Okay... this is going to be INSANELY long.... I will type carefully so nothing goes "poof"!!
FWIW, I was never able to "do it all". I gave up when Tom went to high school and just stayed home. That might sound strange, but he needed me around, and Mike was working so much. Being a mom and a wife and handling all the day to day stuff is a challenge. But here's what I realize now that ds is in college.
--He didn't care whether the house was immaculate, he just wanted to be able to have his friends over.
--He didn't care whether every meal was home cooked or some culinary masterpiece, he just wanted to be with us.
--And he didn't really like it when I worried about all the trivial stuff. He just wanted parents who cared about him and were there when he needed them.
I'm going to throw this our there. I am really having trouble switching from loser to maintain. I'm still dropping weight--I'm sure I'm not eating enough, but I have no desire to count calories or figure it out. I've already had Shannon lower my maintain weight by a pound, and I'm guessing I'm going to be at the low end of that on Friday. Clothes I bought a month ago are starting to be lo0se already.
When I was losing I felt in control of things. Maintaining, not so much. And really I am not hungry, so I have no desire to increase my calories. In the back of my head I keep thinking, you don't really want to maintain, you want to reach that college weight. But have you seen those people who have lost a bunch of weight in their 40s and 50s and their skin starts to hang in places? I am quickly approaching that. My skin on my neck and around my knees is starting to look pretty wrinkly. There's this older lady who walks at the park we go to who doesn't have an ounce of visible fat on her, but her skin just hangs. I don't want that. I know I'm a ways from being that bad, but I don't want to look older than I am.
So I don't know what to do. I feel like there is a tug of war going on in my brain right now. I know it's a good problem to have, so I'm not upset or anything, I just don't know how to be done losing. I guess it's a process and I just need to be a little more patient.
I actually heard a story/study once about the fact that it is actually MORE important to be home with your kids when they are teens than when they are babies/toddlers. Not sure I totally agree with it, but there is DEFINITELY something to be said about being home with your teens. My Mom owned her own (home based) business for a short time when my brother and I were in high school. We would come home and drop on her bed and chat with her for a good 30 minutes or so at the end of the day. It was great to be able to share the good/bad events of the day immediately. It was an important time in our lives. And having an adult home at the end of the day definitely kept us out of trouble! I LOVE being home with my kids still.... I am so lucky.
I can so relate to the issues you are having with maintenance. I sometimes wonder if this 5 lb yo-yo I've been playing with for months is some sort of unconscious self-sabotage to avoid maintenance (bit of psychobabble there for you
). And I agree about the loose skin.... I'm starting to have elephant knees and it is making me sad, because even when I was heavy, I always had good legs.
I heard that the "stars" get fat injections in places like the backs of their hands to avoid that saggy skin/too skinny look.
I registered for the Princess tonight.
As part of the registration you had to pick your favorite princess--I had a hard time, but I picked Ariel.
DD and I are both sending you a
for supporting our favorite princess! In fact, DD and her swim team friends (ages 12-15, male and female) actually watched The Little Mermaid last night!
I did good yesterday, barely ate anything for breakfast or lunch, and had grilled steak salad for dinner. Yum! I put green beans, strawberries, tomoatoes and mandarin oranges in the salad with a little bit of fat free ranch. All under 600 calories. Did the strength training for back and biceps and did W2D2 walk fast/slow c25k. will try the running in about two weeks, once I get my new shoes!
Remember, skipping breakfast and lunch on a regular basis is a really bad idea. Your metabolism doesn't get the "kick start" it needs in the morning and you will be more apt to overeat later in the day. And I hope you ended your day with more than 600 calories... your body will shut down and go into starvation mode if you do that for too many days. And you need the fuel if you are doing all that exercise!
He ended the day coming home half an hour later than I expected, minus his sweatshirt. I was so happy to see him I just gave him a big hug (after closing the door so no one would see, of course! ) Turns out, most kids in the school are getting on the subway, so getting in a car was a challenge. He found his way fine, it's just none of us realized there would be so many kids. I'm actually glad, it's good he's surrounded by his peers. He later found his phone in his dad's recliner (after vehemently protesting it could only be in his room or playroom), and complained I wasn't signing the forms to take back today fast enough. Apparently reading them was taking it a step too far.
