Cam's New Lease on Life Journal (comments welcome!)

[keenercam]

I had an AHA! moment tonight at the gym. It all started with a plan to do 30 minutes on the cross trainer and 30 minutes on the bike and then 4 circuits at the fountain walk in 26 minutes or less. All that went down the tubes when I found out DSalmost 12 was home alone and I couldn't dedicate 2 hours to the exercise gods tonight. So, figured on 40 minutes on the elliptical -- good compromise.

Got on one I haven't used before and found I had to work REALLY, REALLY hard to move the thing. Realized it is the evil elliptical DH has told me about which has more resistance than any other one in the place. Figured, the heck with this, I am moving to one where I won't have to push so darn hard and can rack up some miles.

Then---- ready for this? An AHA moment!

It's NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY!!!! Criminy!

I figured, okay, I "only" have 40 minutes. Are they going to be easy? Or am I going to work my big fatt butt off?

So, I decided ..............................................................................................................................................................................


YEP! I STAYED. Right there. On that KILLER elliptical. 40 HARD minutes and only 2.2 miles covered.

BUT, I figured if I came and told all of you that I had taken the path, um, I mean the cross-trainer of least resistance, there'd be no or or happenin' here.

So, I did good. I am pleased.

Now I am going to go eat a fat free double chocolate muffin with fat free cool whip. Or maybe some kozy shack no sugar added rice pudding. NOT as a "reward", mind you. NOOOOOO, we are not supposed to reward ourselves with food, right? It's JUST DESSERTS!

 

[Mykelogan]

"It's NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY!!!! Criminy!"

Wait! Are you sure?? YOu mean it's not gonna be easy!
But seriously, I love that a-ha moment and your dedication at the gym is inspiring!

Hope that you enjoyed your post gym relaxation and dessert!
Mike

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Mike! NIce to think I could inspire ANYBODY! You are a sweetie!

Okay, all I can say is that this no sugar added rice pudding is . . . geez, can't think of a word.

can you say "trigger food"? Glad they only come 4 in a package --100 calories -- 3g fat -- 3g fiber. I am pretty sure that is 2 points. WOW!!!

 

[goldcupmom]

Cam - they are 2 pts. And VERY addictive. Try adding cinnamon and warming for like 10 seconds in the microwave. Taste like the homemade my mom made. WONDERFUL!!! Then add a spoon of FF cool whip.


LOL! I must be really tired. I spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out what AHA was an acronym for!

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Good morning to you MISS CAM!!!!

hope you're off to a CHIPPER AND CHAMPION start this morning!

have a wonderful day...

keep your positive attitude...

take deep breaths...

STAY AWAY FROM THE GOLDFISH ...except...

FOR PASSING THEM BY WHILE YOU'RE SWIMMING!!!

huggies!!!
Jen

 

[calena]

You are doing so great. I went on an eliptical in Florida at our resort for 30 minutes and it killed me! Jogging/wogging is MUCH easier. So you are a fit lady! Also, congrats on the BMI loss you posted. That is so major!

 

[keenercam]

Hey, Jen -- did you notice I haven't been eating goldfish? They had really become too much of a temptation, so I stopped buying them and stopped buying fat free sour cream and onion pringles.

calena -- thank you so much! the elliptical is the only thing I have found so far that I really work up a sweat doing, and I get a great sense of satisfaction when I am sweating. Isn't that weird?

Okay, so I bought a new magazine "More" which is geared toward women over 40, and I really like it. There is an article in there on shaping up your arms for summer's sleeveless fashions. It may be just what I was looking for. I will have to check it out. Since today is DH's birthday and we'll be going out to dinner, I won't get to the gym. I only need another 25 minutes worth of exercise to get to my June exercise goal, so I am going to do arm and leg work at home tonight when we get home.

My plan for dinner is bruschetta and mussels. Depending on how I do on today's lunch, I may do some kind of grilled chicken dish, too. Italian restaurants are a big weakness for me. YUM! Thank God for Flex Points.

 

[toystoryduo]

Hey Cam!

to your DH! I hope you all have a great time celebrating his birthday tonight!

You are doing a great job! Keep up the good work!!

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

Hey, Jen -- did you notice I haven't been eating goldfish? They had really become too much of a temptation, so I stopped buying them and stopped buying fat free sour cream and onion pringles.

