I love "inadvertent" exercise

Yesterday I had hoped to get in a bike ride or beach walk and some yoga...instead DB and I spend many many hours working on the house and that got substituted for the bike ride/beach walk (I still did 35 minutes of yoga afterwards) and that's not bad! My body is sore today in a good way. I remember this feeling back when I had my first house and worked a lot in the garden (we did a lot on our front and back yards yesterday including creating kind of a zen thing with a fountain on our back patio and I got to plant an herb garden in a planter -- I love having fresh herbs and haven't had an herb garden for about 3 years since I left my first house!!). Everything looks so great. DB outdid himself and we had a lot of fun doing it. :-)

I broke up with a very good friend (formerly a best friend) on Friday -- it's way too long a story to post here, but I reached the end of my rope and I had to make the break. Despite this, I was very sad because we had been close for many years...and I did have a glass of wine before the play on Friday night to relax. (I know this is an excuse, but it WAS a normal social situation...not like going home and drinking alone or other bad habits I used to have.) Joan Rivers was amazing and we absolutely loved the play...so much so that I'm taking my mom back to see it on Wednesday before it closes this weekend!

Saturday I did the gym, got a mani/pedi (it's been a LONG time and that was a treat), did errands and, ta da!, DB came home -- yay! We had a walk to the beach and a nice dinner out...I ate great all day (just one slice of toast and two salads with a little protein) until I had TWO glasses of wine with dinner -- bad Helen! :-( Went home and ate us out of house and home pretty much (it was all good stuff -- popcorn, low-fat meringues, turkey jerky, but THIS is the major reason why I can't drink -- I lose self-control). And two glasses of wine is way too much for me in my current pure state. I felt like a bottomless pit and didn't feel too great the next morning either. Must remember this...

We are supposed to go skiing this weekend, but it may be cancelled because the tour group who handles bus and lodging doesn't yet have enough people signed up. We are disappointed since we were really looking forward to this...and MORE inadvertent exercise! Crossing fingers that we can figure something out...

Thoughts on Weigh-In Day

It's funny how I am really looking forward to Friday mornings lately -- that's when I weigh myself in and since starting The Drastic facing the scale has been a lot more about "oooh, let's see how much I've lost this week" than "urgh, let's see if some miracle happened this week that made the scale go down". I also have been keeping a running record of my weight over the past year and a half and I am now actually looking forward on Fridays to updating that (even today when it's the scheduled day one of my period and I know things won't be stellar).

Soooo...today I'm down 1.2 pounds from last week. I was really good with food and exercise this week (even including a few little "splurges" which were nothing next to the ones I have been having over the past year and a half) so this probably would have been better if it weren't for the aforementioned period situation and the fact that I ate non-"regular" lunches three days this week -- two of which, while healthy Asian food, involved soy sauce. I think that soy sauce (which I had on Monday and Tuesday) contributed to my poochy feeling on Wednesday too. Yesterday's lunch was a veggie sandwich, salad (with non-good dressing) and some fruit. I ate salads every night for dinner this week since DB is out of town.

Bottom line here is that as long as I really REALLY watch what I'm eating (which, I admit, I was doing pretty poorly at over the past year +) I will lose...slowly maybe, but still lose. I am now less than 5 pounds over my lowest weight since Oct. 2006 so, barring something unforeseen, I will definitely weigh my lowest by the time we go on vacation in about 8 weeks. Since Feb. 19 I have lost 12.6 pounds and I think that's pretty good. But I am not at my lowest since I started this verrrrrrrylong trip so I can't get complacent. I am still in the range that I've been inhabiting for way too long...I want to find a new range in which to roam! :-)

Tonight I'm going with some friends to see Joan Rivers in a play about her life that has gotten really good reviews. Somehow I'm going to have to grab a healthy dinner while rushing from work to home to theatre. I'll do it! DB comes home tomorrow (yay! we had a little earthquake practically right under our house the other morning and I do not like to be alone when that happens...among other things!) Tomorrow I'll hit the gym and do lots of errands including, hopefully, getting a manicure/pedicure (which I haven't had in a LONG time). Sunday, hopefully, I won't have anything I absolutely HAVE to do so I can either take a bike ride or walk Doglet and get some yoga in too. :-)

Here's to another week of The Drastic!

Nothing new or different, but...

