Slow and Steady Wins the Race...for Weight Loss

Okay, I am really proud of myself. I think I deserve a pat on the back. *pat, pat*

Yesterday, I again hit my calorie goals and my fitness goals. I ended my day with just below 1200 calories, and I ate really well. I wasn't hungry. I had snacks. I've tried hard to move back to my more veggies and good carbs, South Beachy type of lifestyle.

I also walked for 20 minutes in the fresh Florida air, spent 20 minutes on the workout machines at the Y last night, AND swayed my way through my second hour-long Quigong class. (I am a LOT less coordinated than I had orginally thought!)

I feel soooo much better than I did two weeks ago. I do think I have lost a few pounds, but I won't weigh until this coming weekend (still need suggestions for the best scale!).

The most frustrating thing is that I can't see immediate huge results. I know it's not realistic to expect that, but I think we all hope for it. We all want to automatically notice that we are more thin and svelt than we were a week ago. We all want to drop a size or two in no time flat.

My fear is that it is going to take even LONGER for me because I am over 40 and have had three kids. I can tell my metabolism has slowed down.

So, I need to reign in my expectations so that I don't become discouraged. I need to keep this momentum going. I think blogging this and making myself keep track of exactly what I am going is keeping me focused on my goals.

Stay tuned for what's next. :-)

Leona

Most Accurate Home Scales?

Good morning, readers!

I have to admit that, although I am doing GREAT in cutting my calories, my exercise regimen hasn't been as regular these past few days as I would like. Yesterday, it consisted of walking the mall with Kathy in Jax. I'm not saying that wasn't good for my butt, but it didn't exactly get my heart pumping. Goal this week is to ramp up the cardio.

I actually think I may have lost a few pounds. But, here is my dilemma...I don't know for sure because I don't own a scale!

Over the years, I have bought many a home scale but they don't seem to last long. Most of them rust. Probably the result of lurking in the moist corners of steamy bathrooms. The last one was laid to rest in November when, for some reason, it ended up in the kitchen and my son dropped a heavy earthenware plate right on the read-out part of it.

So, I am currently in the market for a brand new scale. What I need from my dear readers are suggestions. In your experience and vast research of tools for weight and meansurements, what are the best ones out there? Why?

You may be molding my future. ;-)

Leona

YMCA...and then some!

I accomplished ALL my goals yesterday, and MORE! Woo Hoo!

I got in my 15 minutes of ab work on the machines at the Y. Worked out my arms as well, which I haven't done in a while. Then, I attended an hour-long Quigong (pronounced chee-gung) class with my daughter, neighbor and her daughter.

I thoroughly enjoyed the class. At first, it didn't seem like it was much of a workout. There was a lot of qui release and bringing in the good qui. Gentle, repetitive movements. The emphasis here is on "repetitive". ;-)

When I got home and chilled out for a bit I started to notice aches in places that I never would have dreamed of. I also felt really relaxed and calm for the rest of the night. Amazing.

The class is on Monday nights for four weeks. I think I can handle it. I may even move on up to the advanced class when I'm finished with this one.

Okay, here are my goals for today:

Goal #1 -- 30-minute walk in the great outdoors
Goal #2 -- 30-minutes on the machines at the Y

Wish me luck.

Today's Fitness Goals

Two posts in one day! Wonders never cease.

I am just hoping that posting my goals will help me stick to the program and accomplish them.

Goal # 1 -- 20-minute walk. (done)
Goal # 2 -- 15 minutes ab work
Goal # 3 -- 30 minutes at the YMCA gym

I didn't do much yesterday. I may have burned off a few calories doing some housework, but I doubt it was many. Gotta get back on track today.

I'll post my update tomorrow morning.

The Cat's in the Cradle

My husband is obsessed with fishing.

Fishing is all he thinks about. He can find a way to bring fishing into just about any conversation we have. I shit you not.

I have, over the years, accepted this as a fact of life...MY life anyway. And, I can't say that I hate it. I enjoy fishing as well, just not a torturous day of rolling in six-foot swells on the Gulf of Mexico in the hot sun.

Picture this: I am miserably seasick. My children are miserably seasick. All three of them. We have no top on our boat. We are baking in the elements as we purge our breakfasts to the briny deep. Sure, you COULD consider it chum, as my husband laughingly points out. Add to this the fact that we haven't had ONE fish bite a hook in over an hour. Exercise in futility? You got it!

Just keep this in mind as you read on...

My eight-year-old son loves to fish, too. He especially just loves to go hang out with his dad all day. But, I wouldn't call him obsessed about it. Pokemon seems to be his main obsession these days.

