Wednesday Weigh-in

Since I had fun and was busy with friends, music and my man this past weekend, I've been left with a pile o'chores to do Monday, yesterday and today  after work:

• Laundry (3 loads)
• Light clean all over the house
• Pull weeds
• Mow lawn
• Battle vines growing in hedge

Had to skip my brisk after-work walks three days in a row and I really missed it.  It's just a good way for me to clear my head after a long day in front of the computer and sort of wipes the mental slate clean of any work-related stress or particular worries I may have.  Just deeply breathing in the fresh air is just so relaxing...  except... it's allergy season for me! Achoo!

Ragweed is my sworn enemy!  It's like a having a cold from August to the first frost.  Itchy nose, sneezing, watery itchy eyes, and sometimes a tiny bit of asthma.  Over the years I've done shots, naturopathic drops under the tongue, other odd things friends have recommended, so now I'm not willing to spend any more money now on "miracle cures".  I just deal with it, always have tissues on me and try and limit the amount of anti-histamines I have to take as much as possible. 

So when I had to pull weeds yesterday, wearing thick rubber gloves, some of them were ragweed.  The kind we have here look like baby carrots, but when you pull them, you realise they are so not carrots, not at all.

As for weighing in, I'm at 177.2 lbs.  Up a wee bit from last week but I expected that.   Food-wise, I've been a little less vigilant than I should be with my portions.  I noticed last night that I was rushing my meal.  Even though I might have been hungry, at this point, there's no excuse for not taking time, slowing chewing and enjoying my meal.  

Being conscious and aware of what and how I'm eating during meals helps me stay focused. I remember when I was over 220 lbs, being in a daze during meals and during all those snacks... just shovelling it all in to fill a void. 

Exercise wise, as mentioned above, three missed 30-minute brisk walks and two missed pilates sessions. For the sake of my mental health and the great way I feel afterward, I just cannot skip out on these.

Next time I know I'm going to have a super busy weekend, I'll just whip up a schedule and actually list all the meals, activities, meet ups, workouts, and allot time for each. That way there will be no excuses, none :)

Weekend Shenanigans

This weekend was a bit of an exceptional one. Usually my weekends involve chores, meeting up with friends, activity and meal prep for the upcoming week.  This one didn't involve much of that. Since my man is a musician, his gigs usually happen in bars. This time, he was a featured artist during a sort of a 8-hour Music-a-Thon, so we spent a while in this particular drinking establishment. 

During the afternoon and evening, I was able to enjoy the other music acts and sipped on soda water (seltzer) with a squeeze of lemon. Once my man's set was over (he was in good voice and did great!!) we went out for a quick bite. We went for Asian: hot and sour soup, then some stir-fry chicken and veggies, no added salt, hold the rice, hold the noodles. When we returned to the venue to meet up with friends, see and support the rest of the bands, I got a little thirsty... gin and soda water thirsty! I don't drink often, but when I do, it doesn't take much to get a buzz. Let's just say that high spirits ensued! And mischief and shenanigans. But never giving into any crazy cravings for fries or other junk food!!  A good night was had. A very good night indeed!

Coffee is Deliciously Evil and Weigh-in

This week, I'm feeling more and more in tune with my body.  More conscious.  Probably because I'm sore all over!  ha!  But really, it's feeling the muscles activate as I move, keeping good form as I go through various exercises, standing taller, having more balance, being aware of my shape in a good way.  But... also feeling that fat jiggling during more vigorous cardio workouts... and knowing that excess has got to go. And it will go, only if I keep being consistent!

So I saw this number on my scale this morning. 
And I know this number is a lie. 4 lbs lost in a week? No. It is my weight, yes, but due to what I drank yesterday, I'm sure it's a dehydrated weight :

-  Four cups of coffee before 2pm 
 (it was fresh from Columbia and freaking delicious!) 
-  A mug of green tea at about 4pm 
-  Five cups of water total for the day

This makes for an extremely diuretic day!  And one I won't repeat any time soon.  I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning, that's it.  Yesterday was a big mistake of drinking waaaaaay too much caffeine!  Once the evening came round I felt jittery and not even remotely sleepy or relaxed.  However, I got lots of extra exercise in by going up and down the stairs to go to the washroom:)

I've started again to weigh myself every morning, which I might actually stop, but record it only on Wednesdays.  Yesterday's number was 177.8 lbs.  I'm putting a virtual asterisk on today's weigh-in.

Food-wise there are all sorts of great deals at the market, got lots of interesting lettuces, zucchinis and this week I've indulged in "peaches and cream" variety of corn on the cob.  This is the only time of year that I have it because it's local and just tastes so good.  The rest of the year, I don't have it. Except if I pop some corn at home in the air popper and that's become more of a rarity now. 

Otherwise, my food template is about the same as last week.  I just like a menu that's easy to prepare in advance and, above all, to keep things simple.

Rollin' Along

Slowly but surely I'm adding activity back into my schedule. Although I feel like going full-throttle, that's just asking for an injury. I started off slowly but this week increased the time for some activities and will continue to increase the time or difficulty every week. I am feeling the after-burn of sore muscles. Right now it's shoulders and abs.

I also dusted off my roller skates and got in some laps around the rink.  It's been a while since my derby days and I'm more than a little rusty but I had fun. I'm just glad I didn't fall on my butt! But my glutes were sore for a couple of days afterward it actually hurt to sit down and get up.

So here's basically what I've been up to...

