A convergence of events

As I've mentioned, we have a "maintain don't gain" challenge type thing going on at work. Allan over at almostgastricbypass.blogspot has continued to lose through the holidays and wants others to join his challenge going until 1 Jan. Fat Cyclist wants peeps to support him in losing weight, and is offering some great (biking related) prizes for those that join him in losing 10 pounds.

So, while there are many food temptations, there are also folks wanting to maintain focus on healthy eating and weight loss.

I know I haven't written a lot about that lately. The holidays have been hectic, with a certain amount of stress. Was there a full moon on T-day, because my MIL achieved a level of bat-sh&^-crazy that was quite remarkable. My emails have been piling up as I've been spending time cooking, shopping, and getting out the Christmas decorations instead of emailing or posting.

Things haven't been bad. I have maintained. Yesterday I made time for yoga. It's going to be a busy week and we're headed to Georgia for the weekend, but my healthy food is prepped and ready to be tossed into my lunch box. My gym bag is at the office under my desk.

As we cleaned the kitchen yesterday, son and I had a good laugh over MIL's T-day shenanigans. Cause really? I could be pissed about the fact that she showed up 3 hours late, with an appetizer that wasn't done, "mashed potatoes" that were still raw potatoes, and a burnt pecan pie. But what's the point? It's not like she's going to change. I can be angry about her crappy behaviour, or I can laugh about it. (On the list of top stupid things she did on T-day, that only ranks #3 people).

Back to the regular stuff

Hope you had a nice holiday. We had a very relaxing weekend - I took lots of naps. :-) T-day was good, despite my MIL. Hub and I agreed our major triumph of the weekend was not killing her. Ugh.

Saw Harry Potter - good movie. I think they did a good job adapting the books, although a lot is left out of course.

We took the Christmas decorations down and began decorating. We aren't in a frantic rush - just doing a bit at a time.

Mom and I are going to Georgia this weekend to bust my great aunt out of the retirement home. No firm plans other than that and dropping gifts by my cousin's on the way back through Hotlanta.

Have a good day!

T-day minus 1

Happy Thanksgiving, if tomorrow is that day for you! Overall I'm in decent shape - house is largely tidied and pre-cooking is on schedule. I have farmed out items to be brought as well, so really tomorrow should be fairly low key.

Getting my house (and yard) picked back up from the 95% done bathroom renovation today will require more effort than the cooking, especially given that hub had his toenail off yesterday and probably won't be up for doing much.

I pulled a muscle in my back last night. When you're 20, if you pull a muscle it's because you went bungee jumping or something. At 40(something) all you have to do is go to bed! Not fair!

Work is very hectic as everyone tries to wrap stuff up before huge chunks of folks go missing on vacation. Next month will be quieter.

Looking forward to wrapping up around lunch today.

Take care!

Hard thing 2

Yesterday our team volunteered at Urban Ministries food & clothing bank and soup kitchen. That wasn't the hard thing - lunch afterwards was the challenge! We went to Mellow Mushroom (a pizza place). Luckily they had LOTS of choices - I got a small mega-veggie with tofu. It was yummy! I had 2 slices and too the other 2 to my mom (which she had for dinner).

I maintained my weight this week - not totally happy, but given how hectic the week was, that was a bit of a victory.

Have a good weekend!

One thing down

We had our potluck at lunch today here in the department. I ate small portions and made pretty good choices. I had a snack before I went (an organic apple) so I wasn't ravenous.

My co-workers are complaining about how stuffed they feel, but I feel normal! Woot!

Baby steps

Okay, I've picked myself up out of my funk. This weekend I got a lot done around the house - an organized and tidy house always makes me feel better.

I have NOT been to the gym (sheesh!) but I did make yoga yesterday. Work is very busy right now - it's the rush before people go out for the holidays. I am going to go to spin tonight.

I didn't make my faux pho - I had two types of leftover soup post weekend and I only need lunch for 3 days: one day is our department pot luck and one day we are working at the food bank and going out for lunch.

I made the brussel sprout and mushroom soup from fatfreevegan.com which both my mom & I enjoyed very much and the guys weren't wild about. Oh well - more for us! :-)

Tonight I have lentil soup in the crock pot and I'll make some cornbread to go alongside.

Hub isn't working today or yesterday - he has a toenail that's gotten infected and the dr. wants him to soak it and take antibiotics - he has an appt with a podiatrist next week to get the nail removed (yuck!). Poor guy.

We watched Toy Story 3 last night and I bawled at the end. Be warned - it's not a sad ending in the tragic sense, but a total tear jerker.

Ugh.

Work has been crazy busy and stressful. I have missed every one of my fitness classes this week!!!

All in all, glad to put this one behind me!

Meals are planned for next week. I am having baked beans for breakfast. I know, crazy right? But beans for breakfast hold me over even better than oatmeal. Last time I did mexican style pinto beans with quinoa. But really, beans have enough carb that I don't think a grain is necessary. And I didn't want mexican again! Baked beans sounded good - a nice mix of spicy with a bit of sweet. Yum.

Lunch is "faux pho" (HA!) - a vegan knock-off of that yummy Vietnamese soup we all love. I am doing a raw cauliflower marinated "salad" to go alongside. I've been slack about getting raw foods in, I guess because it's cold! I am also going to make dehydrated kale "chips" this weekend. They are so good! And kale is really a wonder vegetable. I thought about putting it in the pho, but decided bok choy would go better.

