This "blogging once a week" stuff is harder than I thought! I certainly have enough thoughts to keep up a blog, but the habit and practice of sitting down to write is another issue!
The "skinny" on the new health routine...
The food part is going pretty well. I think I'm pretty good about sticking to my "diet." I'm keeping a log each day, marking off each item at each meal (fruit/whole grain/protein/water/veg/etc.) and that really helps me to stay aware of what I have or haven't eaten. It makes eating more intentional. I find am much better about what I eat if I keep up this log. The days I slip in using it are the days I slip in eating. And if I haven't taken the time on the weekend to meal-plan, then I am really up a creek each night when trying to get dinner ready for the clan. Doing pretty well with the "3 sweets a day" thing as well as the "3 drinks a week."
What I've been awful about the entire time is the exercise part! I'll tell you, it helps when you have a child that can read and understand your chart and she says, "Mommy, you haven't exercised at all this week!" (I hadn't even explained my log to her, she just understood it.) OK, my excuse for part of one week was the heat....it really was 102 degrees here one day. Stockton weather, for sure, here in the Bay Area. So what's my excuse one week later when the high was 58 degrees? No excuse at all. Got out of the habit, and so hard for me to get back in. And today I have a sore throat and the sniffles. So I really have some work to do still on this aspect.
And the poundage? At one point I had lost 4 lbs. Not quite the 2 a week I was hoping for, but a start. But without the exercise part of it, I know the pounds are only going to barely eek off me. But it's a start and I'm happy about that. I think visualizing myself in that skinny brown dress I bought at New Year's will help. The goal of being "slender" (or at least "slenderer") by the end of August is the key to keeping food out of my mouth (the wrong foods that is) and a kick to get me back outside.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Grow the Roses! (or "Trim the Roses!")
I'll be 47 next month. That's been harder to say than saying I am 46. I'm not sure why.
I've decided to once again try and lose some weight. Especially since I just gained 10 pounds last December. Yes, it all seemed to come on in one month.
I am a vegan, mind you, and I have a weight issue. (So much for the image of a skinny, pale undernourished vegan, huh?)
What I struggle with these days, in addition to the addition of pounds, is the need to not make a huge deal about pounds and weight in front of my little sponge I call my daughter. I doubt she will have the same body issues as the rest of the Pearson clan, since her genetics seem to have blessed her with the "tall and slender" genes. But I still don't want her to obsess over her body. Those issues can swing far either way.
What I am trying to emphasize these days is being in shape and eating a healthy diet, vs. losing weight. I am a sloth, yes, so if I actually get out and move my tuckus, I will probably lose weight. I eat a pretty healthy diet already, but it seems that the big "M" or the "pre-M" is hitting and my body thinks it needs to store up for a long winter. Doesn't it realize that there will be global warming, not cooling?
My body has also been going on strike now and then in the form of muscle spasms in the back and neck and other muscle issues. All, I'm sure, related to the fact that I don't use them much. So here's the plan, and you, my friends and family can help me stick to it.
The goals:
Weight: Around 135 would be ideal. (Which means losing about 25 lbs.) I'd feel thin, even though I know I weighed much less than that in high school at the same height (5'5"). If you can believe it, at one point I weighed about 105 lbs, but was usually around 120 lbs. And I always thought I needed to lose 5 lbs. Talk about distorted body image! But I don't need to be that skinny again. After all, the wrinkles start to show if there's no fat to plump them up!
Health: No more muscle spasms would be great! Feeling fit and healthy and able to walk and run and bike and walk upstairs easily!
When: Well, that greatest of all incentives, the high school reunion is around the corner! It will be my 30th reunion, and I am assuming it will be in August or September, I haven't heard yet. So I'd like to be at or darn near my goals by then.
How I plan to do it: I think I have found two things I like to do: play tennis and walk or jog on a nature trail. Both are near my house. I've already started this, just have to keep it up. And actually, I'm not playing tennis, but just hitting against a backboard, which is much more actual exercise than playing with someone. Bicycling is a third option. The bike is in need of new tires, so that is on the list of "to do's." I'm hoping my tail-bone can survive riding a bike. I bought a new seat, (wish I could do that to my body as well!), but the bike needs a huge tune-up first. Hmmm, also like me....
