The Sick Sickies

Sick children are the death of a diet and weight loss plan.

How do I know that? How can I make such a strong statement? Because I have been living it for the past 8 days. Argh!

Devin hasn't been to swim practice all week. Colton wouldn't get over the croup, and I finally got tired of the barking seal routine and got him some prednisone. He has been home since Tuesday and driving me completely nuts, despite how much I love his guts. (Look, a rhyme!) Thank heavens Becca has managed to dodge the bullet so far.

Ever since a croup incident when Colton was two that lead to my baby with blue lips and only a squeak of air getting into his little lungs, I have been freaked out by that barking cough. All week I have run the vaporizer in his room and gotten up five or six times a night to make sure he's still breathing. He's exhausted and so am I.

With him home sick, I have only walked twice this week. And, today I had a stress attack and downed WAY too much chocolate. (You can probably feel my heartburn across the miles!)

I am starting to feel like fate is against me. :-(

I forgot to mention that I have also been sick for the past three weeks with what I have assumed are allergies. The Claritin does help a bit, but needless to say I was already tired before the kids got sick.

I feel like I could lay down and sleep for a week. *snore*

At least I am on vacation next week. Yay! Maybe I'll be able to catch up on some of my sleep and de-stress.

Frustration

I should be happy. I started weeks ago at 150 lbs and this morning my scale was at 144. I know that six lbs is nothing to sneeze at, but at this rate it is going to be a really long time before I can even think of getting into a bathing suit without frightening off even the seagulls. (And we all know how indiscriminating THEY are!)

I may be toning up a bit, but I can't tell yet. My butt seems tighter, but my tummy appears to me to be just as flabby as when I started. I guess more crunches are in order. And, I know that I need to beef up my cardio. I've been lazy about that.

My eating choices have definitely moved back to the healthier regions, so I am proud of myself in that area. Lunch today was a 1/4 cup of chicken salad spread on a fat-free soft tortilla and a cup of boiled okra. (Yes, my children gag at the thought, but I have always loved them boiled!)

Publix has come to my rescue lately with these great Apron's meals. They list everything you need and the section of the store where the ingredient can be found. Recipe cards also include the calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fiber, protein, etc., per serving.

I've added a lot more water, which seems to be helping keep the bloat down. But, the side effect is I lose some sleep due to getting up at least twice in the night to pee. Woo Hoo!

I have to admit that the frustration of such slow results is wearing on me. I keep finding myself thinking, "Crap on it! What's the point? I'm old and I'll NEVER look good again." It's such a defeatist attitude and not much like me at all. I can't let this fat win.

I am realistic. I know I won't look like I am 25 again, but, damn it, that doesn't stop me from WANTING to! Argh!

Attack of the Killer Scone

[Insert music from 'Jaws' here]

The glass case loomed closer and closer. The air began to get tight around me. Suddenly, there it was...the the hideous (yet mesmerizingly delectable) BLUEBERRY SCONE! I choked back the urge to scream and run. Could I resist or would it snatch me into it's soft, buttery, calorie-oozing clutches?

Yep, I gave in.

I was soooo good. I walked into Starbucks intending to order my grande sugar free, fat free vanilla latte per usual, and walked out with that little brown bag of sugary goodness sticking out of my purse.

To give myself a little credit, I only ate half of it. So instead of 460 calories and 18 (yes I said EIGHTEEN) grams of FAT, I had 230 and 9 grams. Maybe that's not too bad for breakfast, but I am sure I could have had something much healthier for that amount of calories.

But, know what? I am not going to beat myself up. I had a gab with a group of girlfriends yesterday, and we were discussing the importance of moderation. The chat was actually about kids and better nutritional choices (that's another blog), but we also talked about how WE as parents need to be role models for how kids.

I am going to make better choices and also treat myself to something I really want...in moderation.

A Quickie

LOL! I never thought about how many connotations the word "quickie" could have until I sat down to write one. ;-)

I was referring to a quickie blog post, naturally. But, I was also going to talk about quickie exercises. Some days, no matter how hard I try, I just can't fit in a full 30-minute walk or 30 minutes of ab work, etc., into my schedule. Those are the days I settle for "quickies". I figure some exercise is always better than NONE.

Saturday morning I had a "quickie" walk. I was busting butt to get my husband and kids out the door for a fishing trip so I could walk before getting ready to head out with my friend Snead to visit our old college buddies in Tampa. I thought I would have time for the 30-minute walk until I ended up having to dress my son and get everyone breakfast. I HAD managed to put on my workout gear before the truck/boat pulled out of the driveway. Then Snead called and said she was 45 minutes away. Hmmm...out of time.

