Hangin' In There

Last week was a trip through the danger zone. It wasn't easy. I managed to keep some semblance of control, sort of. The week was fun, but it included dinners out, a couple of trips (long hours in the car, no exercise), and ample opportunities for alcohol. Hmmm, what do you tell yourself when all around you are downing all the things you aren't supposed to?

I'll tell you what I tell myself. "I'm not getting on the scale tomorrow!" Look, if I had will-power in the first place I wouldn't be doing this blog would I? If I had will-power I would be eating salads every day, enjoying one glass of wine, sipping it slowly through the meal, and would casually wave away the desserts, appetizers and other gremlins staring out at me from the table. Well, let me put you at ease. I don't have will power! So here is basically how the last week went.

Bad news first... spinach-artichoke dip with crisp and delicate chips when I had lunch with Kim... French fries, and ice cream on the trip home from Kim's. It's a 4 hour drive and when I drive I nibble...wings and beer with my hubby on one of the few nights out we've had...I like beer, but my hips love beer. :( ....trip to my mother-in-law's house, and a 2 day car show which included dinner at a friends...I lost track of the little chocolate bite sized candies that M-I-L keeps in a bowl by the chair I sit in. I think she refills it every time I leave the room... and of course she had to have a new box of chocolate covered donuts.... they stared at me first thing in the morning.... those little 'o' faces followed me all around the kitchen until I had to snatch a couple.... wine at the friends, 2 ears of corn YUMMM! My Favorite summer food and my BIGGEST diet no-no... beer at the car show--only one day though! I stuck with water the next day:)... Golden Corral for dinner... HELLO! I am trying to lose weight here? And I get to go to an All You Can Eat Place????

OK, it wasn't all bad.

The Good News... I had a salad for lunch with Kim... Wings are actually on my diet, which is one reason I like Atkins :)... I walked a mile to 1 1/2 miles on 2 of the 3 days we were at my mother-in-law's. I avoided all the "fair" foods at the car show... and the upside to Golden Corral is that I ate all the meat I wanted, and skipped the starches. I had some fruit and salad and when it was time for dessert Larry came back with a piece of chocolate cake and 2 cookies. We shared the cake which was great. I would have loved a whole piece for myself, but just a few bites satisfied me so I didn't eat a lot of dessert!

At any rate, it was a tough week so, for now, I'm skipping the scales. Who needs to be hit on the head when they've already been kicked in the butt?

From Oops to Wow!

Losing weight is a funny thing. One day something smacks you on the head to bring you down, and the next day, out of the blue, something happens that says "You Go, Girl!" My last post I was feeling chastised because I saw the scale move slightly the wrong way after rewarding myself for recent successes. But after this weekend, I am Stoked!

When we lived in Florida, I took riding lessons. I had conquered my fear of heights on a horse, but I never felt I had achieved control of the horse. One problem I had when riding was that my knees would really ache after an hour, and when I dismounted it took me a few moments before I got the kinks out. I never got very good, but I loved it just the same.

Last Sunday I went horseback riding for the first time in 4 years. I was really looking forward to it and hoped that I would be up to it. Of course, I knew come Monday morning I was going to have a very sore butt at the very least. There were 20 of us riding that day, and it took awhile to get everyone saddled up and on the right horse for them. I was given Gabriel. (That would be the "angel, Gabriel, right?" I asked!) While we waited I had a few minutes to walk around the arena and see how the horse responded.

The ride turned out to be a whole lot more strenuous than any ride I had in Florida. It started out on a rough dirt road, but that was fine. Then we started across and down a grassy hill to the gate where we made a hairpin turn into the woods and some deep grass. That was as easy as it got. After climbing another hill we turned and entered the woods and started going down a very steep hill. The path made by the horses on previous treks was literally about 12 inches wide.
I mentioned before that I had conquered my fear of heights on top of the horse, but this was seriously going to challenge it. I leaned back in the saddle (the proper way to go down a hill) and let the horse have his lead.

Over the next 2 hours we went up hills, down hills, through deep mud, through sand, rock...you get the picture! So why am I stoked?

Because when it was over, I won! I never lost my nerve. I was relaxed on Gabriel. He listened to my commands...that's a first! I was tired and glad when we got back, BUT!.... and this is a big But!...

