I Can Taste Hot

How many times have I posted something about getting back on the wagon?  I don't even know.  But here I am again, this time because I've been sick for two weeks.  Some kind of sinus thing that's going around, and it's nasty, and I don't like it.

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I wasn't just completely exhausted and feeling generally crappy.  I'm still not great, but I made it through my day today, and it was quite a long and stressful day.

I haven't been to yoga in two weeks.  I think I've walked a mile or so two times in two weeks.  I haven't been sleeping well, and my eating has been crazy.  I mean, I can't much taste anything, so I've eaten a lot of Taco Bell with a ton of hot sauce, simply because I can taste hot.

Plus I'm travelling and attending meetings, which always makes me testy, tired, and hungry.

So, tomorrow I'll be back home, and hopefully feeling even more like myself.  Then I can get back on a regular schedule of working out and eating well.  And sleeping.  Sleep is nice.   

All Kinds of Awesome

I'm settling back into my exercise routine, and I had an awesome yoga class today.  I found a new place, and I'm liking it a bit better than where I'd been going.  The environment is more yoga friendly (as opposed to the community center which is just a huge gym), and the class is earlier.  I'd rather leave work a bit early and be done with my day at 5:30 than work until 5:00 and then have to wait around for yoga at 6:30.  I don't get home until 8:00 then, IF I can make myself go to begin with.

 

Anyhow, this teacher almost always has us do some handstand stuff against the wall, and I never try it.  But I decided I would try today.  And then she didn't do it!  But, she did have us do wheel at the end, also known as a back bend.  I haven't done that in years.  Today I decided, well, heck, if she isn't going to do the handstands, I'll try wheel.  And I did it!  For a few seconds, but still.  I did it!

 

And then I ate the first strawberry out of my garden.  This strawberry:

Isn't it gorgeous?  And I GREW it.

 

I grew a strawberry, and I did a wheel.  I'm all kinds of awesome today.



Where is the Wagon?

I've fallen so far off the wagon, I can barely see the wagon anymore.  Life got really crazy there for a while, and I've been travelling for about two weeks straight.  Too much time in a car.  Too many meals out.  Too little control over what was served to me.  Not nearly enough yoga or walking or sleep.

But, I'm back home now, and I made a Wal-mart run last night to stock up on produce.  I plan to get back into the habit of daily walking and semi-weekly yoga.  (Or is it bi-weekly?  Which one means every two weeks, and which one means twice a week?  That always confuses me.)  And sleep...glorious sleep!  I am so happy to see my own bed and to get back on a normal schedule of sleeping and waking (and not sharing hotel rooms with strangers).

I'm trying to catch up to that wagon.  If you see the driver, tell 'em to look for me. 

Hair Color Is My Exercise Secret...Really

I recently discovered some "sparkling" hairs dancing around in my natural colored hair...and (gasp) after a closer look...they were not sparks...they were gray.  :(  After a declaration of "Hell No!"  I called the hair guru and insisted we consult on this tragedy.  I have done hair color in the past, but it fades.  Like in DAYS.  (Just another blessing of being me.)  So literally when I wanted my hair done for my wedding, I had to schedule it a DAY before the big event.  Shortly after the big event I had decided the price is too much (literally every hair color on the store shelf will turn my hair some version of red so I have to have my pro do it) and the benefit is too little...I swore off hair color.  That is, until the gray.

In my weight loss I continue to track my food with "My Fitness Pal".  And I have begun to do a walking program at home.  It makes me really, really disgustingly sweaty.  So I had come into a routine of showering (it is how I turn my brain on), going to work, coming home, exercise, shower again.  This was lovely and working with good result on a pretty regular basis.  That is, until the gray - and the hair color - and the threat that every shower is killing my color one day early.  

We did try a different kind of hair dye this time...I think it is gel based...I don't know what that means for the chemical reaction that is soaking on my brain.  But it looks good.  It seems to be lasting (for the record we are 30 days in and you can still actually tell my hair is a darker color than it previously was---progress).  

And it occurred to me... I don't sleep super well.  Like I usually wake up about 50ish minutes before my alarm.  I still hate morning and I still hate exercise, but I like my hair color.  And if I could just draggggg myself out of bed...the math looks good that I could do this damned exercise, then shower, then be free for the rest of the day.  And you know what?  Almost three weeks later - and I haven't died, I haven't killed anyone, and I dare say....I kind of like it.  

Now, before you hate me.  I do NOT LIKE it as I am crawling out of bed.  I DO NOT like it while I am doing it....I hate the instructor more every day.  I DO NOT like people that tell me how great they feel when they exercise first thing in the morning---they make me gag.  And now I am one of them.  (double gag)

I've done 2-4 miles most every day (4-6 days a week).  There have been mornings where I didn't sleep good and I've given myself permission to skip...but even then, I've usually ended up doing a mile or two.  I have enjoyed the lack of fight for the TV.  The lack of audience for my sweat session.  And that there I know in advance...no one wants to "walk with me".  I have taken to exercise only by the light of the TV...b/c it's 5 a.m. people, and I just don't need lighting at that hour of the day.

And something must be different.  On days that I walk in the morning - I do find that by the time I pull into the office, I feel like I've already concurred a bit of the day.  (I also enjoy seeing that I have already built in extra calories in the event that I go over my scheduled amount.)  I generally hit a MUCH higher step on my pedometer for the day...even compared to when I was doing the same exercise at the end of the day.  

