Sushi in the clearance bin

Here is a bit of advice: If the platter of sushi is clearanced at Meijer’s, don’t buy it. I love sushi, and love that it is relatively low in points.

Finding anything even remotely fresh, is not likely in the center of Michigan. Well, as cheap as I am, when I saw it 40% off at Meijer’s, I popped it in my cart.

It wasn’t poison, but it could have been cardboard for the way it tasted. Even marked down, it cost over $5 bucks. That could have bought a package of Vitamuffins.

That is my tip for the day: don’t buy old sushi….

Finally Moving On

Last night I was at a show committee meeting for my local kennel club and as we were discussing things to get ready for our summer show the topic of handler “tricks” came up. They were discussing how to “fix” a gay tail on a dog.

FYI “gay tail” basically means the dog carrying the tail in a way (usually higher) that is not recommended in the breed standard of the dog. In the case of poodles, a gay tail is anything other than it being carried at 12 o’clock. Instead the gay tail is carried bent over the back of the dog to varying degrees. In this case they were talking about using a rubber band somewhere on Golden Retrievers.

This discussion just reminded me why I don’t want to be involved in the conformation side of dog shows. It’s all about how to fix the dog’s natural makeup to win. It’s all about the winning. Who cares about the dog, (do you think the dog wants some of these painful things done to them?) Gotta get that ribbon.

I think I am finally moving on from the dog show stuff that happened this summer. I see the person that I am no longer friends with and it doesn’t bother me anymore. I'll never be okay with her not valueing my friendship, but I don't long for an apology or wish it had never happened. I am glad it happened. I can see that now. I am much better off.

I have also begun selling off my dog show stuff. One of the most important items an exhibitor can have (other than a dog and a show lead) is a tack box that holds all your combs, scissors, potions and powders. My tack box had a sticker on each side of a poodle in show trim. They retail for $140 and last many lifetimes. I got mine used in a dog show stuff forum and that is where I sold it today.

A lot of my stuff I will still use to groom my dogs, but it is time to say goodbye to the items that I would only use going to a show.

New equipment

I talked the owner of our company into getting a new piece of equipment for our corporate gym. Late last week he asked me when our new ellipticals were coming and I had to remind him that he is the one with the checkbook.

Anyway, he gave me the go ahead to look for our ellipticals (he wants one for here and one for his home gym). He wants to be sure that we buy commercial grade equipment. No wobbly Proform stuff here! When this company does something, they do it right.

Yesterday I popped over to our local university recreation center and looked at what they were using. They use PreCore equipment and the administrator said they take a lot of abuse and don’t break down on him. I found it very interesting that they had NO treadmills. When I asked him why, he said that treadmills are the most litigious pieces of fitness equipment meaning more people fall and get hurt and then sue the owners. So they just removed them all. I suppose their students don’t miss them as they had an 200 meter track inside to walk on that had 3 inches of rubber underneath the surface.

So if any of you work out at a commercial gym and love your elliptical, or notice the brand of elliptical that is always broken down please let me know.

Rubbing off

I think I am rubbing off on a few of the girls at work. They are jumping on the WW band wagon.

They even had me buy them the Points Calculators so they were able to make better food choices. People that haven’t done points still tend to look only at fat grams. They don’t realize that the calories, fat and fiber all play a part in how healthy a food item is.

All of these girls are much lighter than I am, so they aren’t starting out with a lot of points. I think one of them is only starting out at 21 points per day.

They thought they had made a great snack choice in buying twizzlers. Many of you may like twizzlers and find it is worth the points, but when I told the girls it calculated to be 3 points for 4 sticks, they didn’t think that was such a great choice. I know I would never spend 3 points for that, but I am a chocoholic and any junk food I eat will be chocolate. They also bought 94% Fat free popcorn for a snack and I’m sure will quickly learn to make more good choices.

It will be interesting to see how they do and if they stick with it. I was a bit concerned Friday when they were loading up on pizza and Mountain Dew in the hopes they would weigh more on Monday when they officially determined their start weight so they could have more points. Personally, not the way I would go with that. Oh well…..baby steps I guess.

