Month: January 2011

Monday, Jan. 31, 2011

So, I made it through my first month.  I ate dessert only once — for my son, Landon’s 30th birthday.  I made cheesecake with strawberries.  Had a small piece.  I remember it as being very good.

I have lost another 2 lbs.  Yay!  Finally.  When I stepped on the scale on Friday morning it said 166.  So, I felt good about that — a total loss of 4 lbs for the month.  Yes, I was imagining double digits, but what the hey, I’ll take it.

Generally, I’m finding I’m doing okay with not wanting any dessert.  There has been the occasional craving for something sweet like chocolate, or cookies, but I’ve managed to get over it by grabbing a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit.  I find making myself a cup of green tea helps, too.

Speaking of tea. . .

I was at David’s Teas in West Edmonton Mall on Sunday and bought some amazing ginger tea.  It’s called Organic Pu’erh Ginger and is purported to aid digestion, cleanse the blood, help with weight loss, counteract nausea, colds and sore throats.  It has a hint of orange flavour and I can honestly say it is a wonderful tasting tea.

I am committed to getting to Curves 3 times a week — therefore, because I have such a busy week ahead of me I’ll be going for two workouts before work this week.

The walking in the evening did not pan out last week, I only managed to be home one evening out of five and when I was home I was so thrilled to be there and able to cook a meal I didn’t give going for a walk even a fleeting thought.  I know it won’t happen again this week because I’m busy for the next three evenings and then I’m off to a conference for four days.  Sigh.  The only upside is that hopefully it will be much milder by the time I do find time to get a walk in.

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Yesterday — sunrise

As I was leaving for work yesterday morning I looked out across the field adjacent to my house and this is what I saw:

I took three different exposures using my Sony Cyber-shot.  I always wish I had my Nikon on hand for these shots, but then I don’t tend to get good sunrise or sunset shots with it because I don’t know how to set it up properly, so, anyway. . .

I used what I had and this is what I got.  Perhaps not the greatest compositionally, but it was the colour I was after, anyway.  I think the middle shot is the truest.

I love the sky and want to learn to photograph it so that it comes out the way I see it.  Obviously, I’ve got lots to learn, and that’s okay.  For now I’ll just subject you to my various attempts.

Have a beautiful day!

Monday, Jan. 24th, 2011

A new year, a new and open road.

Still stuck at 168 lbs.

Last week I got to Curves 3 times, this week I am aiming for the same.  I realized I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough during my workouts and so I really stepped it up last week.  I’m hoping that my increased efforts will produce some results.

I made a concerted effort to cut back on carbs and fats last week.  Trying to increase the servings of fresh veggies and fruit I eat throughout the day this week.  I do not snack in the evening other than a piece of fruit and a cup of tea, during the day I have yogurt in the morning with some trail mix or a piece of fruit, then during the rest of the day I may nibble on a granola bar or eat a handful of nuts.  I’m just not getting why it’s so hard for me to lose weight.

I am getting a little discouraged, but I refuse to give up — yet!

My plan of getting up at 5:15 has not been working — I just can’t seem to drag my sorry behind out of bed at that time.  So, I’m going to try really hard to get a walk in after supper at least twice this week.  I realized that once upon a time I used to walk every day, no matter how cold it was, but for the last couple of years I’ve wimped out.  Granted, I am much busier now in the evenings, but on those days when I can be at home I’m going to make a supreme effort to get my boots on and get some fresh air and exercise.

Here’s hoping for a 2 lb loss by next week!

View from the Side’s weekend challenge — January 22, 2011

My contribution to The Challenge this weekend:

 

©Kathy Larson
All rights reserved

 

No Pity

 

I am a very proudful person, she said

So much so, that I have lost my sight.

Now, as I stumble in the darkness

I wonder: what good is this silly pride

I cling to?  The bruises on my heart

and on my body are not badges

Of honour, they mark me as a fool.

I, who would not bend

Am broken.  Had only my hearing

also been taken I would

Not have to suffer your pity.

 

Something in the air — View from the side’s weekend challenge for Jan. 14th 2011

The following was supposed to be my entry in last weekend’s challenge.  I got de-railed and now that I’ve come back to this I don’t know how to finish it.  I think it was a good start to something, though.  Anyone want to have a go at it?  Maybe we can tag-team a story out of it?  Could be fun.  Thanks.

 

 

“It’s a little up in the air right now,”  she said, with a hint of Mona Lisa smile.

He gave her a puzzled look, but said nothing.  He was trying to be cool, didn’t want to lose it.  She wasn’t making it easy.

With deliberate slowness she extended her hand — fine-boned, with long, tapered fingers ending in perfectly rounded, pale pink-polished nails — turned it palm up and held it out before him.   She tilted her head as she did this and he had the feeling that he was somehow being reprimanded, though to this point he had behaved with nothing but the utmost calm and courtesy.

 

Day 20

Okay, so I’m a little miffed.  I haven’t lost a single pound since my last post!

But, I think I know what might be going on. . .

although I’m no longer eating desserts I believe I’m compensating by eating more ‘real’ food.  and not ‘good’ stuff, either.  I noticed this week that I’m eating a lot more bread than I usually do, and I’m, of course, putting butter on it.  As I’ve been quite busy the last couple of weeks I’ve eaten a lot meals in restaurants and from take-out.  Not great.  I try to choose healthy meals, but I think I’ve been ‘rewarding’ myself a bit too much with things that contain creams, cheeses and the like.

So, I am my own worst enemy!  Like I didn’t already know that.

With awareness, however, comes the power to change.  I am going to carefully watch what I eat from this point on — there’s no point in going through the agony of denying myself dessert and goodies if, in the end, I replace them with other bad-for-me types of food.