YES actually i did, which is why i made the joke...your goldfish are my dried pineapple pieces...i quit buying them too...just could not resist them!!!

have a SUPER time celebrating hubby's bday!!!

huggies!!!

JEN

 

[keenercam]

Oh, boy, I feel sooo lousy this morning. Ate PEI mussels last night for an appetizer with too much bread dipped in too much garlic broth and nearly called out sick today. Oh, horror of horrors!

Of course, when I think about the fact that 8 weeks from now I will be leaving for WDW with my dear friend,Judy, I feel newly energized!

Did okay at dinner last night if you don't consider the homemade rustic bread, which I ate wayyy too much of. Otherwise, no problem: PEI mussels for appetizer (shared with DH), minestrone soup, then 1 crabcake (sauteed, not fried) and some broccoli. No cake or ice cream. Sorry, Howard! The only "treat" last night was 1/2 of the "Take 5" white chocolate candy bar my sweet Jenn bought me two nights ago. I put the other half on DH's pillow (still wrapped, of course!), and one key lime cookie (ahhhh, memories of Key West! I'm swooning!)

Haven't been able to even think of breakfast today, but did stop and buy healthy stuff at my coffee shop, so here is the plan:

B (maybe mid-morning snack) -- apple, banana, lite yogurt (4)
L -- low fat ham on whole wheat tortillas (6)
D -- LC pizza (6)

Going to see one of my favorite drum & bugle corps tonight -- they are in rehearsals near by and I am going to seize the opportunity to see them before they hit the show/competition circuit.

Working all day tomorrow. Invited DB, DSIL, DNiece & DNephew for dinner tomorrow night. They haven't seen how much weight I have lost, since I have only seen them when we were at my father's deathbed and then both parents' funerals. I have a ton of summer clothes for my DSIL in 20, 22 & 24 for their Disney trip in 3 weeks. Am so glad to give that stuff away. Hopefully, I will soon have to find a home for my 18s.

My trip is 8 weeks away. I am still hoping to lose another 8 pounds by then, which sounds reasonable, but I am a really, really slow loser -- 26 pounds in 22 weeks on WISH so far (though I should probably right off all of April and most of May when I was so focused on my parents and their deaths). So, if I lose 8.5 pounds more, I will be the lowest weight I can remember going back to about 1981. Almost scary.

Need to fit in some exercise this weekend. Will be hard to do with our schedule. Took my furbaby for a walk last night, but it was neither strenuous, nor long. Poor thing was panting about 1/2 way through. She is definitely NOT going to be my walking buddy when I really buckle down to training for the 1/2.

Back to work. Hoping all my WISH buds have an awesome day and a fabulous weekend!

 

[goldcupmom]

Morning, Cam! Hope you have a great day & a great weekend! I'll be back to check on you when I return on 7/10.

You're doing so good! 18's will soon be ANCIENT HISTORY!!

 

[joelyfaithsmommy]

hey cam

just wanted to pop in on your journal ( i see you beat me here ) and wish you a VERY HAPPY day...filled with low cal food, good choices and WEIGHT LOSS!


JUST KEEP SWIMMING

huggies,
Jen

 

[Mykelogan]

Morning Cam! Just wanted to say hi and say that I definitely think you can do 8lbs in 8 weeks from how well you have been doing so far... and can I add my excitement for you seeing the mouse in 8 weeks! Yay! Yay! yay!

Mike

 

[DisDon]

Hey, I really appreciate your comments in my journal, thought i'd pop over here and return the favor. Started reading the 1st couple of pages, wow, what a story about your heart! I've been very lucky, never had to deal with any kind of health problem like that, just the weight. I'm going to have to take time to read some of these longer journals like yours, seeing the beginning and then seeing the progress you've made is SOOO inspiring! Makes me want it even more. Bananas for you (watch out for the Firefox Banana Paralysis)

 

[keenercam]

Don -- Thank you so much for stopping by my journal and for all your encouragement. It really means a lot to me. The heart condition was really scary the whole 9 years 11 months since my diagnosis. I hadn't even realized until recently that I had nearly stopped taking care of myself, probably due to a sense of fatalism. It was ironic that with how tremendously obese (or "morbidly obese", to use the medical term) I was, that I had developed health issues completely UNRELATED to my weight and completely beyond my control.

Once that amazing doctor at Johns Hopkins gave me my life back to live as fully as I had the courage to do, I felt like I should really take care of this body, live life to its fullest, work toward some kind of goal, and most of all, set a good example for my children.