Weigh in Report for Jan 26th

Hey, Hey, Hey! I made a dent in my plateau today. I am down 2.4 pounds for a solid 51 pounds gone.

The last four weeks were really tough bouncing up and down, but I do believe it happened for a reason. It made me take a hard look at my food journal and really analyze what I had been eating with my points. This week I stuck more to core foods but still counted points. I limited my "healthy junk food" to under 6 point of my daily 30 points. I also used 14 of my flex points. I kept my workouts the same (doing my Runner's World training schedule).
I think it was a combination of all these factors that resulted in a great big loss for this week.

Welcome new friends!!!!

I would like to welcome all of the visitors that are finding my humble blog via being featured in Back in Skinny Jeans. I think we can all agree that Steph at Skinny Jeans is a fantastic writer that manages to say what a lot of us are feeling everyday. I know when I started losing weight six months ago, I found her blog and have checked in on it daily since. I have enjoyed being introduced to other blogs this week as part of her “What Others are Doing to get Fit Week”.

So welcome new friends, I hope you enjoy my victories, rants and epiphanies and are able to nod and laugh at some of the things I write about. I strongly suggest you start at the beginning of my blog and look for the entry titled “I want list”. This will give you insight into the reasons I am getting healthy. I think everyone needs a “Want List”.

The things I "need to do" are changing into "want to do"

I have started a new training program to build up running endurance. I plan to run several 5K’s this spring and I would love to actually be able to run the whole thing without stopping. I am using a beginners training schedule I found on Runner’s World. It says that at the end of 10 weeks, I should be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. I would be elated if I could get a 5K time of 30 minutes this spring. I guess you could call this my mid range goal.

This training schedule requires I do their workouts on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The other days are considered “rest” days that from my understanding means you can do almost nothing or a different type of light work out. So being that today is Thursday, I had planned on taking the day off from working out, but around 10am this I got the itch…..the itch to workout. I knew the Stairmaster was missing me since I had been concentrating on the treadmill workouts the last couple of weeks, so I walked to the other part of the shop, changed and beat on my Stairmaster for 30 minutes and did some crunches too.

In the past I’ve always worked out because I needed to. Now I work out because I want to and it feels so good during and after. I do believe I have finally become addicted to something that is healthy!!!


P.S. Most of the time I cannot see a difference in my body, but in this old picture I can see a big difference in my face. Ruby was pretty young in this picture, so I think this was summer of 2002. Oh and BTW, I do not use choke collars on dogs anymore. This was before I learned about positive reinforcement training which I think is the best thing since sliced bread. I now train my dogs in a secure location without leashes or collars, only using food and praise.

Sweet Sixteen Baby!!!!!!

This past weekend I went shopping with mom for new pants. I was literally down to only one pair that fit and here in Michigan it is just too damn cold to wear skirts every day. So off we went to the nearest mall and to my two favorite stores. CJ Banks, (the plus size version of Christopher Banks) and Lane Bryant. I used to shop exclusively at Lane, but now that I am 35, I just don’t feel I can wear a lot of their clothes as they just seem too “young” for me. I am still a fan of Lane, I just have to pick and chose my styles a bit more. I love the bras and panties at Lane though.....

Anyway, CJ Banks was our first stop where I found a pair of black trousers that fit well in a sweet size 16. Granted there is a bit of elastic in the waist, but still…….Size 16 is size 16 people! Six short months ago I was in a size 26! You do the math..…oh never mind, I'll do it for you..…that is a difference of 10 numbers!!!! I won’t say 10 sizes because really it goes to 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 which is more like 5 sizes.

So screw you, you damn scale gods! You may not be giving me the numbers I want to see, but I am getting my victories elsewhere!

Points are Point......Right?

A point is a point is a point. I think this is a widely held belief. Well, I am beginning to think that is not the way I should be feeding my body. Just because something fits in our points range doesn't automatically mean it should be a food that we eat all the time.

I currently have 30 points per day to use not including flex and activity points (which I never use). I can confess that most days I would spend 12 of those points on what I term “healthy junk food” like Fiber one bars, trail mix, skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, and Vitamuffins tops. Yep, I never go over my points but how much actual nutrition do these items give my body considering the level of exercise I am doing? I think I am short changing myself by allowing so much "junk food".