But it's all ok. He got himself up and off this morning without forgetting anything, and I guess we're going to settle into this new stage in our lives. It's the first time we haven't taken him to school, and it feels weird. The real homework should start tonight, I've told dh he's up!
Maria
Guess I missed the drama about his first day... but glad he returned safe and sound and happy. Isn't it great when they can be independent and strong, just like we've been teaching them??
I've been meaning to post...I read an interesting fact the other day, the average person burns 30 calories sitting on the couch watching tv in 30 minutes. Same person stretching for 30 minutes burns 95 calories, and 100 doing light household chores. For what it's worth.
Actually, I also read somewhere that you actually burn LESS calories watching TV than you do just sitting in a chair with NO TV. See, TV really does shut down your brain.... my mother was right all along!!
One time, I actually scheduled my entire evening down to 10 minute segments. For instance: 5:50 arrive home, 6:00 make dinner, 6:20 eat dinner, 6:40 change clothes, 6:50 start laundry, 7:00 DD bath, 7:30 run, 8:45 shower & get ready for bed, 9:20 clean kitchen. Okay that's more detail than you needed, but what I learned is that there is literally not enough time in a day to do all the things that NEED doing and there's certainly not enough time for anything "extra" - like cleaning out the back bedroom. And if that is true, that means I have to do that stuff on the weekends and, well, I always find something better to do. (And, yes, taking a nap would definitely qualify!)
Anyway... I think I should ask pjlla to move in with me for a month and create plans to keep my butt on track!!
I love your ten minute plan. When life is REALLY crazy and out of control, I write up plans like that and it really helps.
Actually, in my next life I would like to be (among other things) a professional organizer/party planner!
Bree - thank you - I am not feeling as slim as I once was, but it's still good to be within the healthy weight range.
I also have to say (Having just been to a Disney race) that there are a lot of very inspiring racers out there who are well outside their healthy weight range. And as many of you know I used to be in that group as well. At the risk of seeming like a broken record, I'm going to post my "before" picture again because it is a new challenge and more than my little WISH clippie, I think this photo of me shows far more clearly where I've been and what I've done since January 2009:
It's the same shirt I was wearing this weekend, BTW. Here's one more
Disneyland photo...just for comparing and contrasting. This one is with my good friend Jen - we had a great time running together!
Thanks for sharing your VERY inspirational pictures! Glad you had a good race and had a fun time!
I finally did it! I registered for my first 5K!!!!! DD1 is going to do the 1 mile fun run!!!!! I'm really excited now and really need to stick with the training! I'll try and do several miles on the elliptical tomorrow during the day. I can do 3 miles but not at a super big pace! I do need to get some new sneakers! I think I'll use my Kohl's gift card to buy them! I'll go next week to get them!
WOOHOO!! Your first official race! I'm impressed!
This is going to be a random and quick post because I am exhausted but have things I need to get down.
Subbing went great and I am so excited to report...I have a FULL DAY sub job for tomorrow at a different school. This means I will not be online chatting with all of you all day!
I am feeling really positive about tomorrow. I have been working so hard with my exercising, following the healthy habits, journaling and not doing any stress eating - this is a huge success for me. I am hoping to give myself back my 45 pound clippie that I had to take away...it will be close.
Thanks to Lisa for getting us started with this new challenge and being our coach this week! It is amazing how much work you do for all of us to organize something that changes lives in such a positive way. Jen
I can tell that you are happy to be back in the classroom just by your "tone" in this post.
Hopefully the subbing with be steady enough for now so that you don't have to consider a big move to find a permanent job. Think of all of the great things about subbing versus a regular teaching job.... no lesson planning, no parent meetings, no boring workshop days, a flexible schedule, the option to avoid certain children if necessary!
About to crash, but I tallied my walking and with 6.22 miles today, I crossed the 700 mile mark - 702.27!! Which leaves me 47.73 to reach my goal for the year of 750 miles.
