What I've learned this year from "The Macro" (and other things)

Today I weigh exactly 17 pounds less than I did last New Year's Eve. These are the things I do consistently since June to keep off the weight I lost this summer:

1. In the evening, eat lots of veggies and protein. Avoid carbs. Salads are the perfect evening food.
2. Broccoli. I eat it almost every day. A big helping at lunchtime.
3. Eat carbs (complex) early in the day.
4. Ezekiel low sodium bread and light butter with frittata for breakfast. YUM.
5. Stay away from beer (much as I like it).

I have been able to keep my weight off by sticking with the above (and being very serious with it during the week), but in order to lose the next bit of weight, I will need to recommit to The Macro and be quite strict about it. I will do that in the coming year. It is good to know, though, that I can maintain in my current range without being SUPER strict...and without a whole lot of exercise.

Having said that last bit -- my body has changed a lot the past few months since I have been back with my yoga practice consistently. My sister even noted in a photo on Facebook that my arms look "cut"...and that's in a turtleneck! ;-) My weight is still in the same range, but I am stronger and feel good about that.

My knees, however, are not doing great. I thought it was walking, but I am starting to think it's yoga. Talked with my teacher about it last night. It is VERY hard to have a well-rounded yoga practice without some serious stress on your knees. She tried to do a practice that would be easy on my knees (there were only two of us in class), but realized how hard it is! I am going to need to be REALLY careful these next weeks -- my intention in my practice will have to be to SLOWLY get stronger, not to focus on what I used to be able to do, not to be competitive with others or with that past me. I need my knees to be strong and yoga is a great way to get there...as long as I don't blow them out in the process. Mindfulness is going to be my big challenge the next months.

Ten years ago today, I was in a very different place in my life. I spent New Year's Eve 2000 with two of my dearest friends from college. The future was bright. Today, my heart is filled with gratitude that the future WAS bright for me -- I am grateful for my beautiful, loving and supportive partner, for my terrific family and friends, for my job (when so many don't have one) and for my home (when so many don't have one)...I can't wait to see what the new decade brings!

Happy New Decade!

Quiet week between Xmas and New Year

Work is nearly silent this week...I have gotten ONE work-related e-mail in three days (usually would have gotten 100s) and no phone calls! I am using the time to organize my office and deal with things that have been hanging over my head. It is actually nice and relaxing to come to work so I'm not sad that I didn't take this week off (like everyone else in my business did). :-)

Eating over the Xmas weekend was, well, spotty. I did eat bad stuff and it showed up on the scale. But, to put things in perspective, I went back and looked at my weight records for last year...am happily at least 15 pounds less than I was last year at this time so I'll take it! I got back on the good eating wagon on Monday...and, of course, am still doing my yoga.

Speaking of which, DB got me some great gifts for Christmas -- one of which was a 3-month unlimited pass to my new yoga studio! (I am a LITTLE afraid that my yoga is hurting my knees...they have been acting up the past month...I need to talk with my teacher tonight and see what we can do about it...I have been modifying myself already.) He also got me...A KINDLE!!! We were supposed to not get each other pricey gifts this year so I never would have even thought to ask for either of these things...and I didn't. But my love knows me so well that he just KNEW that I would like these things...I totally burst into tears when I opened each of them...I couldn't have picked anything I wanted more! Christmas magic. :-)

We spent Christmas Eve with my mom...eating Indian food (I was good and didn't eat the rice or nan) and driving around to look at lights. Then two of the days over the weekend were with the PDs and the grandkids. Much fun was had by all. If you are my Facebook friend, be sure to check out the Dance of the Sugarplum Chipmunks on my profile. ;-) While gifts are admittedly so very nice, time with family and friends is truly what I love most about this season.

We're now gearing up for our New Year's Eve party...hopefully will be a little tamer than last year...or not!! This year our theme is frugality...everyone is supposed to come dressed in thrift store clothes and we're having cheap beer and snacks (amazing how expensive the "cheap" stuff can be when buying for a party though!).

Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas!