Work Week:
Before work 30 minute brisk walk downhill
Can't count on having time at lunch for exercise but if I can squeeze it in I do
After work 30 minute brisk walk uphill
Before bed stretching: Pilates, 20 minutes

Added 3x week:
Elliptical 15 minutes followed by...
Strength training and body weight exercises like those fun-time Burpees, 20 minutes

Weekend: 
1 hour or more brisk walk or could be a hike
Before bed stretching: Pilates, however long I need to stretch

Fun: 

Bike ride

Roller skating

As for eats, about the same:

Breakfast: 
Coffee with almond milk or lactose free milk 

Scrambled eggs with peppers and mushrooms 
or 
Smoothie (any protein powder without whey and without sugar, plus 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 banana with almond milk or lactose free milk)

Lunch:
Big salad with tomatoes, cukes, avocado and grilled chicken 

or
Left-overs from previous night's supper

Supper:
Stir fried veggies (broccoli, carrots, peppers) and chicken
or
Roast chicken and veggies (sweet potato, onions) on a bed of spinach or kale
or 
Baked fish with green beans or carrots or whatever looked good at the market
or

Grilled bison and a big salad with avocado

or 

Crock pot chicken thighs (no skin) in a Harissa sauce (North African hot chili pepper paste with tomatoes and herbs) on a bed of kale and/or with sweet potato
AM or PM Snacks:
Either a small fruit 

or 

Carrot and/or celery sticks with tuna

or

Organic sunflower seed butter on an apple 

Before bed:

Chamomile Tea

I'm still not eating raw nuts, still too triggering - I always end up eating more than I should.

To stave off crazy cravings, I still chew way too much Sugarless gum.

Being consistent with all this is the key and this is certainly do-able. I can always change this up depending on the schedule. 

As for weight, I'm at 180.1 lbs. Down from last week so I'm good with that. 

Summertime Sadness and Getting Back on Track

The weather here has been very up and down. Sunny and warm, perfect days really, then the past few days cold and now rainy and autumn-like.  Actually I had some home-made chicken soup tonight for supper. I always keep some kind of soup in the freezer in case I get sick. This time the soup was a healthy comfort; it took the chill off almost everything.

I've been going through something difficult, so I'm feeling a lot of sadness, but sad without negativity. There are things I can't control. I have them go and have faith that things will work out for the best in the end. Finding true joy again will take time and dwelling and moping in negativity is not an option. I'm focusing on changing the things I can. Like taking care of my health and fitness.

The doctor gave me the go-ahead to resume an active lifestyle, so the plan is to slowly get back to brisk walks, get back on the elliptical, do some weight training and yoga/pilates. My body is at about the same weight as it has been for the past while, 181.7 lbs, but I feel so much less fit. My arms have quickly turned flabby and my body is so stiff. It's actually very scary how quickly this happened. 

I'm glad I'm more and more able to view food just as fuel not as something to fill a void. Will ice cream make my current situation any better? Nope, it'd just be added extra calories I don't need. Would chips or pizza make me happy? Nope, they'd just make me feel dehydrated and bloated because of all that salt.

We all face stresses and set-backs. It's the way you deal with them determines whether you've made progress or not.  I'm proud I have made progress.

Stasis

Have been taking things easy. A lot of couch surfing which is something I'm actually having a hard time dealing with. You'd think that watching episodes of various HBO shows wouldn't bore me, but honestly I'd rather be more active. The weather has been so nice lately, perfect weather really, I'd rather go for a swim or a hike, but have to take it easy and heal up for another five or six days. Gentle walking and beginner T'ai Chi has been it for exercise. 

Food-wise I'm eating lots of veggies and some locally grown fruit. Example delicious peaches! I could eat a whole basketful. Peaches trucked in from other countries taste mostly like cardboard. Made some crock pot pulled pork. I can't remember which other blogger had mentioned it and I've had a hankering for some since. I've cut my portion sizes in consequence of the lighter activity so I haven't gained this week :)

Weigh-in Wednesday (a little late!) and an update

I've been basically eating clean for the most part, and when I have indulged I've been making sure that the indulgence is actually worth the calories. 

Examples: 

1) I was offered a slice of grocery store cake with cheap ingredients that I had a hard time pronouncing = not worth it!  

2) Homemade raspberry pie made with locally grown organic berries = worth it and had a normal-sized slice, not a big one!

Been having some cravings on and off for Chester's Corn Twists, one of my long list of kryptonite foods. You know, the foods that can seriously derail you and throw you way way off track.  I think it's just stress. Even though I'm still on vacation, I've had a series of doctors appointments and have had a minor procedure done yesterday. The only exercise I can do for the next few weeks is walking. That's okay since that's my main exercise anyway.

Weight is still fairly steady at 182.5 lbs.  Honestly while I'm going through this medical stuff, I'm just trying my best not to gain. Not exactly the point of a weight-loss blog, but that's how it is for now. 

No Weigh-In this Week...

...because I got a last minute invite to a friend's cottage for a few days and am nowhere near a scale. And that's okay. I'm not over-indulging and have been  keeping active by walking and now swimming, canoeing and hiking. And I'm certainly sleeping soundly at night! 

I do appreciate this lovely tranquillity, fresh air and being far from the city. But this is a summer home rather than a seasonal cottage so it's not getting back to basics... by no means. Laundry, dishwasher, TV and wifi, so it's a very comfortable getaway. No sleeping on a slowly leaking mattress in a cramped tent this year LOL

I've also been catching up on some fun novel reading. I usually don't get much of a chance during the work week; these days it's maybe a few minutes before bed. The bus is way too crowded during the commute and truth be told, I've missed my stop once or twice on account of an interesting part in a book!

On the list:

-Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding 
(third Bridget Jones book and apparently most hated by fans? We'll see. I'm about half-way through now)
-The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick 
(same author as Silver Linings Playbook)
-A couple of Scandinavian mysteries
-And of course, a couple of smutty romances ;)