Now if only I could get my eating under control and count my points, I would lose weight. Food is the problem....stress is the fuel for the problem.......I MUST SUCCEED!!!!
Way to GO on the miles! That is super impressive.
Sounds like another crazy busy life. Hope you're feeling better today pamela.
This was day 4 on track, wrote every bite down, and even though I only had 4 days I used all 35 flex points up. At work several people asked when we were going back to disney, since that's my thing, and I started to share that I am training for the princess and planning to go in february, and it felt great to get that out there, and I really think I am going to be able to do it.
Thanks!
So proud of you for four straight days of ON TRACK!
I could not survive without a list! My lists have lists! I seriously LOVE to write it all down, I have a Franklin Covey planner for everything, a school planner, a notebook on the counter, you get the picture. TARYN
I love this message! DH is fond of telling me things like "your lists probably have lists"! I GET IT!! We must be kindred spirits.
Pjilla, thanks so much for your suggestions. I'll try cooking the veggies I do eat in different ways and doubleing up as a starting point. I usually boil them because I feel like it defeats the purpose to add fat. Then I will work on adding in new ones.
You can oven roast your veggies with only minimal added fat. I usually give them a spritz or two of EVOO cooking spray and a sprinkling of salt (not a pepper fan). Even a small drizzle of EVOO amongst a large portion of veggies wouldn't increase your calories by much and it is a healthy fat! And if you read your packaging (or make your own), you can find tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce without added sugar or fat.
BTW, cauliflower is another veggie that is great oven roasted.
And remember, when cooking your veggies on the stove top, try to steam, rather than boil.... and stop when they are just barely done.... otherwise you drain away most of the goodness in the boiling water.
I started out very strong and lost 3 lbs, then stress, life and a nasty cold put a damper on that. I was up a pound from my starting weight today. I normally weigh in on Sunday as that just works best for me. Maybe I'll at least break even by then. It sucks having a head cold, sore throat, ear ache and worst of all bed spins (with no alcohol involved).
3 positive things:
1) I cut back a HUGE amount on diet soda. I'm down to about 1 a day from only drinking soda
2) I increased my water intake. I hate the taste of plain water and we don't drink tap water at all. Our tap water is "perfectly safe to drink", but often has a brown tinge. I've been drinking bottles of flavored water and I'm allowing myself one bottle of 10 calorie vitaminwater each day. I think that is better than diet soda, but I hope that someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
3) I dug out all my weight watcher's supplies including my food scale
I know someone else has mentioned this, but I think it bears repeating. If the Vitamin Water is sweetened with aspartame, it isn't much better than the diet soda. Sure, there are other things in the Diet Coke that are lousy for you, like preservatives and artificial coloring.... but the aspartame is the real poison.
Good for you for pulling out the WW supplies! I'm heading onto my THIRD YEAR of living the WW/healthy eating lifestyle... and my week one book, points slider, food journal and food scale STILL sit out on my counter EVERY DAY!!
QOTD- 1. Wore a size 12 pant for the first time in a long time this week.
2. Ran 7 miles....longest run to date
3. Hit my half way goal. Official lost 30 of the 60lbs
that was
a 2.2lb weight loss for the week.
Congratulations on the 30 pounds!!!!!!!!! (And on the 7 miles!)
Thanks for sharing. Growing up, there never was an emphasis that we get some fruit/veggies in for the day. If veggies happened to be in a meal, that was just because the recipe called for it. So its a little hard for me to think of ways to cook them. I will be definitely looking for some recipes this weekend
Guess I should call my Mom and thank for for teaching me the importance of fruits and veggies from an early age. We NEVER sat down to a dinner that didn't include a green vegetable.... mostly homegrown and organic that my Dad grew. But glad you know the importance now and are making an effort to include them.
I see the Pamela wrote you an excellent answer and I consider her an expert on those types of questions. I eat pretty much everything, well except Brussels sprouts, so I’m not the best person to reply. I do eat lots of broccoli. Actually, there is some cooling on the stove before I put it in the fridge to eat throughout the next few days.