So I looked carefully at the Core plan this weekend and it still scares the bejebbers out of me. I do not know what “satisfied” should feel like. In my opinion, “satisfied” just means I hit the bottom of the bag. I think I am going to try what I heard a person called “Flor” (this is a combination of the flex and core plan). I am going to stick more to the core food list but also count the points. This way, I am going to be giving myself healthier food, but not yet relying on understanding my body’s signals (if it has any)

I am also limiting myself to only 4 points per day of anything related to “healthy junk food”. I’ll report back on Saturday to let you know if my new plan worked.

$12 a Week Vitamuffin Habit

I finally found the chocolate, chocolate chip Vitamuffins at my local grocery store last week. I bought 4 boxes of them. These are expensive little suckers. They were $3.99 per box! You would think I would carefully savor and enjoy them and spread them out dent in my grocery budget.

No such fortitude. I ate all 4 boxes (12 muffin tops) in four days. I even gave some to a coworker to hold for me, but that didn’t work. In his defense he tried to stop me, but I threatened bodily harm if he didn’t hand over the stash. I was in addict mode. So as much as I enjoyed my little chocolate muffin tops from heaven I don’t think I had better buy anymore.

One, I’ll go broke, but also these are obviously a new trigger food for me. I think they may have to go the way of the no bake cookie for now.

Weigh in Report for Jan 19th

Well, the scale gods are still trying to mess with my mind in a big way.

I was up .4 pounds on Saturday at weigh in. While I vehemently disagree with the scale’s interpretation of the work I am doing. I am not going to let it rattle me.

I am however going to examine what I am doing and see if there is something I can improve. More to follow.

Elmo Needs a Good Stretch!

One of the girls at work bought this Elmo for her nephew. You pull his arms and or legs and he says “Elm needs a good stretch”. Playing with it made me think about stretching.

I have never been a big fan of stretching. Hell, I never moved my body, why would I need to stretch it before or after watching an X-files marathon on the Sci Fi channel?
Now that I exercise at least five times a week, I have begun to enjoy stretching. It all started with a yoga tape I got a couple of weeks ago. I purchased, through Amazon, a video called “Just My Size Yoga”. This is from the makers of the “Just My Size” clothing line. I’ve never been interested in yoga because I didn’t think my frame with all of its rolls would be able to do anything that the instructors were asking of it.

This is yoga for fat girls! It’s marvelous. There are no pretzel moves and I don’t even use a mat at home. She shows you really simple poses like the cat, dog, downward dog, child’s pose, and a couple of the warrior poses. The DVD lasts about 35 minutes and is very relaxing and very doable for an overweight, non athletic newbie to yoga.

The Rotisserie chicken!

I picked up a Rotisserie Chicken the other day (which if you’ve been following along is one of my trigger foods) when I was at Meijer. It just smelled soooooo good when I walked by the deli and it was waving its little wing at me to come over and say hello and then how could I not taken it home once we exchanged pleasantries.

Driving home that divine smell filled my car and drove me crazy. I am fortunate that these are so messy that there is no temptation to crack open the little plastic bubble that it is so carefully resting in to steal a leg to eat on the way home. BTW....I think its terrible they try to pass these off as chickens. As a young girl, we raised chickens. These things they sell in the store are more like cornish game hens they are so small. Our chickens averaged 8-10 pounds! Now that, my friends is a chicken. Try being 6 years old running away from that thing flopping without its head on slaughter day! Oh the nightmares I had growing up!!!

So I got home, whisked my new little friend into the kitchen, beat the dogs back and opened the lid. The first thing I did was peel all of the skin off everything and I split it (the skin… not the chicken) between all the dogs. I’m lucky a fight didn’t break out right there in the kitchen. Then I carefully cut it apart and weighed……YES…… WEIGHED out the portion I was planning on for my dinner. Whooopeee! I conquered the Rotisserie Chicken! One more food temptation beaten to a pulp.

P.S. I do realize that this is not a picture of a rotisserie chicken. These are Peking ducks ready for roasting in China. The goofy grinning guy was one of the people on my trip.