I can't remember the last time I set a goal and worked toward it. Now, I have two -- I am going to get down to the weight I was when I was ten (which is still about 10 lbs more than the highest number on the weight charts) and I am going to finish the Disney Half Marathon in the allotted time and get that Donald medal. Everything else I accomplish along the way is gravy.

But the sweetest side benefit to all of this is the truly wonderful people I have met on these WISH boards and the phenomenal support everyone provides every day. I wouldn't be anywhere without it.

Well, it is 3:40 and I still haven't been able to eat anything except some pretzel thins. I have good food in the fridge, but guess I will have it for lunch tomorrow when I am here all day. Never even touched the fruit or lite yogurt and it holds NO appeal. All I want to do is go home to bed. Points are definitely not going to be an issue for me today. Unfortunately, I am probably not going to feel up to going to see my favorite drum & bugle corps tonight. I should be asleep by then, I would think. So sad.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

hi!! i know i havent been around in awhile,...sorry! im just now going through and catching up with journals!!

 

[keenercam]

Well, that's one way to lose about 3 pounds. I was so sick yesterday that I couldn't eat anything but a couple of pretzels until about 10 last night, when I had some cereal. The scale this morning was down 3 pounds, which I am sure will even out when I get back to putting fuel in my body. UGH.

Felt better this morning and walked 1.7 in 26:15 which is a 15min26second/mile pace, better than required for the 1/2 marathon and well on my way to where I want to be before I start increasing my distance. Could have gone further this morning but after having been so sick yesterday and needing to get to work, thought I should take it easy.

Met my June exercise goal of 1500 minutes, which is very satisfying.

Food today:
B: special K w/low fat milk
S: veggies w/fat free ranch dip
L: whole wheat tortillas w/LF ham
D: depends on whether we have family over for dinner. I'd be content to eat some grilled chicken.

Not much time to post today. Need to accomplish a lot at work. Hoping all my WISH buddies are having a great weekend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Cam!

Hope you are feeling better today. Congratulations on meeting your June goal! That is wonderful!!!

Have a great day!

 

[keenercam]

Thanks, Tracy! It turned out to be a pretty good day. I worked 9+ hours and feel s muich more able to face the day tomorrow. I plan to go in later today for a few hours to finish up the administrative stuff I started.

Went for a walk this morning. Forgot to take my stopwatch, but I think it was about 52 minutes for 3.4 miles (using my ipod playlist to measure the time ) -- that's about a 15:18 pace, so moving onward and downward.

Finished up okay on food yesterday:
Dinner was some eggbeaters with cutup tomatoes and onions and fat free cheese. Dessert was fat free cihps and unsalted pretzels and a skinny cow peanut butter chocolate ice cream sandwich.

Off now to wrap a gift for a 10:30 a.m. birthday party. More later

 

[keenercam]

So, here is what I did right yesterday:
1. Walked 3.4 miles very quickly (right on target for my 1/2 marathon pace, which isn't until January!)
2. Didn't eat pizza or ice cream cake at the birthday party. Just a bowl of cut up fruit.
3. Did't eat anything while at my office for 3 hours.
4. No bread with dinner.
5. Cooked a LOT of broccoli and chicken for light lunches and dinners this week.

What I did WRONG yesterday:
1. Ate an entire bagel with fat free cream cheese -- it's not bad that I ate it, since I had the points and wanted it. What I did wrong was not to stop when I was full. Instead I ate the whole thing, when I would definitely have been satisfied with 1/2.

2. Was hungry when I got home from my office and instead of eating a can of green beans while waiting for dinner, I ate 3 servings of fat free chips and 1.5 servings of unsalted pretzels. yeah, yeah, I DID charge myself the points (7 -- OUCH!)

3. Ate a good healthy dinner of a 5 oz piece of steak (7 pts); chicken breast (2) and broccoli (0). But THEN, went back and ate the equivalent of half a hamburger that I wanted but did not need (3.5). THEN, had a skinny cow ice cream sandwich for dessert (3). At that point, I sent myself to time out in my bedroom, AWAY from the food.

Didn't get up to walk today since it was raining and I did 5.1 this weekend. I won't get to the gym tonight or tomorrow night, though, so I am going to have to buckle down on Wednesday.

Even though I met my exercise minutes goal for this month, I still want to get more in.