking, that still makes you feel motivated?

_____________

For years now, I have been wanting to get into an exercise routine and get down to a healthier weight. As I said in my earlier posts, I have let the weight creep up on me, and twice in ten years I had pneumonia that left me out of breath for months and months. It took forever for me to walk up the stairs without getting winded.

But that's all gone now, and has been for awhile. A few times over the years I tried running. I used to run when I was younger. And I thought that I still could do it. But each time I tried, I would over-do it, and then I'd be miserable for days afterward. And then I'd lose my motivation.

A few times along the way, I've picked up an article or two about starting an exercise routine, and they always said to start slowly. I never listened to that advice. I'd try jumping in with both feet, because my pride wouldn't let me think that I was "that" out of shape. So, inevitably I'd strain every muscle I owned, and then I could barely get out of bed from being so stiff and sore. That is a motivation killer for sure. I'd resolved myself to the idea that, in order for me to get fit and healthy, it was going to be painful.

But, alas!! I was wrong!! Since starting this blog, and reading other people's blogs about their journeys, and finding things like the C25K, I realized a few key things:

1) I am not 20, and I cannot expect to be older and overweight and still have the energy and resiliency of a 20 year old. I need to start slowly.

2) There is no shame in starting slowly.

3) Patience is a good thing.

So I am taking my own advice of firing the IBSC.  I am starting slowly. I'm not going to over-do it so that I lose my motivation. I am going to feel good about my progress. And I am going to keep making progress.

Days 49 and 50 Lots of walking

Last night I talked hubby into a late night walk: we covered about 2 miles. Then again this afternoon, we walked 3.2 miles!

Yay!!

Then I stepped on the scale. I have gained back 3 pounds. And I don't even know how?!?

grumble grumble.....

Does an increase in exercise cause you to retain more fluid? Thats all I can figure...

Day 48 continued......

Just got back from my C25K run/walk. Covered 2.0 miles in 28.31 minutes.

I asked hubby to go for a walk with me....he over-ate at dinner, so he chose to snooze instead.

And I decided that I was going anyway. It felt really good! :) I'm doing this no matter what. And if I'm lucky, hubby will feel compelled to join me soon...but even if he doesn't, I'm sticking to it.

And by the way, dinner was the veggie salad that I mentioned below. I added a bit of grilled chicken to mine. Hubby had a burger with his, which explains why he was so full.

But not me! :) One small bowl of salad and a bottle of water.

Day 48 Back on Track

So, continuing the post from earlier today: went for a 1.4 mile walk at lunchtime. Lunch was an apple, peanuts and water. Coffee this morning.

Dinner will be grilled chicken and veggie salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, red onion, red and yellow bell pepper, and mozzarella tossed with a lite vinagrette dressing. And in SMALL portions!! And with lots of water.

Going for another walk/run this evening, to get back on track with the C25K.

I don't think this wonderful weather is going to last much longer, so I want to be sure and get out in it and enjoy it before the snow flies......yuck.

Days 42 thru 47 Too Much Eating Out

AAAAACK!!!!! I have fallen on my face and can get up! Notice I said "can". And I am up. I've been busy for the last few days. Ok, for the last week. But I haven't totally fallen off the wagon.

First, let me run through the quick food-recap for the last week. At least the parts I can remember.

Saturday: took my Mom out for her birthday. She picked Logan's steakhouse. (yay) I had grilled chicken, salad, onion petals, iced tea. ( I actually only ate about half of it)
Sunday: Hubby and I went away for two days (one of our semi-annual escapes from the kids/house/work) to a little boutique hotel with a jacuzzi/pool suite. We went out for seafood and split one dinner: shrimp, salad, broccoli, biscuits (shame, shame). Not too bad.
Monday: a danish for breakfast (boo!) and fruit for the rest of the day, plus half of a plain roast beef sandwich on sourdough.
Tuesday: fruit and ......I can't remember what else.
Wednesday: grilled chicken, couscous and corn. 3/4 of a cup of chicken fried rice.
Thursday: an apple, some leftover chicken from Wednesday, a handful of peanuts.

Coffee every day, lots of water to drink, and a couple glasses of juice thrown in there too.

Not everything I've eaten this week has been good. Too many empty carbs, not enough veggies, too much fat. Unfortunately too much of it has been restaurant food, and therein lies the problem.

Eating out is one of my weaknesses. I work full time, and until this past May, I also went to school at night. Making dinner for the family had become such a chore that I would often opt for eating out. And with the cost of eating out, I had a really hard time controlling my portions. I hated leaving half a plate of food on the table. And I am notoriously bad a eating leftovers brought home from a restaurant. So, I'd find myself ordering some big plate of pasta (or whatever) and feeling compelled to finish my plate. I'm quite sure that this is one of my biggest reasons for gaining weight.