This is the thing about my husband that pisses me off more than anything else he does: He belittles our son because he does not enjoy the fishing trips in the "appropriate" manner.

Yesterday, he takes Colton fishing. He also takes a buddy from work and his son, who is almost a year older than Colton. Colton has a great day. He catches a trout or two and doesn't complain too much. His mortal sin during the time on the boat is asking to have his lure changed too often. (Yes, he may be slightly ADHD.)

Everything seems fine until Colton falls asleep on the way home. He wakes up to realize it is getting dark, and he won't be able to go play with his friend across the street when he DOES get home. Keep in mind he has been up since 6 a.m., sitting in a hot boat, is a little congested and just took a late afternoon nap in an uncomfortable position. He starts to cry and complain that he won't be able to play with his friend now.

Husband gets home, walks into the house and says, "Well, Colton CLEARLY is NOT a fisherman. I keep hoping every time I take him out that it will get better, but it doesn't." Then, he proceeds to sing the accolades of his buddy's little boy. "THAT kid is a fisherman. He didn't complain one time. He just fished and was quiet. He didn't run around the boat. What a great kid. So well-behaved. That's the way I was when I was a kid. I was just always a fisherman."

This is not the first time he has compared our son to other boys like this. Colton always comes up short in his eyes.

Should I be angry? I am. I can't help it.

Maybe my son isn't a "fisherman". Does he have to be obsessed? Can't he simply enjoy being out there with his dad? Can he never be a normal kid and complain about being hot or tired or thirsty? I guess not.

My dad did the same thing to my little brother. I remember him bitching about how my brother wasn't athletic, didn't like to fish, never behaved like his friend's sons did. My brother grew up and promptly moved as far away from my father as he could get. He rarely joins us for holiday family get-togethers. We just don't see him. Why? Because he doesn't see the point in dealing with dad.

Why do men do this to their sons? Don't they realize that belittling them and comparing them isn't going to magically make them wake up one morning and suddenly be the "perfect" son?

My husband is all about positive reinforcement...for his employees. When it comes to us, that seems to go out the window.

I just hope that he sees the light before Colton is old enough to move so far away that we never see him or get to be part of his adult life. That would break my heart.

Old Lady Gets Ogled

I am sooo proud of myself for the progress I made this week.

I walked three days, and I am planning on walking again today. I may even make it to the Y to hit the machines. I've also been doing my ab work each day. Just about 15 minutes of it, but I am hoping to build up to more. My stomach seems to be my biggest problem.

I have also been doing a bit better with my calorie intake. I added more salads for lunches and cut down my dinner portions. However, yesterday I had pepperoni pizza for both lunch AND dinner. Bad, bad, bad. All that bad fat just taking up residence in my stomach and butt. ewwwww

Breakfasts are also getting better. I'm usually pretty much an oatmeal or cold cereal gal, but I did manage to add an egg twice this week. Good protein to start the day off strong. I can't do it every day, because my IBS (with constipation) forces me to get started with All-Bran to get things "moving", if you know what I mean. ;-) Ah, the fun of getting older.

Now that I have mentioned the All-Bran, I have to say that it's not half bad. In fact, I kind of like it. I've never been one for super-sugared cereals anyway, and this has a naturally light sweet flavor. They have also added yogurt clusters to it, and that does provide a little variety in the texture department, plus adds just a tad more calcium. I know my bones are thanking me!

All this leads me to the reason for today's title...

At the end of the week, amazingly enough, my jeans weren't as hard to pull up over my fanny! I have to say, I am thrilled with just that small accomplishment. So, when I had to take my 14-year-old daughter shopping yesterday for a dress for her swim banquet, I wiggled into my size 6 Curvy's from Old Navy (who BTW should really consider bringing those BACK to their product line!) stepped into my comfy Reef flip flops and headed for the mall with two giggling girls, Devin and her friend, Kayla.

Our first stop, as always, was PacSun. I stood patiently outside the dressing room door as the girls giggled more and tried on mini skirts that were WAY too short for my taste. A handsome young man bumped into me, and said, "Oh, excuse me." I said, "No problem," and shifted my position. Kayla came out of the dressing room and stood there with me to wait for Devin. She leans over and whispers in my ear, "Miss Leona, that guy in the Rolling Stones t-shirt is so checking out your BUTT!"

Can you say, SHOCK and DISBELIEF??? Yep. Me, too.

I turned around and this 20-something guy quickly turns away. Could it really be true? COULD a dude in his 20s actually be looking at a 40-something mom's fat rear end? I guess stranger things have happened. I suppose I was flattered in a weird sort of way.

What it really made me think about was the conversation I had with my husband this week. I was telling him how bad I feel about my body and how much I long to get back to not only a healthy weight, but also to a healthy cholesterol level. (Yes, I KNOW pizza is bad for me!)