This is beautiful: http://caronthehill.blogspot.com/

I appreciate all of your places on my Christmas tree. :-) Happy Christmas to all....and to all a good night

I'm about ready to give in to the damn sugar

It is EVERYWHERE. And, even though sugary food is not my favorite, for some reason the past couple of days it has taken every fiber of my being to resist the candy, cookies, etc. that are veritably permeating my office. And I'm tired of fighting. I just may give in. Well, OK, to be honest, I did give in a teeny bit over the weekend -- I had a tiny 1/4 of a dessert at our office party on Friday, 5 homemade dark chocolate truffles with sea salt at our Yule celebration on Sunday night, two small pieces of fudge on Monday. And, other than that, I have been virtually perfect (including 4 yogas last week and on-track for my usual this week). My reward for this perfection is that I am sitting firmly at 3 pounds above my lowest weight. Firmly 3 pounds above where I wanted to be on Christmas. And where, at this point, it is clear I won't be.

I'm not sure where this sugar thing is coming from...I think it may be that it's the time of the month where my weight goes up and I'm more hungry than usual...and it just happens to have happened Christmas week...when chocolate, etc. is everywhere. And work is slow. So I have time to think about all those treats sitting over there in the basket on the table in my office...

I'm bummed out. I am feeling like my usual willpower is out the window. But I haven't given in really...yet. But I'm having a hard time convincing myself to wait until Christmas for a treat.

Other than this, all is well. Had a couple of great yoga practices last week...Saturday's was with a new teacher and really kicked my butt (men teachers are totally different than women)...I felt sore all over on Sunday (in a good way). Tonight is wrapping night -- with six grandkids you can imagine that it's a LONG process. Tomorrow I'll pick up my mom on the way home from work, (hopefully) go to 6 pm yoga, then our traditional Indian dinner and then driving (or walking) around to see lights. Friday we get up early, have breakfast and gifts then get ready for the big drive -- 2 hours north to PD1's house.

I am really ready for Christmas! Hurry Christmas, hurry fast (to quote the Whos -- not The Who, the Whos from The Grinch)!!!!

End of the year slowdown

Work has been slow all week...I am catching up! And I have a couple of minutes to blog. :-)

I'm still inching down the scale...feel pretty good about where I am pre-Christmas. I'd like to magically lose 5 pounds before The Day (when I know I will eat some bad stuff and probably "gain" 5 pounds), but that's probably not going to happen. So I'm just hanging on to maintain, keeping going to yoga as many times a week as time and my body permit...and that's good.

As of today, I think I have pretty much finished Christmas shopping. There's a lot more work to do (wrapping for 6 grandkids, for example!), but I'm feeling good about this too.

I canceled virtually all of my holiday party plans for the past week -- my sore throat was really getting me down. Finally, yesterday, I took the whole day off work and just stayed in bed the whole time...watching movies and playing Jewelz on my Droid. And, miraculously, this morning I felt better. Yay!

Tomorrow is our firm holiday party. This year we're having a lunch with just staff rather than a full-blown nighttime party with dates. They're also giving us all of tomorrow afternoon off work (yoga!). When they first announced this, we all thought it definitely meant that we were not getting Christmas bonuses this year. I have gotten one every single year I have been here (16 years) and, while I always appreciated that it was a GIFT, this year I really NEEDED it. Well...they gave us a bonus!! A little less than last year, but...whew!!! I literally burst into tears when they gave it to me. I was SO sure that they wouldn't (we didn't get raises this year either). Oh happy day!! I love my firm...they really do try to do right by us.

After the holiday party, I'm planning to go to yoga then, after dinner, am going to work with a charity packing up boxes of food for disadvantaged families. We actually have neighbors (at the beach) who are homeless. It is getting worse. I find it particularly sad at Christmastime...last night walking to yoga I saw a homeless person with all their bedding sitting outside the local Xmas tree lot which is all decorated with lights, etc. (and, by the way, which also benefits a great charity). They were gazing into the lot with longing. At least that's how it seemed to me from the other side of the street. It was poignant.

Saturday is treat-Helen-Christmas day: haircut, mani-pedi, brow wax and yoga. I also have to cook up some treat for our solstice celebration on Sunday evening. Sunday morning, I'm taking brunch to a friend who is having surgery tomorrow...and we'll watch a movie (she gets awards screeners).