I am really trying to give up the diet soda as well. Pjlla was just mentioning how bad it is for you. I remember that before I grab one and that usually helps.
Thanks for the nod.... twice. Wish my kids considered me an expert.... on anything!!
I am subbing at our high school today...12th grade British and World Literature! Actually it is going well and I am loving being in the classroom 2 days in a row.
High school??? You are so brave!
I had some raw veggies before dinner and only had 2 bites of cake before deciding it wasn't worth the calories.
I have been slowly trying to organize the house too. I usually tackle one project a day when I have time (like a closet, pantry, toybox, etc) and I have a dedicated give away area in the basement that I am constantly adding to. When a charity calls, I have stuff ready to go. We just had a pick up yesterday and it was satisifying to see 17 bags of stuff go.
NICE JOB with the cake! Isn't that a marvelous breakthrough feeling.... knowing that you don't HAVE TO finish something??!!
I love the "one project a day" plan. I was doing this earlier this year. I had the "one spot a day" plan.... the idea was to clean one spot EVERY DAY (large or small, depending on available time), until every closet, drawer, cupboard, shelf, etc in the entire house had been cleaned out. I did well for the first few months of the year (and yes, I had a large LIST/PLAN tacked to the wall in the kitchen), but sadly lost my steam. I still have a few of the larger areas to really tackle (like the attic
) and I am hoping to get them done this fall. Between the spot-a-day plan and the forced cleaning for guests and the redecorating/cleaning I've been doing, this house should be in pretty good shape by the end of the year!
What charities call to pick stuff up? I've never had a call like that. When I want stuff gone I have to load up the car, drive almost an hour to the nearest Goodwill, unload the car, and drive home.
Sometimes I think the Greeks/Romans had it right when it comes to clothes – just get a sheet and tie it around, it’s easily adjustable and can even be flattering! No dressing rooms, no arbitrary sizes that vary depending on company/designer, no worrying about buttons or zippers not fastening properly. Bree
DD and I got quite a chuckle out of this! She is in Latin II this year, so knows a bit about Greeks/Romans. She told me to say that wearing a toga that kind of "disabled" one arm was a sign of wealth. It meant that you didn't need to use that arm.... you had servants to do it. You could tell a person's status in life by how their toga was wrapped. Just thought we'd share that!
Pamela--feel better!
Feel better! FWIW--If the vitamin water has artificial sweeteners in it, I don't see it as much different than diet soda. I have read a bunch about aspartame, and I think for me personally, I need to avoid it, period. Of course none of the studies are definitive, but I have noticed the biggest difference in my health since being off it. I don't have cravings anymore for sugar, I don't binge. I am not fighting depression like I used to, I could go on. Sure some of that could be totally unrelated, but I'm not willing to take the chance. Good luck!
Thanks for the good thoughts!
I agree with what you said about the VW. For those of you who drink Crystal Light, consider switching to the 4C brand of sugar-free drink mixes. They are pretty tasty and are sweetened with Splenda instead of aspartame. Sure, we should definitely try to give up all of the artificial sugars, but from what I've read, Splenda is much less toxic to your body than aspartame. I'll say this once and move on.... ASPARTAME IS POISON. (Quietly steps off soap box.)
We are even running the parent's weekend 5k--well actually Mike and I are running 3 miles before, doing the 5k, and 3 miles afterward. It's our last long run before W&D.
YOu guys are nuts!!
How many people run 3 miles BEFORE doing a 5K and then again AFTER!!??
Well, this one is kind of easy for me because I am currently staring down my very first 5k tomorrow morning! So my goal is to finish it and not be last. I’m not setting any time goals for myself since it is my first race and this is a brand new event and I really have no idea what to expect. Nor am I willing to say I will not walk, because they haven’t even told us the course so I don’t know if I’m looking at hills or asphalt or concrete, or anything really (is that normal btw?). So, my goal is to finish (which I don’t expect to be a problem) and not be last (considering I have no idea how many people are even running this is a little concerning, I mean if only 10 people show up I could be in trouble. I will report in on Monday morning to let y’all know how it went!