So this last week, with the inordinate amount of eating out, has given me a chance to try and exercise some control and better judgment in what I choose and how much of it I eat.  I think the choices were pretty good, except for the breads they bring to the table.

Breads are a weakness for me! And hot, buttery breads are the devil! So, I had a hard time with passing on those when we ate out. One the flip side, I chose entrees that were relatively healthy (grilled chicken, grilled shrimp) and veggies instead of potatoes. (I guess I can't really count those onion petals as a veggie!)

Overall, I think I came out ahead this week, if for no other reason than I ate about half as much as I used to when we ate out. And the times I didn't eat out, I had lots of fruit.

One of my big challenges going forward is finding ways to eat more veggies and less of the sweet fruits. I love salads, but iceberg lettuce doesn't really count as a healthy veggie!

____

So, here I am, getting back up and getting back on the bandwagon. I'm heading out for a lunchtime walk/run in about an hour. I'm still working toward the C25K in November.

I'm still avoiding the pop and buckets of sweet tea! And quite honestly, drinking less sugary stuff has made me feel more alert in the afternoons, after lunch. I used to hit a wall about 1:30pm. That seems to have diminished significantly. And that means that my blood sugar is not fluctuating so much! Yay!!

Day 41, continued...

Still feeling poopy for not exercising much this week, so I went home for lunch and had an apple, a slice of whole grain seeded bread, water, and a one-mile walk...and a 5-hour energy. Feeling a little better about it...

Days 40 & 41 Sleep Issues

For the last, oh....5 years or so, I've developed some issues with getting to sleep at night. I've always been quite the night person, and for most of my life, by the time I actually went to bed, I'd fall asleep right away. Usually in 3 to 5 minutes.

Not anymore. Oh no! Some nights I will lay there for hours. Other nights I will stay up way too late before I even head for the bedroom, just because I don't feel tired. And if hubby happens to wake me up within an hour or so of falling asleep, well I am doomed then. It's like a shot of adrenaline. Not only will I wake up, but I wake up startled and then pissed off. And then it takes FOREVER to get back to sleep.

But then morning comes...way to early I might add.( I've never ever been a morning person.) On the contrary,  And I have the hardest time *waking* up. I drag around for at least the first two hours, bleary-eyed and half out of focus, sipping coffee, and waiting for all the parts to "get it together".  I don't even feel awake by the time I get to work.

When I was thin, even though I was still a night person, I was still able to lay down and go to sleep without a problem. It wasn't a matter of "I can't get to sleep", it was "I don't want to". The difficulty in actually getting to sleep seems to have come along as I put on the weight.

Have any of you experienced changes in your sleep patterns as a result of weight gain? Last night it was after 1am by the time I got to sleep, and then I woke up twice after that. Ugh!!! And now I am just dragging....

__________

Recap on the food intake. Wednesday evening, third child and I made dinner. We have a rule in our house that whichever child has the "A-list" chores gets to make dinner on Wednesday. I have dozens of cookbooks, and part of the assignment is for them to find an interesting dinner recipe, make the grocery list for it on Monday, and then make the dinner (with help, as necessary). So Wednesday we had a chicken "pot pie" type thing. Ingredients were: chicken, carrots, mushrooms, celery, onion, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, chicken broth, olive oil to saute the veggies, and a puff pastry sheet on top. The good part is that it had only one crust layer, so less bread/carbs. We used all white meat chicken, no skin or fat, instead of the called-for thighs. Broth was 99% fat free. The filling ingredients were placed in a baking dish with the pastry on top (easily removable), so serving it was by "scooping" it out of the pan, meaning that the light gravy could be strained out. (Good for me!) We increased the amount of veggies the recipe called for, so that was a bonus as well. I had a small piece of that for dinner Wednesday, and again for lunch on Thursday. Thursday's dinner was a wedge of fresh pineapple and a sliced Gala apple, with water to drink.

I've been staying completely away from the pop. No Coke, Pepsi....No bottled teas with tons of sugar. That feels good. Before I stopped drinking those, I'd started noticing, especially when I'd get the McDonald's bucket of Sweet Tea, that I'd get these weird head rush sorta feelings in the afternoon after lunch. First I'd get the tea for lunch, drink maybe half of it, and by 2pm, I'd feel bloated and get these head-rush/headache type things. At first, I didn't make the connection. But then I noticed the pattern. If that isn't a crystal clear message that "all that sugar" isn't good for you, I don't know what is.

__________

I've fallen on my face with exercise. Haven't done a thing. :(   Feel crapy about it. Don't have an excuse.

__________

Just realized that one of the goals for the week was supposed to be adding anti-inlammatory incredients to the menu. Guessed I 've blown that too.

I think what I need to do to accomplish that one is to actually pick the foods first, add them to the grocery list, and also add them to the dinner menu....ahead of time. Lemme work on that....