...feeling poochy on this Hump Day. I am straight-up doing The Drastic (and a trainer at my gym last night even said "looking good"), but today I feel poochy. :-( Maybe it's a Wednesday thing...I think I felt that same way last week. Or maybe it's what I have on. Or maybe it's because my period is due (if it comes at all) at the end of the week. Who knows? When I feel this way, though, I have to be very vigilant and not say to myself "well, you're eating and exercising perfectly and you're still not losing, why not eat/drink something to make you feel better?". Oy, I have such an addictive personality. As if eating/drinking actually makes me feel better. I know better.

Weekend Update (and not the SNL kind)

DB took me to a fantastic dinner on Friday night to celebrate my "birthday"...the restaurant is at a small airport near our house and has great Asian food. We got a table overlooking the runways so it was fun to watch the little planes come and go in the sunset. I had two glasses of wine (which made me super-tipsy...my tolerance is WAY down) and some healthy food (no rice). After dinner we went out to watch the planes and the stars, then home to watch Dan in Real Life on DVD (cute, sweet movie that we really liked).

Saturday DB left for Nearby Town. I opened and emptied the last 4 boxes in our extra bedroom (only 6 months after moving in!), went to the gym, organized closets (sent stuff to Goodwill), got some great under-the-bed storage bags and filled 'em up, got an oil change and did my weekly grocery shopping. After that I walked Doglet a little at the beach, then home to sit on our deck with a magazine and watch sunset. I started to watch Atonement then early to bed (P.S. YUCK, hated Atonement...no idea why it was nominated for Best Picture Oscar...Keira Knightley is so skinny she looks half-dead...she has NO breasts and I don't think that's natural for a girl in her 20s...I just couldn't stand to look at her.)

Sunday I got up early to go have Easter breakfast with my mom then took her for a drive down to look at the ocean (it was a GORGEOUS day...hot). After that I went for a long hike in the mountains with a friend and her two big dogs...I felt very intrepid learning to cross creeks on rocks with my bad knees and toe! I'm definitely not Wilderness Girl, but the views are so beautiful and you get exercise while having fun! :-) Got home in time for another walk at the beach with Doglet.

I started to watch No Country for Old Men last night...will finish tonight after Dancing With the Stars...so far, so good.

I'll be working hard on The Drastic with DB gone this week -- I'll be having salad every night!! Hopefully this will make up for some business lunches I have to go to. :-)

My Fifth Birthday is TODAY!

Yes, today is five years since I had my very last smoke...I celebrate March 21 as my new "birthday" every year and it ROCKS. My sweetie sent me a gorgeous bunch of flowers this morning and he's taking me out to a special dinner tonight. :-) And I'll be able to splurge a little bit - I am down 2.8 pounds this week, making a grand total since February 15 of over 11.5 pounds and erasing the temporary NYC gain and going even lower! :-)

Well, I guess it's true: cutting out the drinking and watching what I'm eating more really is working. I'm also exercising 4 instead of 3 days a week. That's The Drastic people. Yup, that's it. Doesn't seem too complicated or too hard (although some days it is -- this week I wanted a drink BAD so I had ONE glass of wine after dinner instead of my usual frozen fruit bar -- had my "treat" and PAID ATTENTION to the calories). For me, it's a lot about just paying attention to what I put in my mouth.

DB is also losing well -- I think he may have lost 5 pounds or more this week -- it sucks that he can do this so much easier than me and without exercising, but I know it's a challenge for him to really pay attention to what he eats so it's not easy!

I got an e-mail this morning offering some free exercise class every Mon., Wed. and Fri. for 8 weeks starting on April 1 for an infomercial. While I'm in the weight range they are looking for (8-25 pounds to lose), I'm reluctant to commit to being at a class at 7:30 AM three days a week. But it's only for 8 weeks and that would take me right up to our trip to Mexico. I think I'll send in my info and see what it's about...if it's a yoga class, it will be hard for me to pass up the opportunity.

Work continues to be so busy and stressful...I haven't had much time to read or post at blogs this week...hopefully next week will be calmer.

Happy Easter to those of you so inclined and Happy Spring Solstice to those inclined like me!

P.S. I'm so happy that sweets aren't my downfall...Easter poses no threat to me...as long as those Reeses eggs don't find their way into my house!