My knees didn't hurt! When I got off the horse, I felt tired but fine. And yesterday, I wasn't stiff at all! My seat was a little tender, but not what I would have expected. What does all this mean? Forget the scales for now. I am in much better physical shape than I was a month ago. I read yesterday that speed walking increases circulation to all parts of the body which helps in multiple ways as well as improving my stamina. I also truly feel my diet has once again proven it is the right one for me. Remember when I listed 'less aches' on my success list? The diet is the biggest difference between other riding experiences and this one.

They say the biggest motivation to stay on a diet is seeing success. They are right! I may only be down a few pounds, but it's coming. All signs point forward. I'm sticking to my plan.

Oh, by the way, my total step count on Sunday was 16,000. I have to give 8,000 of those steps to Gabriel. My pedometer faithfully clicked away each step he made.

OOPS!

I may have celebrated too soon. Although I was right to claim my 5 pound weight loss, I may have chosen the wrong reward for me! I haven't really identified how I want to reward myself, but I think that a small reward for every 5 pounds lost is fair. Wednesday night we went to the corvette club meeting and I had my usual strawberry and grilled chicken salad. It is delicious, and pretty low fat. I usually eat it with just a drizzle of the dressing, but I think I had more than usual and I'm sure it is pretty high in sugar. But that wasn't my mistake.

After the meeting, I really wanted something else. Larry usually stops at Dairy Queen on the way home and I've been very good about not getting anything. But not this week. Hmm, it really seemed like a small hot fudge sundae was due. I decided that was going to be my reward.
I'm still not sure it was the wrong thing, but the timing probably could have been better.
For one thing, if I'm going to treat myself to a high sugar treat, it needs to be early in the day so I have time to burn it off, instead of right before I go to bed. Secondly, I am embarking on a week where I will have multiple opportunities to eat out. It is always hard to manage my meals when other people are preparing them.

The last part of my problem was that I opted for a weights workout, rather than an aerobic walk yesterday. Not a bad thing, but it probably didn't help burn as many calories. Perhaps if I was working at a gym, it would have. Even though I tried to push myself, I know I never come close to working as hard as a trainer would make me work.

Bottom line...I'm up a pound today. It's not terrible, but after 10 days of being down, I was not happy to see that other number on the scale. Especially since I have to navigate vendor food at a car cruise tonight, a picnic tomorrow and Sunday. And next weekend I have 3 nights where we will eat at friends or at a restaurant. I will be happy if I MAINTAIN my weight through all that, let alone lose any.

It is times like these that dieters have to push through. Now is the time to persevere! Anyone have any words of wisdom or encouragement out there? I'm listening!

Results Show

I am feeling really good today. It's been a month since I started this and I can see so many positive results. First of all, I can say I am down 5 pounds! That's great for me. It has been many months since I could lose 5 pounds and stay there. I've been down 5 for a week now. I am one of those people who weigh themselves every day. It is the first thing I do when I get up in the morning and I go for every advantage; no shoes, no pjs. Just me.

Now, even though I weigh myself every day, I don't pay too much attention to the scale. I use it as a guide. My scale is getting old and some days it just weighs 'light'. When my weight is down I take it with a grain of salt. I don't accept the good news until it stays down. The other guide I use is measurement. I measure myself in multiple places once a week. It took a while but those results are in too and I've lost 5 inches overall, mostly in my lower body! YEA!!!

However, I have noticed many other things that tell me this exercise and diet program is really the right one for me.

1) The first thing I noticed was big. Aches and Pains. LESS OF THEM! A week into the diet the stairs became much easier to climb. A month in and the aches in my knees and thighs are gone. Is it because of the extra exercise? Maybe. But considering the quick improvement, I have to think it has more to do with the fact I cut out grains and sugar. I think the lower gluten levels are probably the biggest reason. Yes, this diet is one that agrees with me.

2) Energy and focus--My energy level is up. Each morning as I start the day, I know the walk comes right after breakfast. This has been a real jumpstart to my day. As a result, I've found my focus is also improved. I know what I'm going to do each day and I get to it. I feel like a different person. I'm enjoying the new 'me'. I'm also really excited that my motivation seems to be holding. I may have a weak day here or there, but I don't allow it to last more than a day or two.

3) Agility--When I tried to get up off the floor I would grab hold of something to balance and make it easier. Now I can stand up from a crouched position. I haven't done that in a while!

4) Speed--In the very beginning of this quest, I stated I needed to pick up the pace. Well, I have! A one mile walk was taking 25 minutes, but now I do it in 20 minutes and the huffing and puffing are gone. Now I'm working on the mile and a half route which includes 2 very steep hills. That's a work in progress, but some days I can make it up those hills without stopping. My goal is to do get to the same place I am on the mile route...no huffing and puffing!