He looked at me like I was nuts, and said, "Sure, maybe you could lose a few pounds but I think you look good. I look at you and think, 'Man, I am pretty lucky.'" Of course, I didn't believe a word of that. LOL. I figured he was just trying to get me in the sack. ;-)

I left the mall thinking that maybe I'm not as repulsive as I feel after all. Part of this is probably all in my head. Now, at 5'4" and 150 lbs, I KNOW that I am overweight. I also know that heart disease runs rampant in my family and that extra weight isn't good for me.

So, instead of being repulsed by what I see in the mirror, I think I'll choose to say, "Okay, for 41 and 3 kids you're not looking too bad, old girl.". And, then I'll try to concentrate on making myself healthy rather than "thin".

Later days!
Leona

15-lb Weight Loss Challenge -- Day 2

Well, Wendy is already on her 10th day and kicking my butt in the exercise department. Ugh

I did get back on my walking routine last week, but didn't keep it up over the weekend. And, yesterday I was down for the count with a horrible head cold and my 8-year-old son home sick from school due to ummmm...a sore rear end. He had diarrhea all day on Sunday and neglected to share that fact with me until LATE Sunday night when his butt was so raw and red that all he wanted to do was cry. And cry. And cry.

It was in the wee hours of Monday morning when I finally closed my eyes and grabbed some much-needed sleep. However, all that stress and lack of sleep only seemed to bring the cold on harder.

Yesterday, I plowed through my work feeling like I was going to collapse at any minute. It's a good thing I work from my home! Well, good and bad I guess. If I worked in an office I would have stayed home and rested instead of continuing to work. I did try to take a longer lunch break than normal.

Naturally, Colton's butt was feeling fine by mid-afternoon and he was full of energy and driving me to the edge of insanity. "Mom, can I have an orange?" "Colton, you just got over diarrhea, oranges aren't a good choice." "But I WANT one!" whinnnnnnnne "We'll try the oranges later, how 'bout a peanut butter sandwich on pumpernickel?" "What is pumpernickel?" "That's the sweet black bread you like." "Okay, cool."

Ten minutes later, "Mommmmmmmmmmmm...can I have an orange?" *sigh*

This morning I woke up and my head felt like it weight two tons. I didn't want to lift it from the pillow. I finally managed to heave my giant head into the bathroom where two squinty eyes peered out at me from the mirror's reflection. Yuck.

My neighbor must have a psychic connection with me, because she called shortly after volunteering to take my kids to school! Woo hoo! I didn't even have to get dressed, so the minute they were out the door, I curled back up on the couch and didn't wake up until 9:30!

Yep, I was officially late for work. But, seeing that I work from home I just picked up my computer and was AT work, pajamas and all. :-)

A few Advils and that extra sleep later I am feeling much more human again. I am actually looking forward to my walk to the school at 1:30. Bring it on!

The 15-Lb Challenge

My friend Wendy is blogging her weight loss journey for WebMD.

Wendy wants to lose 15 lbs. She was telling me what she's doing, and I was so inspired that I got all excited and volunteered to join her in her challenge and lose 15 lbs myself! Have I lost my mind? No.

Here I am blogging about getting fit. I should be at least TRYING to do something about it. I've totally gotten off track, and gained back several of the pounds I'd lost on the South Beach Diet two years ago. I know that I feel better when I am below a certain weight and exercising regularly. So, I think that with Wendy forcing me to check in and report my progress I may actually stick to my plan.

I've started by getting back into the routine of walking at least 30 minutes every day. And...drumroll please...I've actually worked my abs two days in a row!

Beginning next Monday, I am going to workout at my local YMCA three days a week. If you notice that I am NOT writing about my trips to the Y, I want you to flog me in the comments section.

Okay, who's joining the 15-lb challenge? Come on...if I can do it YOU can!

Later days,
Leona

Coffee and Creation

Yes, Jesus is the Savior of my soul. But, COFFEE saves my sanity daily.

In my opinion, coffee is the Lord's most wonderful creation. There is nothing like hovering over a steaming, dark cup of liquid joy early in the morning and just breathing in the delicious promise of clarity.

I honestly believe that at the end of the sixth day of Creation, God turned to his heavenly host and said, "Can one of you angels PLEASE bring me a cup of coffee!?" And it was good.

Lately I have been trying desperately to get a handle on both my work and personal life, so I am rising early and staying up late. If it weren't for my morning fix of Starbucks Komodo Dragon I am not sure I'd be able to steam my eyelids open each morning.

Am I obsessed? Addicted? Perhaps. But, I suppose it could be worse.