Eating: Well, of course, I am sticking to my vegan diet. I need to keep it simple and I have started a log to keep myself honest. Each meal will have a whole grain (which I've been slowly including anyway--the best kind of carbs around--brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta), a protein, a fruit and two glasses of water or other low-no-calorie liquid. Lunch and dinner will include a veggie, too, and for breakfast I will add another fruit or juice. Our fruit trees will help me out soon with plums, Asian pears, peaches, Bartlett pears and apples soon. Snacks I'll try to keep to fruit and nuts. Sweets I'll keep to three a day (like 3 cookies or 3 small pieces of dark chocolate) and limiting alcohol to 3 a week. We'll see about that one!
I'm hoping that all of this will mean a loss of 2 lbs (or a little less) each week. I won't beat myself up if I don't reach that each week, just keep on plugging. Check out the "Roses of Success" video from Chitty Chitty Bang! Bang! at the bottom. I used it on my business blog, but I like how inspirational it is.
So, if any of you out there have great ideas for exercise that have worked for you, or found wonderful foods you love that are still healthy and low-ish on calories, SHARE! And if any of you need a buddy in a similar venture, let's do it together! Call me, email me or leave comments on this post.
I've decided to once again try and lose some weight. Especially since I just gained 10 pounds last December. Yes, it all seemed to come on in one month.
I am a vegan, mind you, and I have a weight issue. (So much for the image of a skinny, pale undernourished vegan, huh?)
What I struggle with these days, in addition to the addition of pounds, is the need to not make a huge deal about pounds and weight in front of my little sponge I call my daughter. I doubt she will have the same body issues as the rest of the Pearson clan, since her genetics seem to have blessed her with the "tall and slender" genes. But I still don't want her to obsess over her body. Those issues can swing far either way.
What I am trying to emphasize these days is being in shape and eating a healthy diet, vs. losing weight. I am a sloth, yes, so if I actually get out and move my tuckus, I will probably lose weight. I eat a pretty healthy diet already, but it seems that the big "M" or the "pre-M" is hitting and my body thinks it needs to store up for a long winter. Doesn't it realize that there will be global warming, not cooling?
My body has also been going on strike now and then in the form of muscle spasms in the back and neck and other muscle issues. All, I'm sure, related to the fact that I don't use them much. So here's the plan, and you, my friends and family can help me stick to it.
The goals:
Weight: Around 135 would be ideal. (Which means losing about 25 lbs.) I'd feel thin, even though I know I weighed much less than that in high school at the same height (5'5"). If you can believe it, at one point I weighed about 105 lbs, but was usually around 120 lbs. And I always thought I needed to lose 5 lbs. Talk about distorted body image! But I don't need to be that skinny again. After all, the wrinkles start to show if there's no fat to plump them up!
Health: No more muscle spasms would be great! Feeling fit and healthy and able to walk and run and bike and walk upstairs easily!
When: Well, that greatest of all incentives, the high school reunion is around the corner! It will be my 30th reunion, and I am assuming it will be in August or September, I haven't heard yet. So I'd like to be at or darn near my goals by then.
How I plan to do it: I think I have found two things I like to do: play tennis and walk or jog on a nature trail. Both are near my house. I've already started this, just have to keep it up. And actually, I'm not playing tennis, but just hitting against a backboard, which is much more actual exercise than playing with someone. Bicycling is a third option. The bike is in need of new tires, so that is on the list of "to do's." I'm hoping my tail-bone can survive riding a bike. I bought a new seat, (wish I could do that to my body as well!), but the bike needs a huge tune-up first. Hmmm, also like me....
Eating: Well, of course, I am sticking to my vegan diet. I need to keep it simple and I have started a log to keep myself honest. Each meal will have a whole grain (which I've been slowly including anyway--the best kind of carbs around--brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta), a protein, a fruit and two glasses of water or other low-no-calorie liquid. Lunch and dinner will include a veggie, too, and for breakfast I will add another fruit or juice. Our fruit trees will help me out soon with plums, Asian pears, peaches, Bartlett pears and apples soon. Snacks I'll try to keep to fruit and nuts. Sweets I'll keep to three a day (like 3 cookies or 3 small pieces of dark chocolate) and limiting alcohol to 3 a week. We'll see about that one!
I'm hoping that all of this will mean a loss of 2 lbs (or a little less) each week. I won't beat myself up if I don't reach that each week, just keep on plugging. Check out the "Roses of Success" video from Chitty Chitty Bang! Bang! at the bottom. I used it on my business blog, but I like how inspirational it is.
So, if any of you out there have great ideas for exercise that have worked for you, or found wonderful foods you love that are still healthy and low-ish on calories, SHARE! And if any of you need a buddy in a similar venture, let's do it together! Call me, email me or leave comments on this post.
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