Hittin' the Pudding Hard Today

Today has been a rough day emotionally, I just finished my 2nd Sugar Free pudding in 5 minutes. I’ve already had two chocolate Vitamuffins today too. I am so stressed here at work. The following explains why.

I like my job and I enjoy pretty much all of my coworkers, but there are two older women that work here, that do nothing but bicker, point fingers and just do their damndest to make everyone around them miserable. The target of their ire often changes daily.

Well, holy shit, they have decided to go up against each other this time. It’s like Rosey O’Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselbeck going at it (again) with all their might. Both are trying to determine who has the most power and which one can make the other person squirm just a little bit more. They don’t care who gets caught in the cross fire. Everyone is fair game. While most of us just let them fight it out and just see who wins the battle at the end of the day.

I am just exhausted from all the yelling, slamming of doors and overall bitching that they do about each other and damn it, it is affecting the way I feel. I am generally a happy person (at least for the last six months anyway). I want to just stay in my office and do my work, listening to my Bee Gee’s. I don’t want Woman A in my office telling me how she is conspiring to make Woman B get in trouble for this or that and vise versa. Right now I am thrilled that I am not set in either of their sights but that can change with the wind and if their evil forces were to combine, the fate of the free world could be in jeopardy.

It could get worse and I may need more pudding........

Savor it for goodness sakes!

I bought some of the 100 calorie chocolate that Hershey’s has recently unveiled. I really like dark chocolate. They end up being 2 WW points per serving. Perfect, I can a have a chocolate fix without having a fiber one bar because we all know what your body does after eating one of those. I would like to have one afternoon without gas please!

So I open up the dark chocolate candy bar and before I can even blink I have the first bite in my mouth and my hands are already breaking off a second piece before I’ve even chewed the first piece. Whoooooo Nellie!!!!!! Slow down and savor the moment will ya? I know this goes back to the sneak eating.

This time, however,(being that I have grown leaps and bounds as a healthy person) I realized what I was doing and set the candy bar down and started to write this entry. Progress…evolving…I think so? Hey, I think there is a chance that I am becoming a thinking human being. Yeah me!

Runners VS Joggers

It has come to my attention from reading other blogs that there is a major distinction between a runner and a jogger.

Runners are revered and it sounds like joggers are mostly considered shit. The bright spot is that there is a very clear line between the two types of people. A person can call themselves a “Runner” if they can run a mile in less than 9 minutes. A person is considered a “jogger” if they run a mile in anything more than 9 minutes.

As you can see from my time on the treadmill yesterday I need to shave 4:53 off my mile in order to call myself a runner. You can bet your ass that I will eventually be able to call myself a runner. This is a title I will have.

Marathoners have an even more elite title as only .1% of 1% of the world’s population have ever run a marathon.

First Half Mile

You know how I said in yesterday’s post that some days you just know you can run and other days you know you can’t? Well, yesterday I could run.

I warmed up for 2 minutes at a normal walking pace (3.7 speed) and then did a half of a mile at a 4.7 speed (had I done the entire mile I would have had a 12.50 minute mile. It took me 6:42 minutes to do the half. Then I played back and forth with the speed until the last 10th of the mile and then went at a 5.0 level. So I ended up with a finishing time of 13:52. Okay, not breaking any sound barriers with that time, but I increased my distance significantly.

I cannot even describe how it feels to run. Maybe when I’ve completed a mile I’ll use white shoe polish and decorate my car so the world can see I ran a mile. Seriously...... I think it was better than “The Big O"! ( if you think about it….you can have an “O” every day but you only run your first half mile once!) I smiled all the way home and thought John would have to surgically remove the big silly grin from my face I was so thrilled with myself.

Comparing myself to others - trying to keep up.

I worked out Friday night with a couple of friends at a local indoor track and I was really upset about my inability to run. Those girls ran laps around the track while I just walked. I just couldn’t run that night. I couldn’t keep up with them and it stunk big time. I was really disappointed in myself.

I think part of it was that I don’t really feel ready to run in front of people, least of all a person that actually has run marathons. Kim is very encouraging, and I know she would never judge me, but I just feel really inadequate not being able to keep up.