Being good, but feeling poochy

Not sure why, but I'm feeling poochy this week even though I'm still being good with my Drastic exercise and food. In fact, I went to an anti-war candlelight vigil tonight and spent my time walking walking walking while others just stood around. I must have burned at least a few calories! ;-)

DB is, of course, losing like crazy even when he cheats and doesn't exercise. Hard to take deep breaths and say "great, honey!", but I'm getting better at it. ;-)

Work this week is incredibly stressful...I am making no headway despite working non-stop all day plus evenings and some on the weekend. :-(

Sorry to see my Hoosier homey, Amanda, went home tonight on American Idol. But she didn't seem too into the whole AI thing so...but dammit, Kristy Lee needs to go HOME!

Drum roll please...

...my net gain for the NYC trip as of this morning is only 1.2 pounds! :-) I'll take that after being very non-Drastic for a few days. The moral of this story is that if you fall off your wagon:

(1) Keep on exercising. My two trips to the gym in NYC plus walking must have helped.
(2) Get right back on. I went right back to my "normal" Drastic yesterday and voila, the lbs. I saw on the scale yesterday morning are already half gone.

Writing this more to remind me than for anything else!

Next week, I plan to be on the down slope once again for the 2-months-til-Mexico mark. :-)

Back from NYC

First things first: I gained about 2.5 pounds while on our trip. It could have been worse (DB gained 5) due to eating bread pudding three days in a row. Oh, and ice cream. And some amazing pasta. Uh, and can't forget the vino. So, I'm pretty happy overall that it wasn't worse. This is entirely due to the fact that I went to the gym twice while in NYC (yay me, exercising on vacation!) and the fact that there is a lot of inadvertent exercise in NYC just with all the walking a person does.

The trip was really great other than the overeating:

We left on the redeye on Friday night (which I swore years ago that I'd never do again and now I remember why) on Virgin America (fantastic airline and we got a great rate) at about 9:30 pm...got in to JFK at 5:30 am and to my sister's by 6:30 am. I got about 3 good hours of sleep because we each got a row to lie down in. The kids were up and excited when we got there and that kept me going through the morning -- that and three cups of coffee (my heart was beating so fast from this unaccustomed caffeine that I thought it would jump out of my chest...NOT a good feeling) and refusing to sit down at all for hours (DB sat down and promptly feel asleep in the chair).

My niece Muffin had a basketball game about 11:30 so we went to cheer her on -- she was ON FIRE: made almost half of the points for her whole team!! She's a very tall girl (5'3" at only 11 years old) and it was so much fun to watch her! After the game, we headed for some NY pizza (no, I didn't have any, but did have more than one garlic ball while everyone else ate). Then DB and I left the rest of the family out doing errands while we headed to a store to get me some waterproof shoes because my Uggishes were leaking to the point I was walking in a puddle (I SO do not miss rain). After that, we headed back home for a nap. Slept a couple of hours (after getting my caffeine-induced heartbeat to slow down) and I was completely refreshed. We went to a Columbia girls' basketball game Saturday evening and that was super-fun too even though DB and I were still jet lagged.

On Sunday Muffin, my sister and I headed out for some fantastic bargain shopping in Harlem. I managed to buy some stuff for a lot more than just me. ;-) The boys stayed home to play and rest. At 3, my sister, brother-in-law, DB and I headed down to Tribeca to see a compilation of short films including one that my bro-in-law had acted in a few years ago. We had a ball on our grown-ups' night out -- the films were generally fantastic and then we went out for grown-up dinner (I had salad, thank you very much).

Monday morning I got up with my sister at 6:15, took the kids to the bus, then went to the gym. DB had a meeting in NJ so we rented a car for a couple of days. I went down to Grand Central Station to meet a very old friend (who I worked with when I first moved to NYC in the early 80s) and it was great to catch up with her. We both thought the other person hadn't changed at all. :-) We ate at a fabulous restaurant in the great hall at Grand Central -- I had a shrimp and saffron soup and a scallop dish. As with lots of fancy and expensive places, the food was very small! ;-) Which was a good thing, as you will see later...

Monday afternoon was Muffin's big show -- she was in a performance of Snow White at her school. It was totally adorable and she was beautiful in her costumes as a deer and vulture (although, of course, I thought she should have been Snow White as she was MUCH more charismatic and talented than the girl who played SW!!). After the show, the huzzahs, the flowers, etc., the whole family headed to dinner at Carmines which is a fantastic Italian homestyle restaurant on the Upper West Side. We ate...and ate...and ate (good thing, my lunch was small)!! Started with salad and fried (eek) calamari. Then on to two pasta dishes (my favorite was the simple angel hair with garlic & oil). And, of course, some wine. Oh yeah, and two huge desserts (we all shared all the food) -- an amazing sundae and the first (and best) of many bread puddings. We were all stuffed, but it was delicious and we made sure to walk to and from the trains extra-briskly.

