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?

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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!

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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....

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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.

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

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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....