It’s easy as humans to compare ourselves with everyone else. She is more motivated than I am, she is in a smaller size than I am, and she lost more than I did this week…… None of these comparisons do anything healthy for our minds. (Unless of course you are the unpleasant type that get off on beating other people just for the fun of saying you beat them. I think I used to know someone like that…… They would say I don’t care where I place in the class, I just want to beat that person and their dog.)

What I have to realize is that I am in this marathon with no one but myself. This is all about me and no one else. I am thrilled for others that are working hard and attaining their goals, my goals will be accomplished too, in my own time. I also had to remind myself that these girls weigh about 100 pounds less than I do and so of course it will be easier for them to move their bodies that way.

It’s weird, some days, I wake up and know I can run, other days, my body tells me immediately that running is not an option for today’s activity. The old me wouldn’t even be trying to run or setting lofty race goals or making plans to even run a race, but I am, I know I will get there, I just have a ways to go. I have to stop comparing myself to others. I am in this race with myself - no one else.

Weigh in Report for Jan 12th, 2008

I am down 1 pound this week.

I had of course hoped for a larger loss, but as I am realizing, this is about finishing the marathon, not the sprint. It is not about how fast I get to the end of the race it is about making it to the finish line.

I’m sure that some marathoners have to walk a portion of their first marathon in order to get to the end. Well, I am in one of my walking spots.

I am still in the race, still making progress, and that is what counts. I’m certain that my body will cooperate more in a little bit and then I will feel as thought I am running again toward my goal.

Having a "Fat Day"

You know, I never understood that expression. I’m having a “Fat Day”. Fat Day? I used to think…”.I’m fat everyday what the hell does that mean that you are having a fat day?”. You are the same size (give or take) everyday. Going to bed at night and then getting up in the morning isn't going to change how much I stretch my underwear out. Nor is what I wear isn’t going to change that I am fat.

That is, until today. Since the end of July I have gone down roughly 3 sizes of clothing. Shopping last week (on allowance day) I picked up a “yoga” looking top that looked like it was a wrap. Buying this was a big stretch for me usually my first choice in clothing is anything that resembles a tent, or tablecloth certainly not anything that hugs or clings to me. I got more compliments and felt like a million bucks wearing that top on Monday. People who had not said anything about my weight loss came up to me and told me how great I looked.

The rest of the week I was back to wearing my way too big pants and sweaters and I really felt “fat” again. I felt like I had gained weight (oh pray not!), and felt dumpy and not nearly as attractive as I did on Monday wearing my new top. I can feel it in the way I carry myself even. I look forward to allowance day again next week so I can buy another article or two in my current size.

The clothes may not make the woman, but they sure can influence the way the woman feels.

Exercise Caution

I am the first to admit I am not the most coordinated of individuals. While driving, if I look off into a field on the side of the road, you can bet my car is veering that direction also. That being said, I was stupid last night and was trying to screw with my ipod on my arm while running on the treadmill. Not a great idea. I lost my footing and slipped a little. I didn't go flying backwards like the guy on Biggest Loser last week, I was able to catch myself, but I did pull something in my groin. Nothing major, but I am going to take today off from the gym to let it rest. It was a great run though. I changed it a little. I would run for 2 minutes and then stand with feet on the rails for 10 seconds. I did this for 20 minutes so I ended up doing a little over a mile and a half.

Full length mirror update - Yikes!! Now I remember why I didn't want to see myself from the chest down. That view is going to take a little getting used to especially while naked!

Blog update - Not that anyone is going to get me a cake like they do on the TV sitcoms for their 100th episode, but this is my 100th post. I don't know how many of you are out there reading this, but I hope I've made you laugh and nod your head in agreement at least once. This blog has done wonderful things for me. Being able to admit outloud in front of the world the stupid things I have thought or done in the past has helped me tremendously.

Mirror Mirror, on the Wall

I bought a full length mirror this week at Meijer’s. Why is this important you may ask? I have not had a full length mirror in my house for over a decade.

Why bother, I use to think. I look awful no matter what I am wearing; I’m never going to impress anyone, why should I even have one of those things? Literally, I have only had the bathroom mirror on my medicine cabinet and the mirror on my dresser to look at myself. Both of which only revealed my body from the chest up.