Tuesday we got up early and headed out to Woodstock to see one of my best friends who just moved back there from here. It was about a 2-hour drive and it was great to see her and her new place there. I had never been to the town so we had a good time strolling down the main street and doing a little shopping. And, of course, we ate lunch. I ate pretty well (Indian scramble eggs, a slice of dry toast, a salad)...until dessert. Yes, we just HAD to split another bread pudding (not as good as the first). Oh yeah, and I HAD to have that small Carvel cone at the rest stop on the way back to the city, right? ;-) We got back to NYC about 6:30 to be able to see the kids before bed (my nephew who is almost 6 and so adorable insisted on me doing the book reading with him that night...awwww!! he's a great reader already...he read at least 1/2 a book to me!) and to watch American Idol all together. My sister makes this amazing popcorn and we all had our own bowl of it while we watched tv. It was probably less bad than eating chips, but not by much...but we all had a great time and the kids each got to stay up a little later than usual since it was our last night.

Yesterday, we got up early again (I guess there is no such thing as sleeping in when you have kids to get off to school!) and I joined my sister again in getting the kids to the bus where I said goodbye until they come this July to visit. Then my sis and I headed to the gym again. Take that, ice cream, bread pudding and popcorn!!! Grrrrrrr. Then DB and I did some laundry, watched some of the news about the NY governor's scandal, then headed downtown to have lunch at the restaurant where my sister works (in a museum). That was a really fun last thing to do in NYC this time -- the food was fantastic (including a very yummy chocolate banana bread pudding which was TEENY) and it was fun to get to see my sis at least a little bit more before heading back. We grabbed a cab from there to get back to the airport for our 5 pm flight home.

I loved Virgin America -- they have live tv to watch from the minute you get on the place, you can buy movies and there are also games in the back of every seat. DB and I got an exit row and really could spread out. We got home about 8 pm LA time, but that was pretty late NYC time (especially after getting up at 6 am!) and I had to stay up for a few hours to read through my 175 work e-mails that accumulated over my three days away. Sigh...

I'm still feeling pretty tired today, but have yoga tonight. I'm glad for that because I had some TERRIBLE pain on Saturday and Sunday in my left (bad) leg. Not sure what caused it, but I hope my teacher will be able to diagnose it when I tell her about it. My back is still really tweaked from that period of time..

It's good to be home...and back on The Drastic. :-)

The Drastic is still working

I'm down over 2 pounds from Tuesday and over 4 from last Friday. This means I'm down 10 from the horrible horrible place I was in mid-February. I am only 7 pounds above what I was at my absolute lowest since I started this round of "trying" to lose weight in late 2006. I am determined that I will break virgin ground in the next month. If I can lose even 10 more pounds before our trip, I will feel good...and I think that is a totally doable thing if I continue with my no booze, strict eating and exercise. :-)

I'm also really seeing results on the mat -- last night I did a side arm balance in yoga (this one without my knee on the floor!) -- I don't even remember the last time I was able to do that!! That, plus actually ALMOST getting my leg through from down dog to lunge are my greatest yoga accomplishments in the past two months. If I am making this much progress with yoga just once a week, I know I will make even more when I can go more often.

(Don't get me wrong, I am FAR from the yoga jockette I used to be. But, from my yoga training, I really NOTICE the incremental changes and that allows me to rejoice that progress is being made...no matter how slowly.)

Swamped at work today and then headed to airport soon after work for the redeye (yuck) to NYC. I will probably have a glass of wine tonight to put myself to sleep on the plane -- I've been a such a clean marine with the booze that one glass should really knock me out. :-)

Hey, is anyone watching American Idol? I was sad to see Little Miss Danny leave last night -- I gently mocked him, but he really was a much better singer and way more interesting than some of the ones who are left. :-(

Getting ready for quick trip to NYC

We're headed to NYC on the redeye (YUCK) tomorrow night for a few days. My niece is in a play on Monday and wanted us there so, of courses, we're going! I also will be able to see one of my very best friends who just moved back to Woodstock and also a very old friend who I worked with when I first moved to NYC in 1983.