On a positive note:  having rid my diet of 90% of the sugar I was consuming I feel more energetic, less frenzied.  I am not craving sugar, I’m finding other ways of getting sweet tastes — spices, fruit, dried fruit — all can help curb my desire for a piece of candy or chocolate.  I won’t deny that there have been many evening when I wished to have a few cookies with my nightly cup of tea, but grabbing an apple or a handful of grapes has worked to satisfy my sweet tooth.

One thing I don’t want to do is replace the sugar in my diet with sugar substitutes.  I’ve used them once or twice but find I don’t really care for the taste.  Also, it’s not really teaching me change my food habits — I’m just replacing one ‘bad’ thing with another.

We have ‘muffin morning’ once a month where I work.  It’s a chance to socialize and well, eat muffins.  This month I wasn’t going to indulge, but someone had thoughtfully brought  some really healthy, hearty type of muffin and so I did.  Since then I’ve been wrestling with the idea of whether this was ‘cheating’.  I think I’ve come to the realization that I’m going to have to incorporate things like muffins into my diet, or pretty soon there won’t be much for me to have in the way of snacks.  And I’ve still got 11 and 1/2 months to go.  The granola bars I’m eating aren’t a particularly good choice either — they have 10 grams of sugar each — I think I’m going to have to find a recipe to make my own.

It’s the snacking that’s hard — eating more fruit isn’t the answer as it’s too high in sugar — I limit myself to 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt/day.  I’ve incorporated dried fruit and nuts into my diet, but that’s high fat, high sugar as well.  So, I’m kind of getting concerned about what else I can eat.

I’ve explored different variations of rice cakes and although I like them they get pretty boring.  So, if anyone out there has any suggestions for snack foods I would appreciate hearing about them.

Thursday, Jan. 20th, 2011

It’s been a long, cold 20 days here in Bon Accord.  And the rest of Alberta.  Actually, the last couple of days haven’t been half bad.  Yesterday the daytime temp got to about – 8 for a high — it was about -10 while I was out on supervision at noon.  The first time in over two weeks that the kids had been able to get out.  No, wait a minute, that’s a lie, they were out the day before, too.

Keeping kids cooped up for too long is just a bad idea.  Now all we have to do is keep them from killing themselves on the giant mountain of snow out in the field.

Something happens to us adults as well once we’ve been confined indoors for too long.  I noticed in myself that I was getting very bitchy, very negative, and even though I knew I wasn’t behaving oh, let’s say, admirably, I was powerless to stop.  Well, maybe not powerless, it might be more accurate to say unable or unwilling, to even try stopping.  Hopefully, with this break in the weather I’ll find better, more productive things to do with my time and energy.

I have a daily ritual in which I speak out loud all the things for which I am grateful.  It goes something like this:

I am grateful for my life.  I am grateful for all the good things in my life.  I am grateful for my husband.  I am grateful for our son, his wife and family, my beautiful grandchildren who bring me so much joy.  I am grateful for my home. I am grateful for my body and my health. . . and so it goes.  Performing this recitation of all the things I have to be thankful for in my life has gone a long way in helping me to keep grounded and focused on what is important.  (It obviously doesn’t keep me from becoming cranky and negative all the time — lol!) but it does usually put me in a good frame of mind as I begin my day.

I think that what I’m learning lately is that I have to carry that feeling of gratefulness forward throughout the day.  That I have to remind myself at small moments in my day to continue to be grateful, especially at those moments when I’m feeling anything but.

It’s amazing how much more growing and learning I have to do yet — thirty years ago I would have presumed that I would know it all by this age.  Hah!

10 days in. . .

Okay, so it’s been 10 days so far. . .

. . . I think it’s going to be a long year.

Last Friday I had a terrible craving for chocolate while at work — I ate an orange instead.  Then chewed gum.  Then drank tea.  Did not succumb, but it was hard.

Saturday, during our recovery from the snowstorm I went into cocoon mode and that generally means comfort food and to me comfort food means cookies, cake, candy, etc.  I went and played Scrabble, drank sherry and ate mini-oranges instead.  It worked.  I made it through.

When I weighed myself yesterday I was down 4 lbs.  Current weight:  168 lbs.  Not kidding myself, that is most likely all water loss.

I have started back at Curves.  Went twice last week, am aiming for 3 times this week.  I am also trying to get in some yoga or the treadmill 3 times a week.

I’m trying the Curves weight loss program again in an effort to jump-start my metabolism.  I am going the protein route rather than the carb route.  Too many carbs generally make me feel bloated and lethargic.  I may switch between them, but I’ll have to check out whether that is recommended or not.

I think I was expecting big, immediate results after 10 days of not eating any kind of sweet, but I have been disappointed.  I do, however, think it has made a big impact on my sense of general well-being.  I am not as tired as I was before starting this crazy thing, and I have not changed my sleeping habits or daily activities.  So, getting rid of excess sugar and fat in the diet does have that positive immediate impact.

I got measured and weighed at Curves last week.  In the interest of transparency and so I can keep a running comparison going I’m going to post those measurements:

Bust — 41″
Waist – 36′
Abdomen – 41.5′
Hips – 41.5′
Thighs – 22.75′
Upper Arms – 12′
Weight – 172 lbs
% body fat – 41.2%

Not a pretty picture, but not entirely bleak, either.  I am determined to lose 35 lbs and get down to a size 10.  I’m not sure I can accomplish that in one year, but I hope this gets me on the right track to achieving my goal.

I sometimes wonder why I bother, why I don’t just sit back and enjoy my life as it is and stop worrying about my weight, my health — I eat pretty good, I get moderate amounts of exercise — it all just takes so much effort.  And then I bend over to tie my shoes and find myself gasping for breath.  I hate that.  The day I can bend over without feeling like my head’s going to explode will be a great day.