Also, I wanted to chime in on the artificial sweetener/refined white sugar and flour/diet or non-diet soda stuff – I’ve read a lot of books about diet/health/fitness/ food in general over the past year and a half or so, almost all of them treat these things as poisonous to your body on some level or another. That’s what really hit home for me – poisonous! The sooner you can cut back and eventually eliminate these things from your diet, the better off you’ll be from a health AND weight loss perspective. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a Klondike bar or some Hershey Kisses every now and again, but I went from drinking four or five cans of Mountain Dew a day to nothing but water, milk (organic, but that’s a whole other conversation
!), green tea with honey, and V8 Fusion juice on occasion. I use whole wheat pasta and whole grain bread (having a hard time finding sprouted around here for some reason – but I would get that instead if I could). These things have made a tremendous impact on the way I feel on a day to day basis and I truly believe that these changes – especially the soda and sugar changes – have contributed to a better quality of life, even before the exercising got ramped up and the weight started coming off.
If anyone is interested in learning more about this stuff, a good place to start is Jillian Michael’s Master your Metabolism - good information, easy to read, pretty quick to get through (but I read quickly and a lot so that last part may not be applicable to everyone). Bree
Well... I'm late to the party, so to speak, but I hope your race went well! Can't wait to hear all about it!
And a big HEAR, HEAR for your comment on the "edible poison" that so many of us eat every day! Thanks for the reminder.
I forgot to do 3 aspects, so I am going back and re-answering QOTD:
1. I lost a pound!
2. Despite an emotional week, my first birthday without my daddy, birthday foods, and crazy life, I kept my emotional eating under control.
3. This one is funny, but since all my others tie together, I'll post it. While my brother didn't wish me happy birthday, he did give me one of his famous back handed compliments. We tease each other relentlessly, usually when there is a monkey, gorilla, etc. on tv we'll say there you are, etc. We've bought each other ugly stuffed animals b/c they remind us of each other, etc. Well, he told me "I saw you in Lowes' yesterday." "WHAT?" "Yeah, they had their Halloween stuff out." "Oh, was it a princess?" "No it was a skeleton, just bones. Told Gina it looked just like you." I'll take it!
P = sorry you had such a rough week! Hope you feel better, mentally and physically, very soon!
I know what you mean about work. I don't think I've ever been so glad to see 3:40 on Friday! I will tell you that the public acknowledgement helped me a lot, especially once I started losing. Almost like I would seem like a faker if I cheated. It's funny b/c now, a friend of mine had cupcakes and said
"I would offer you one, but I'm pretty sure it's against your religion now."
TARYN!
Love your story with your brother!
Thanks for the good wishes.
THe "religion" quote totally cracked me up!!!
To top it off yesterday my throat was scratchy and my voice sounded a little off a couple of times during the day. It was hurting by the end of the evening and I know I was snoring during the night. I am very congested this morning. The good thing we have nothing planned for the day and I don't have anywhere to go. I am going to make a couple pots of tea and sit and knit and take care of myself.
Sounds like what I have.... but you can't blame me....I haven't kiss you lately!!
My big fitness goal right now is to run the Princess half in February with mikamah.
One thing that I can do to help myself achieve that goal is to make sure that I am running (or run/walking) three times every single week so that when November 1st rolls around and it is time to start my training, I will already be rocking and rolling!
Going to the store this morning to get the things for our anniversary dinner. Grilled pizza with home grown tomatoes and basil. I know 9/11 is a sad day for America, but it was our day first and we don't let anyone put a damper on our special day.
Glad you don't feel bad about celebrating on that day. I'm sure that there are many people with birthdays and anniversaries on that day that get a little short-changed in the celebration department lately. Yes, it was a HUGE tragedy and we will never forget it and it is a solemn occasion. But life still goes on.
Wish I could commit to running the Princess half with you all!
Hope you are feeling better soon, pamela.
Slowly feeling better now... thanks!
My fitness goal for this challenge is to be able to do 10 full push-ups. I can do lots of the girly push-ups, but I really want to be able to do regular push-ups! Great question CC!