Next week at work will probably be even slower than this week...so I may be able to write more... :-)

Good Weigh Day

Of course, I have been weighing every day (and logging it) since June, but today was a good one. I am finally less than two pounds above my lowest (pre-NYC trip). I want to lose at least those 2 pounds (and maybe more...but that will be hard) before Christmas so I feel like I have a little leeway.

This week has been frustrating with the scale because I was being perfect and not seeing results, but I actually appreciate it so much. Since I've been logging my weight these past few years, I can always go back and look at where I was at this time last year and the year before. With all my fluctuations, this really helps (I'm sure you all think I'm on a rollercoaster -- really not -- just ups and downs on the SLOW way DOWN). While not HUGELY different, I am down 15 pounds from last year at this time and I feel it. :-) And I have lost all my Thanksgiving weight and a little more.

What have I learned from scale time this week? That it takes about 2 weeks to "recover" from not eating perfectly on plan (like at Thanksgiving -- when I gained 8 lbs). Two weeks to recover from 4 days. THAT is something to really think about. And I wasn't even really bad over Thanksgiving!! Just ate a couple of pieces of pie (in 4 days) and maybe an extra slice of bread each day.

This program has taught me that my body is very sensitive to what I put in it. It shows on the scale. It shows in my digestive system. It shows in how hungry I am and when. I am COMPLETELY convinced that carbs are addictive. Eating just a little sets off cravings big time for me. When I'm perfectly (or almost perfectly) on-program, I absolutely do NOT have those cravings!! It's kind of magic, really. I can't believe how rarely I crave food after dinner anymore. :-)

I've been keeping up with my yoga too...until this morning, I was thinking that maybe THAT was keeping me from losing (I am definitely getting more muscley). But I didn't (and don't) think that's it. While I feel myself getting longer and leaner even after such a short time back at yoga, I don't feel it really is impacting on my actual weight. It does impact on my disposition though and that DOES impact my weight. I feel SO GOOD being back at yoga. I look forward to going...and I never EVER looked forward to going to the gym.

This weekend is packed with Christmas festivities -- at my mom's place tomorrow for lunch, a friend's tomorrow night, the Venice canals Christmas boat parade on Sunday morning and another friend's open house Sunday evening. Then I have other holiday get-togethers next Tuesday, Thursday and Friday! Fun, but I get a little tired sometimes thinking about it...

I've been fighting a cold this week (DB got one)...this morning I thought that I had it beat, but the sore throat is kicking back in a little this afternoon. It's cold and rainy here...very very Christmasy, but makes me just want to cuddle up in bed in my Christmas jammies!

My knee problem from last weekend seems to be almost gone. My yoga teachers have helped a lot this week and I've been wearing a brace every day and icing and taking ibuprofen. Hopefully tomorrow I can try to go brace-less. The pain has been gone for about three days and now it just feels swollen...yay!

I wish I had more time to blog

But I don't.

Every free non-work minute seems to be filled lately with chores, social engagements and/or Christmas preparations.

I did ok this week...was very on-plan, but only managed to get rid of a little over 5 pounds. Still need to get almost five more to get to the absolute lowest that I saw on the scale one brief shining moment before I went to NYC on Halloween. So, yes, I'm still maintaining and SLOWLY losing.

I have been going to yoga 3 times a week...this is a lot more exercise than I've gotten in a few months. And it's weird that I'm not losing faster because of that. But maybe it's muscle building...I'm feeling really strong. BUT I did a number on a knee on Tuesday in class and today it was painful for me to walk to class (although the class itself felt good). Walking right now hurts. I'm icing right now and probably will stay home tonight to just rest my knee.

Didn't get everything done today that I wanted to...got a lot of Xmas decorations up, but we didn't get our real tree yet. DB has been working like a madman to get outside work done that needs to be done before our first winter storm (rain) comes tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we can get the real tree. Right now I'm happily listening to Xmas music and looking at our other decorations including our fantastic 60s silver tree. :-)

Big news this week was that I got a Motorola Droid...finally I'm into the 21st century when it comes to a phone!!! I've been playing with it every free moment this week to try to learn all of it's MANY capabilities. So far, I LOVE IT. Believe it or not, I couldn't even text before I got this phone!!!! Droid is seksi. ;-)

Gotta go check on DB, finish laundry and see what's up for the coming evening...