5) This last result is really cool. My husband knows he needs to lose weight, but he can't find the mindset he needs to make the changes he needs. However, he has lost 5 pounds and I've seem him purposefully make good choices. The best was the night he agreed to walk with me. I know he's going on the road again soon and it won't last, but I'll enjoy it while I can. Someday, he may just find the power to stick to it, from watching me!
Now, that's a real reward!

Nike was right.

Yesterday, I was in a lazy mood. Actually, I'll give myself a break here and just say I didn't mind doing stuff. I just didn't want to do it outdoors. I vacuumed the family room and cleaned the kitchen floor. I gotta say, right here, that cleaning the kitchen floor is probably my least favorite house cleaning chore of all. We have a yellow lab who is really well behaved. We can send her outside and she stays in the yard without us telling her to. However, there is a trick to this. She knows as soon as she comes back in the house she gets a 'cookie'. The treat jar stays on the counter and as soon as she does her thing outside, she comes in and stands by the jar. If I'm slow getting to her she drools. In fact, when she walks through the door she's salivating. When I look at the kitchen floor in the right light I can see all the spots around where she's been standing. I hate cleaning that floor! I spray it and let the cleaner soak in, I mop it and then I go over the remaining spots by hand. Yesterday, was the day to 'git her done'.

Normally, I would have walked first thing in the morning, but it had rained hard the night before and the sky was still heavy. It did not look inviting. So I decided to start with housework, and when I was finished I rewarded myself by finishing a book I was reading.

Of course, hanging around the kitchen gave me easy access to the pantry where the bag of trail mix kept calling me. The almonds and peanuts were great and right on my diet plan, but I don't think I was supposed to keep picking out the raisins and m&m's. The fruit was looking pretty good too, which for most diets would have been fine. 1 cup of grapes is ok, but the whole bunch was probably a bit much. Oh well, the way I see it is that now that they are gone they are much less of a tempation!

As you know from my post yesterday, all this may have been good for the house, and nice for the soul, but my step count sucked and I was in no mood to boost it. So I came to the blog and vented. Guess what? It worked!

Just talking about it made me feel a little guilty. And as I thought about it I realized I was wimping out on a measly 20 minute walk. I didn't have to do the mile and a half up the really steep hill. I could do the easier mile and still boost my count. What was my problem? The little me on my shoulder went on to aggravate me by pointing out that after my walk I would still have time to shower before I needed to start dinner. SO GET GOING, my mini-me conscience said.

And I did. Once I laced on my shoes, and headed out the door, I was ready. Heidi's comment yesterday was right. It's harder putting on the work out clothes, than doing the workout.

Cleaning my kitchen floor was no different from walking. Nike was right. JUST DO IT!!!!!

Total step count yesterday--9643!

I Think I Need A Boost

I think I need a boost. A boost of energy, a boost of motivation, a kick in the butt.... something. I have worked really hard out in the yard the last couple of weeks. I have exercised every day. I usually take a day off from walking on the weekend, but get back to it on Monday.
Yesterday I was stiff and a little sore. I had a lot of work to do and I gave myself permission to take a day off and catch up on other things. At the end of the day I had still managed around 9600 steps so that wasn't too bad.
This morning it was cloudy and wet from the rain last night. I knew even if I went out to walk I would be soaking wet when I got back either from rain or humidity. I wasn't in the mood. And I had that book to finish...
So it's 4:00 and I've walked a total of 3900 steps. The sun is out but it is really hot. I know if I just go out and walk 1 mile I can be done in about 20 minutes. Now I just have to talk myself into my shoes and out the door.
Tomorrow I hope I can start out early the way I like to. That seems to get my day going in the right direction.
Today's total--so far--3934 steps.

Weekends are tough!

I've really been doing pretty well on my plan. Through the week I've kept up an active exercise program, and I've watched what I eat. But the last 2 weekends have been difficult. Last weekend was the Corvette Club picnic with lots of good food, beer and wine. For the most part I managed to snack conservatively. The main appetizers were cheese and crackers which fit my plan, although I had to be careful about how many crackers I took. I avoided all the chips!! Yea! (I LOVE chips...all kinds).