So if you are looking at an unusual way to motivate yourself to fit exercise into your daily routine...consider hair color.  It's worked for me.  :)  

The Scale

I have purposely not been stepping on the scale for quite a while.  I just find that it derails me when I'm doing all the right things, then the scale doesn't reflect the effort I'm putting in.  So the last time I was on the scale was at my last doctor appointment, about six months ago.

Went back to the doctor today, and I decided to see what the scale had to say.  I'd lost about 15 pounds.  I'd like to point out, that last weigh-in was in July.  I was likely wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops.  And today I was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved top, and big clunky snow boots.  Plus I'd just eaten.  (Though I have no recollection of when I'd eaten last when I weighed six months ago.)

Anyway, I expected balloons and fanfare, or at least a comment from the doctor.  I got nothing.  But that's okay.  I know I'm doing well, and maybe that's good enough.

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Underwear

I have big boobs and I cannot lie...!

Okay, seriously, I'm having issues with my undergarments.  I posted before about how somewhere early into this weight loss journey, I realized all my underwear is too big.  But really, the more serious concern is my bras.

I wear a bra size that is not readily available in stores.  Like I finally went and got fitted at a specialty store an hour and a half away from my house, and ended up paying crazy amounts of money for matronly bras that actually FIT.  And from there, once I knew my actual size, and a few brands that fit me well, I've been able to order more online here and there.

But you know how you always see those cute little bra and panty sets in stores?  Yeah, I can't wear those.  Won't even begin to cover my situation.  And on the very slim chance that a bra I'm buying comes with underwear at all, it's likely huge grandma panties.  Not sexy.  Besides, I'm really short.  So, if I wear like briefs, or even high cut underwear, I've got two inches sticking out the top of my jeans.  Again, not sexy.

So, for the last several years, I've just dealt with ginormous grandma bras and bikini's bought in a six pack at Wal-mart.  (Oh, don't even get me started on the situation with Victoria's Secret changing their cotton underwear after many years of fabulousness.  Someone should be fired.)

Well, the other day, I was browsing ebay, and I found that if one is persistent and sleuthful, one can find bras in my size that are not so matronly, and rarely (but it happens!) one can find panties that match said bras.  !!!!!  So, now I'm on a mission.

I ordered one set so far, and it came yesterday, I think from Sri Lanka, or some equally obscure foreign place.  Not the highest quality, and the bra isn't really supportive enough for every day.  But, they're pretty!  Yay!  I have a few other brands saved in "my ebay" and I'm thinking tax refund means more lacy shiny things will be coming my way.

I deserve pretty underwear.  And I'm pretty sure you do too.

Here We Go Again- 2013 Version

I finished 2012 with only my one trip to McDonalds--and since that was a breakfast visit and did not involve any of my most-loved golden fries - I will mark this in my memory as a success!  

I could reflect on how my weight went up and not down this year, but I did not set any goals to make it go down.  I could point out my lack of exercising - but I didn't have a goal to do any amount of exercising.  So I think it would be pointless.  

For some time (you'd have to dig back years to see the evidence) I was fighting with myself about logging my food.  I have had good results in the past using this technique, but for whatever reason I simply could NOT get myself to do it.  

Well, for unknown reasons, in November I started DOING something.  I know that pre-holiday is not the best time to begin new food habits - but I say go with the inspiration.  I found an app called - MyFitnessPal.  I've tried online food tracking before and I hated it.  So I just wanted to TRY this.  I just wanted to SEE what was happening - in black and white.  

And, I'm loving it.  In the beginning I would log the food and I then could see how this would immediately change my eating habits.  If I knew I only had 360 calories left for dinner, I would be much more mindful of what I chose for snack, how much I put on my plate for dinner, and what I suggested the dinner menu be.  

I have gone over my calorie count SEVERAL days.  It was the holidays.  But I was much more AWARE that a slice of coconut cream pie was the same calories as a healthy meal, so I didn't eat 2 slices in a day.  (Baby steps people.)  

I did lose some weight right away.  I did regain this weight over the holiday.  I only allowed myself to feel bad about this for a micro-second.  If I had not been logging my food, I could have easily come out of the holidays with 5 more pounds of me to love.  And that would have been new levels of BAD.  

So here's why I like MyFitnessPal in a nutshell.  If you are searching for a tool, it might be for you- if not, it was free so no loss!  You can scan barcodes, and it imports all the nutritional info!!!  It is for iphone and ANDROID people - no discrimination.  It is accessible from your phone and your laptop (you could opt to only use the laptop if you don't do the smartphone thing).  You can enter your own RECIPES and it calculates nutrition (so you don't have to feel "left out" if you are eating home cooking).  You can look at your nutrition for the day. (I would have told you that I have a low sugar diet - I would have been WRONG.)   You can track exercise, water, weight, measurements, and notes daily.  You can search from a huge database of foods - home cooked, restaurants, and off the shelf- it keeps your recent choices close- all of this makes entry a breeze.  It is really easy to use and it gives you praise--even when it would be hard to find something nice to say.  (Think:  You logged on 12 days in a row!!!)  You can connect to friends to motivate each other or compete if that is your thing.  

So here are the goals for 2013:

1.  Pull out my pedometer again and try to increase the number.  ( I am kind of lusting for a fitbit one, but until they play nice with DROID - they will not get my money.)

2.  Just say no to the golden arches- zero visits in 2013.  

3.  Log with MyFitnessPal- use info to improve eating choices.

4.  Activity 3 times a week- for 15 minutes.