Anyway, hope you have a great weekend. I have let tons of things slide this week - my house is a disaster. I called the 911-grandma hotline and my mom is coming over tomorrow to lend a hand. Have I mentioned she's the best?

No answers, just questions

It has been a tough couple of days. I spent about 2.5 days (Wednesday night through Friday night) on a food free for all (and I was sick in the middle even!), then felt better Saturday, then got stressed & lost it again yesterday.

I think it comes down to this: I know I CAN lose weight - I lost 25 pounds last year, I'm just not sure I have the discipline/will to make it happen.

Why can't I stop turning to food as a coping mechanism?

I'm not giving up - this week I am going back to basics, and taking a few days to take care of things I know will make me feel better. Stuff like hanging my kitchen curtains (I take them down when the weather is warm so we get more sun) and organizing my tupperware. I know that stuff sounds stupd, but getting stuff organized helps me feel more in control.

I need to make those things happen for myself. I ate a healthy breakfast and I have meals for the week pre-prepared so I can get back on track.

I swear I get tired of dusting myself off!

Have a good day!

About last night

For the first time in quite a while, I went on a serious eating binge last night. I'm talking saltines with vegan "butter" because I needed to EAT and there wasn't anything too decadent in the house.

I know what set it off and the fact is I'm not very happy with work right now. Simply quitting isn't an option. I am looking for other opportunities within the company, but I'm having a tough time dealing with the stress.

Exercise has been helping, but yesterday I was feeling irritable and my knee was bothering me and it just reached a boiling point.

I'm not sure how to handle this.

Stuff

So, the scale popped back down 2 of the 2.6 pounds that appeared after Sunday evening. That’s good – it puts me back where I was last Friday, but 3 days is a long time. Which makes me feel like having the treat was okay, but I probably went a little too overboard. Lesson learned – keep it in moderation. I am still thinking I will see some loss this week, so my overall plan is on track.

Last night was a “double header” at the Y – 5 pm water aerobics followed by 6 pm spin class. I had never had either instructor and I was pleased with both. The water aerobics class was the largest I’ve been in- 15 or so folks. And spin was full!

I left water aerobics a few minutes early (I missed maybe half the weight workout and the cool down) so I could grab a quick rinse shower and get upstairs for spin. I need to take some lotion to stick in my locker at the Y – my skin was itchy after the chlorine!

After I got home I ate supper and watched a little tv with the hub. I made sure to pack my gym bag so it was ready this morning. That was smart because I didn’t sleep very well and I was up for an hour in the night. So I slept a little later this morning so I’d be rested.

One thing I am finding is that I’m just not walking in the morning. I guess I’m working pretty hard between the 2 gyms but I miss my walks! I need to get in a couple a week, and I still need to add kettlebells in.

This 6 week session at work ends mid December. After this, there is the possibility they will go to 12 week sessions. Whether the sessions are 6 or 12 weeks, I think I will keep lunch yoga but drop the weights. I feel like I’ve gotten enough strength and stamina back that I could handle a class at the Y. That way I could do either kettlebell or a class if I didn’t feel like kettlebell. Chances are I would do a mix.

Anyway, I do feel like I am making progress – I can see the difference in certain yoga postures and I’ve moved up in weight in the Tone & Sculpt class.

Have a good day!

The down side to working at home and having dinner in the crockpot? Smelling the yummy aroma ALL DAY!!!!

Still Scary

The scale number is still scary. I know intellectually I didn't gain 2.6 pounds in one evening, but it still makes me feel nervous. I dunno - maybe I shouldn't have had popcorn! Frustrating!

Yesterday was yoga at lunch, 30 min Tone & Sculpt followed by 30 min on the elliptical after work, then home for a quick bite to eat then restoraative yofa at the Y. Long day - no sofa time at all!

Lunches are all cooked and packed - ready to be tossed into the lunch box. Tonight's dinner is in the crockpot and the gym bag is near readiness for this evening.

I just keep on keeping on! Nothing too exciting I guess!

Going to go vote soon. Have a good day!

Weekend

The trip to Asheville was lovely and it was great to see friends. I didn't get to the gym Saturday morning - I was tired & slept late. Normally I wake up naturally, so it didn't occur to me to set the alarm on a weekend morning. All I can say is I guess I needed the sleep!

I got ALL my cooking for the week done yesterday! I also made good progress on my bathroom curtains - just some hand stitching on one left to do.

My weight was down a bit more over the weekend. Last night I planned to eat popcorn & have some beer & watch scary movies. I knew I'd see a scary number on the scale as a result (hello, salt!), but I decided that it was worth it to me. I am drinking water like a crazy woman today in an effort to move that salt out of my system!

Today is the new session of classes here at work, so I have Tone & Sculpt this afternoon in addition to yoga at lunch.

My bike shorts came! I was so impressed with how quickly they arrived and they fit! That means I have no excuse not to go to spin tomorrow!

Wow that was a lot of exclamation points in one paragraph.

They boy is being a teenager and making us nutso. Please lord let me survive the teen years.

For lunches this week I have a mexican casserole type thing with black beans and quinoa and corn and tomatoes plus leek and squash soup. I used the greens of the leeks to dehydrate to use in salads etc and the whites I used in the soup. Easy and very good!

This morning I had oatmeal for breakfast. I used cranberries - having forgotten I bought a couple of apples to dice up & put in it. I am such a creature of habit.

Have a good day!