GREAT goal! I was just barely doing 10 real push-ups (but I didn't go very low) when I was taking that boot camp class this spring. But I haven't even ATTEMPTED a push-up since early August, so I'm sure I'd be back to just 2 or 3 of them (which is still an improvement over my "can't do any" days!) Let us know how it is going!!
I swear I posted this but it never showed up. Not sure where it went.
I am officially registered for the Princess Half Marathon.
I am so excited...I really wasnt sure if this trip would work out. Now it has to! Planning on booking our resort,tickets, and air fare tomorrow. I cant wait.
WOOHOO! Again, wish I could commit to this and go run it with you all!
Thanks! I just looked up a recipe for this and found one that looks easy and has stuff I want to use. Swear I'm gonna make my farm jaunt tomorrow.
Just one other comment.... I use the Heart-Smart Bisquick.... less fat in that one. I finished my pie today for lunch (it reheats well). It was still yummy.
WOOOHOOO!! There are going to be a bunch of us losers there!! Should we start a list??? We're going to rock it!!!
I have to leave for a football game in 15 minutes and I am still in my Army uniform so this will be quick but I have to report - I kicked butt (can I say that here??) on my PT test!!!
40 push ups in 2 minutes (100%!)
62 sit ups in 2 minutes (90%)
and ...drum roll, puh-leeze....2 mile run completed in : 18:03!!!! I am so so psyched!! (93%)
Have a great night all.
Nice job on the test! That is so impressive!
You should start a new thread for the Princess 2011 BL participants!
That is so nice, Disney does feel like home.
Well... I love Disney and I suppose if I were living in a foreign country for a length of time, it might give me a feeling of home.... but one thing I love about Disney NOW is that it DOESN'T feel like home!!
No laundry, no dishes, no snow shoveling, it is all just magic and special and FUN!!
What are you having for dinner on Monday night?
CC
Easy one for me! I could tell you what is scheduled for dinner every night for the next 6 weeks! Tomorrow night is chili and cornbread. It is a CRAZY night so we needed a crockpot meal. I usually pour a portion of kidney beans into my bowl and ladle the chili on top of the extra beans. I use beans in the chili, but DD isn't fond of them, so I don't use as many as I would like.... so I just add them to my portion!
Lowfat cornbread (from a mix) for the family and a corn Vitamuffin top for me.
There is no way I am going to catch up tonight. We just got home from the Mud Run and I am totally exhausted. I had an incredible amount of fun. I conquered the mud and decided that I am strong beyond belief!
Here is a quick glimpse of the run:
I felt so great when I finished! I will say that I was totally tired of falling down and tripping on things and being in the mud - I was beat up, scratched and caked with mud by the end. I have cuts all over, bruises and every muscle in my body aches...but I do feel great. I can't believe I did it and I can't wait to do it again next year!
I hope to catch up with regular posting tomorrow but tonight I am too sore to think! Jen
HOLY MOLY... that looks like fun!!! I would love to try something like that! And you look amazing in that last photo!!!
Just seeing this now. Is it too late to join?
Never too late! Welcome aboard! If you have any questions, feel free to ask on here or PM me!!
I still have a sore throat and my sinuses are clogged. I am hoping that I don't lose my voice. It is too early in the school year to do that.
Hope the sore throat leaves quickly. I'm pretty sure mine is turning into a sinus infection.... teeth are hurting today... a sure sign for me. Obviously this is something going around. Hope you are taking care of yourself...... go make a cup of tea and take a nap!
I MADE IT!!!!!
I am officially caught up with this "bullet train" of a thread!! It only took two hours!! I"m going to end here for now and post the rest of my "chatting" in a new post.... so I don't risk everything disappearing now!!!....................P
Now to keep it up.
So of course, we will miss some of the activities--again!
Susan, you crack me up!
I am assuming it is at WDW...but I'll look it up to find out for sure.
(And speaking of party food.... I made a "better" choice, but not the "best" choice.... 
)... and ice cream in the freezer all the time (admittedly, I am the shopper, so I could control this more). But no one is holding me down and shoveling the food in.... and no one is tying me to the bed when I should be exercising. The only people I have to blame is ME, MYSELF, and I.