The meal was ok too. I took small helpings, avoided the pasta salad, had some of the fresh fruit salad and generally behaved myself.... right up to the desserts. I mean, really, it isn't fair. I'm trying my best. I'm following all the rules and then the dessert table is loaded with lots of yummy treats. I tried to be 'better than usuual' which only means I didn't try everything I wanted to, but I should have been better than I was.

This weekend we went to a Re-committment Ceremony and outdoor barbecue held by 2 corvette club members. In this area there is a tradition of homemade cookies at weddings and we have some fantastic cookie bakers in our corvette club. Several of us brought appetizers and I took a fruit tray. At the barbecue I was pretty good and took small portions, no seconds, but the appetizer tent before the ceremony was a land mind that really tripped me up.

So here is the problem! I have to learn how to talk myself past the goodies. The last time I was on the Atkins diet my mindset was clearer. I remember seeing a big cake and having none. For me that was a HUGE accomplishment. At the end of the year parties and picnics I was strong. I need that strength back. The weekend parties are over for awhile, but I need to get my mindset in line before the next land mine attacks!

Today's total--9,049 step

Stretching is not just for the gym

I am a slow learner. Every time I've worked out at a gym or taken a class, the instructor always has us stretch at the beginning to warm up, and at the end in the cool down. I've heard workout gurus on TV say "Always stretch before you work out and after". Me? Not so much. I take off on my daily walk, down the hill to the entrance to the neighborhood (1/2 mile) turn around and come back up. At home, I'm usually ready to just grab a towel to dry off and then collapse. I think those 3 days of pain finally woke me up. I've learned to stretch.

I'm not fond of walking up and down hills. I kind of liked walking in Florida where it was flat. I didn't hurt as much! Well, hills are what I've got so I guess it's time to learn to manage them.

The downhill part is fine! I've often grumbled that it's not fair that the only way to my house at the end of my walk is uphill, when I'm already tired. But the other day I realized how lucky I actually am.

So far I've managed to walk right after breakfast, because it is cooler then. I don't do much in the way of warm-ups, but the first half mile is all downhill, so that has become my warm-up. The other day as I was walking I felt like I was getting shin-splints. At the bottom of the hill I took a few moments to stretch out my legs and calves before I began the walk back up. On the way up I realized that the reason I don't get shin splints often when I walk is because that uphill climb has the same stretching effect. The front of my legs get the break, while the calves do the work.

And at home, I no longer collapse, but take several minutes to stretch my legs, back, arms and neck. You know what? I haven't had a sore day since! Who'd have guessed!

Today's total--12,600 steps

Ouch

I found a book in the library that seemed to be written for me. It is called the Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook. In a nutshell, a young(er than I am) woman found herself at a crossroads in her life where she seems to be spinning in the wind, no direction in mind. She has just left her job and on the same day her boyfriend leaves her. What does she do? What most of us would do. She holes up in her house with her cookies and icecream until the time for licking her wounds has passed. Then she straps on her walking shoes and her pedometer and gets ready to move on.

I too, have experienced a big change in my life. Right after my youngest daughter got married, we moved to Pittsburgh and I retired. I wasn't as shell shocked as the girl in the book, but it was a big adjustment. However the real commonality between the main character and myself was the Gung-Ho Attitude.

In the book, each chapter starts with the number of steps she has walked that day. While holed up in the house it was something like 32 steps, 111 steps, 51 steps. You get the idea. Nothing!

Then when she decides to move on she laces up her athletic shoes and hits the road. At the end of the day she has walked 11,232 steps! And the next day her diary reads... OUCH!

In our neighborhood, 'flat' is a term that does not exist. The roads go up and down, and around, but there is no flat. On the day that I decided to pick up my pace I set out. I have walked these roads for 3 years now, so I did the whole 2 1/2 mile route. I rarely paused. I walked at a good strong pace. I huffed up those hills and pounded down. When I got home, I congratulated myself and collapsed on the couch while Rachel Ray prepared a delicious pasta meal. By mid afternoon my muscles were tightening. By the next morning I could barely move. It was 3 days before I was back to normal.

Ordinarily, that would have stopped me, but not this time. I will stay the course. The question is, what have I learned?

The answer---Baby Steps. My new plan is to do one mile at a pace I can manage. Each day I time myself. What used to take 25 minutes I am now doing in 20 minutes, but this has taken a couple of weeks. I used to stop on the way up the hill, but I've learned where the burn point is and I am powering (it is a slow power, ha ha) through it. When I'm comfortable I will raise the bar to 1 1/2 miles. So far I feel good! This is working.
Today's total--11,500 steps.