I'm really looking forward to all of it (except the flight parts...I do not like to fly and the redeye is horrible, but it was the best option this time...I hope I can figure out how to go to sleep at 10 pm without drinking). I'm trying to psyche myself up for no drinking and keeping at the good eating while we are away since I won't be able to get much (if any) exercise other than the usual lots of walking around the city. I am planning to take an artichoke or two for snacking on the plane and need to check and hope they don't feed us any irresistible fattening stuff (although I think airlines are doing a LOT better than they used to with food they serve).

Tonight I have yoga since I'll be gone on the weekend, and then have to pack everything to be ready to go right after work tomorrow.

I've been good this week so I hope the 2 pound loss I saw on Tuesday sticks when I do my "official" weigh-in tomorrow...

P.S. to anyone who is interested. The candida cleanse is mostly about changing what you eat to try to kill off this fungus that lives in your intestines. Most of what they cut out is stuff that I already do not eat or eat little of -- sugar and refined carbs. That is what feeds the candida and you want to starve it to get rid of it. Drinking squeezed lemon or lime in water is one of the things I've seen recommended...and both DB and I are loving that as our new regular drink! :-)

Answer, question and more

Answer:

- No, there is not a specific bathing suit I'm thinking of for May...ANY bathing suit would look horrible on me right now and will look better (not GOOD) after The Drastic. ;-)

Question:

- Had anyone heard of (or done) a candida cleanse? My yoga teacher suggested that I look into it. What I've found so far doesn't convince me that I need this.

I did a mid-week weigh-in today and was down 2 pounds from last Friday. I'm not sure if this is a good thing for me to do or not. It might make me sad if I'm not down that much by the time this Friday rolls around since I can easily fluctuate that much (and more). But it feels motivating to me to get on the scale and see it going down. The Drastic still seems to be working. I weigh less than I have since December. :-)

The Itch

I've got some kind of weird allergic reaction going on on my neck -- it itches like crazy and it all dry and bumpy. I've been putting cortisone cream on it for a few days and it's not helping...I feel like it's moving up my neck to my lower face. YUCK. Can't figure out what in my diet or environment changed last week that might have caused it. Anyway, it's itchy and I have a whole new appreciation for one of the grandkids who has horrible eczema all the time to the point she has sores where she itches, poor thing. :-(

Speaking of grandkids -- I helped with three of them this weekend at the big rummage sale. Boy, are three kids a lot of work. I've got to hand it to all you mothers!! :-) I was up with their mom at the church parking lot until midnight on Friday night in the cold and dark setting stuff up -- the sale started at 6 am. I got to sleep in until the kids woke up, but their mom went to work the sale at 5:30...and there were already 8 cards in line to get in!!! Kids started to wake up at 6:30 (I got a grand total on 5 1/2 hours of sleep...not my optimum!) and we were off. Bathed, fed, dressed them all once they were up and we headed to the sale about 9:15. By the time we got there, they had already made $1000 for the little boy's family...isn't that great?! We stayed all day...the kids' mom went home for an hour in the middle of the day to rest and shower and I stayed with the kids...of course, that's when we had some major potty problems and baby meltdowns, but it was ok. I do feel a little guilty for fixing the one-year-old's meltdown by giving him cookies...I said "oh great, now I've scarred him for life by making him think that sugar makes you feel better"...but it worked! ;-) DB arrived about 1 pm and that was a huge help too...not to mention good to see his sweet face after a week away!

I didn't buy TOO much at the sale for myself and only a couple of things for the grandkids so at least my car didn't go home nearly as full as it went. ;-) About 4:30, we headed home to shower and rush to a birthday party for a friend...we were so pooped that we definitely were not our usual party selves!

I had a couple of sips of DB's wine at the party on Saturday night and split a glass with him when we went out for dinner last night. This and the teeny chocolate chip cookie at the sale on Saturday was the extent of my "badness". I managed to stay away from all the junk food at the sale because I had taken my own food and snacks. Didn't even eat one McD's french fry (which I don't even like anyway!). :-) I think I did very well with the food this weekend and got lots of exercise at the sale and gym and very short beach walk yesterday too. Friday weigh-in will tell if these teeny cheats really made a difference. Otherwise, I'm very good with The Drastic and looking forward to another "clean" week closer to that bathing suit in Mexico!