What a difference 6 months can make. Since I have bought some smaller clothes, I actually care that something isn’t too big and baggy before I exit the house. I have been relying on John for feedback, but who really trusts a man’s (unless of course he is gay) judgment on clothes or the way you look.

So yes, I bought a full length mirror that hangs over the door. I haven’t hung it yet as we lost electricity as soon as I arrived home last night, but it will be done first thing when I get home from work tonight.

Doctor Appointment

I had my yearly Dr appointment last week. This was the first time in a long time that I was looking forward to going.

Here is what my health was like a year ago at this time:

I was considered pre-diabetic as my fasting blood sugar was 101. ( In my defense it was right after Christmas and I had discovered this wonderful recipe for chocolate dipped peanut brittle so if the saying is true you are what you eat, then I was a full on piece of chocolate dipped karo syrup!)
My cholesterol was very high and she put me on Lipitor to try to get my numbers down.
She also prescribed a sleep study as she thought I may have obstructive sleep apnea.
Next was blood pressure. I cannot remember the numbers, but I was beginning to have ocular migraines, I had a good old fashioned headache more days than not from my blood pressure. This had gotten so bad that the year before she recommended I stop oral contraceptives and chose a non hormonal method of birth control as that can raise your blood pressure even more.

The thing I remember most about last year is that I was in tears for most of my visit. I knew that my health was bad. I was tired from never getting a good night sleep from the apnea; I was depressed about my life or lack thereof. I couldn’t do anything; I didn’t want to do anything. Basically I just felt awful in general.

Given all this you would think I would have walked out of her office with a resolve to get healthy. Nope, I just continued to eat and sit on the couch for a few more months. The thing is I didn’t even do the basic things she told me to do. I took the Lipitor occasionally, never got the sleep study done because I knew I didn’t want to wear one of those masks at night plus didn’t want to pay for the study itself. Most of all, I never changed my eating or exercise habits. Looking back, I am lucky my health didn’t crash from not listening to her.

Now, fast forward to this year’s appointment. I don’t have the results of my blood work yet but my blood pressure was a wonderful 120/74! My heart and lungs were great and I told her I am sleeping fitfully and not tired anymore so I didn’t think a sleep study would be necessary anymore. I think she was astonished at my turnaround and excitement about the changes I had made and that according to my chart had lost 59 pounds since that appointment in Jan 2006. I will post the results of my blood work when I get them.

Weigh in Report for January 5th

ARGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! The scale totally let me down today. I was up 1.8 pounds today. I knew going in that I felt heavy and like I hadn't lost anything, but to gain 1.8 pounds?????? That really bites the big one.

I am frustrated, but not at myself. I know in my heart that I ate within my points, drank my water and had great workouts this week. As I always tell myself those are the only things I can control when it comes to this battle.

The only explaination I can think of for the gain is going from two weeks of doing the Kickstart program and then this week going back to my normal points. So what to do?

My oh so wise friend Stacey (who has lost over 100 pounds so she does know what she is talking about) thinks that losing nearly 8 pounds in two weeks freaked my body out and that I should stay at status quo (my normal points) for another week just to let my body settle down. My first thought was to jump back down to kickstart, but I think I agree with her to just let my body relax for another week.

So that is the report, not what I had hoped for this week, but I shall persevere!

Stop the Presses!!!!!!

I accomplished a huge milestone today in the gym at lunch. I ran 1/3 of a mile today on the treadmill at one time without stopping. 1/3 of a mile! That is 1760 feet. That is 586.6 yards. That equals six city blocks. That equals I wonder if I had a mental block about running until I passed the 50 pound mark. Now I just want to run, run, run. The old me would only run if Ben and Jerry’s was on sale or the Crispy Cream Donut light was on.

I am so thrilled. My lungs hurt a smidge from breathing heavy, but my legs and knees felt fine while doing it. I also give credit to the new songs I downloaded onto my ipod last night. I did “Let’s get it started” by Black Eyed Peas and “Move Bitch” by Ludacris. I’m gonna be singing “move bitch, get out the way, get out the way, bitch, get out the way” all day now!

I am training to run the Crim Festival of Races in August. I think that is an 8 mile run. Before that I will get my feet wet by running some local 5Ks. I am on my way!

Who are the Lobsters in your life?

I read somewhere that lobsters in the captivity of a bucket will pull down anyone trying to escape the bucket. Instead of helping each other, they want everyone to stay in captivity.
I liken that to the people in our lives that make fun of our goals or try to sabotage our efforts. Dave Ramsey always says if broke people are making fun of you and the way you are taking control of your finances, you must be doing something right.

The biggest lobster in my life is my boss. Yesterday he asked me if the next thing I was going to do was join a cult. He knows I am an all or nothing type of person. He actually calls me an extremist. When I decide to do something, I do it all the way with all of my effort. I don’t do things halfway.

A year and a half ago, I started taking control of my finances using the things I learned from Dave Ramsey. Five months ago, I started taking control of my health by joining WW and working out. So instead of either praising me or giving my kudos for changing my life for the better, he has to play the lobster card and poke fun. His comments really don’t bother me because I know that I am doing the right thing for me and my family.

I think that is the key to dealing with lobsters. Realize that they are only insecure or jealous of the changes you are making. My boss is the only lobster I can think of in my life. I am fortunate to be surrounded by supportive friends and family. None of them are lobsters. If they were I’d have to boil them and dip them in butter

Back to the Grind

Well, the four day weekends are over and while I did enjoy the extra time to play with the dogs and my husband……

I guess I was ready to come back to work. I found it difficult to workout at home. Here at work, the gym is there waiting for me and that is how I spend my lunch hour. No ifs ands or butts.
At home, the couch is so comfy, and it seems like so much more effort to put my shoes on to work out. Not to mention do you know how hard it is to exercise with seven dogs jumping all over you because they think you’ve invented a new game?

Today I started my new weight lifting regimen. Last Friday, one of my coworkers (Skeeter….yes that is his real name) that has bicep muscles as big as cannons,and an ass that you could bounce a quarter off (not that I look) spent his lunch hour showing me what I should be lifting and in what order. I told him I wanted to focus on my shoulders and back. After I was done, I thought maybe I’m not lifting enough weight as I didn’t have to grunt or anything to do the last few reps of each set. Not so, I’m lucky I can type this as the only thing I can move on my upper body without wincing in soreness are my fingers tips. I think it will be just the right amount. I do 3 sets of 10 reps on each move. I currently lift 15 pound hand weights.

When I finished lifting, I wanted to do a little cardio, so I hopped on the treadmill and thought I’d just do a quick 20 minutes. Well, my head must have been full of testosterone from lifting weights as I thought I would try my hand at running on the treadmill. Since I have lost 50 pounds, (yeah, I am going to stick that number in there wherever I can) I seem to have much more balance and control over my body. I never would have tried to run on the treadmill as I could barely walk without stumbling or hitting my gut on the handlebar. Today I did it. I did interval running. I would run for one minute at 4.5 and then I would walk for one minute at 3.3 my normal walking pace. It was great. The best time I’ve ever had on the treadmill to date. I can’t wait to do it tomorrow.

Sledding

Wow! What a fantastic start to the new year. I went sledding with my friend Stacey, her husband, and kids today at our nearby county park. First off, I have never been sledding in my life! It was more fun than I ever imagined.

It was so fun to play like a kid. We laughed and squeeled with delight. I of course screamed like I was on a roller coster as I went down. I'm sure people miles away could hear me. We would race back up the hill so that we could go back down again. They brought at least 5 sleds, so there was no waiting for something to slide down the hill on.

I prefered the old fashioned tobaggon sled as it moved a little slower so I could enjoy the ride because it was a long hike back up. I went down a couple of times on the big innertube, and it was so fast I thought I needed goggles! I can't wait to go again.

There is no way I would have wanted nor could I have done this 50 pounds heavier. I went today with the intention of playing like a 10 year old. I didn't care who else was there or what they thought of me. That is a huge step for me. This was something totally out of the old Brenda's comfort zone. The most important thing was to have fun with my friend and her family.

2008 is already great.

P.S. I can't believe how great I look in this last pic. My hips are so slim for me! Look how much fun I am having!