But, I still wanted to walk, so I sailed out the door and hoofed it hard for 15 minutes instead. At least I felt invigorated and wide awake. :-)

So, remember, if you start running out of time just have a "quickie". You'll feel good about yourself and turn up the heat on your energy level!

Later gators.

Walking in My Shoes

I've needed a new pair of walking shoes for a while now. I keep putting it off, because it always seems there is something more important to buy.

Yesterday, I was griping to my friend Snead about my shoe situation, and she gave me a hellacious scolding! She says she recently read that if you are an avid walker (which apparently I am...who knew!?) you should replace your walking shoes once every three months. OMG! I am pretty sure these knarly Reeboks are more than two years old. (see photo above)

So, this week in addition to my exercise goals I am going in search of the ultimate walking shoe. hehe. Good thing Rack Room is having a sale!

I did well with my walking yesterday, but I ramped it up today by adding my morning walk back into the mix. I had let it go by the wayside during the cold months (affectionately known in our house as the B-R-R months!) This morning it was perfect walking weather: 65 degrees and just slightly overcast.

Colton complained that he was too tired to walk to school, but I noticed that by the time we got there he was chattering away and seemed much more awake than when we left home. Bonus!

I'm heading out at 1:30 for my afternoon school trek. I may just be ready to get back to my weight routine at the Y by tomorrow. :-)

Leona

Teenage Procrastination Update...

14-year-old managed to be ready WAY ahead of time today, so we made it to swim practice with time to spare. yay!

I won't get a big head yet, but my lesson seemed to have done some good.

Leona

Spring Means Azaleas!

Just wanted to share the latest photos of my azaleas here in Florida. We are in FULL bloom this time of year. Unfortunately, the blossoms will probably be gone well before Easter.

I plan on sitting on my swing and taking in the sheer beauty of it all while the sun is warm and the March breezes tickle and tease.

I just love living in the South. :-)

Leona

The Teenage Time Warp

I really have to vent. I hope all my dear readers will bear with me. ;-)

Why is it that teenagers view time so much differently than the rest of humanity? My 14-year-old daughter is always waiting until the final minute to do ANYTHING!

For instance, she showers every morning and KNOWS how long that will take her, but she still refuses to get up when I call her at 6:30 a.m. Inevitably, she launches out of bed at 6:55 in a state of sheer panic and ranting about how NO ONE ever makes her get up on time! WHAT? I don't deem it my responsiblity to make sure her hair smells terrific. The rant generally continues for a while until she really works herself into a good cry, which tends to waste even more of her precious makeup application time.

Rewind to about 26 years ago, and I could see MYSELF in a mirror. Yep, she's just like me. I know my mom gets immeasurable joy out of hearing me gripe about the morning teenage crying jags. hehe

Although the morning ritual is aggravating, it is nothing compared to the procrastination that takes place every afternoon before swim practice. Here is last Friday's conversation:

14-year-old: "I am walking over to Kayla's house for a few minutes."

ME: "Um...It's 4 o'clock, and we have to leave here before 4:30 in order to make it to swimming by 5. So, I don't think that's a good idea."

14-year-old: "I just have to give her something. I'll be RIGHT BACK!" (she walks out the door)

ME: (Opening the door and yelling out.) "BE BACK HERE IN 10 MINUTES!"

Tick tock, tick tock. 4:20 has come and gone. No sign of the teenager. I get her sister to call Kayla's house. Kayla says teenager is on her way home.

Teenager crashes through door and sits down on the couch in front of cartoons.

ME: "Hey, you need to be getting your suit on!"

14-year-old: "Hold on."

4:30 p.m. -- Teenager finally has suit on. Decides she needs to shave her legs.

Tick tock, tick tock.

I decided I wasn't going to make a big deal and get myself all worked up over this. (Normally, mind you, I'd be fuming about now.)

I just let her keep pushing it and get completely ready with her suit and all her gear.

4:45 p.m. -- I get in the car. She jumps into the passenger seat.

I crank the car and say, "I hope you enjoyed getting ready for nothing."

She looks at me in shock, "What?"

I start backing out of the driveway. "I have to go pick your brother up at school. You cannot make it to swim practice if we leave now. You'll be 30 minutes late. That's not acceptable. You'll disrupt practice."

Blink, blink..."What do you mean?"

"I MEAN that you wasted your time. You can't go now. You didn't pay attention to the timeline. Five minutes late, maybe. 30 minutes late = RUDE."

Then there was some crying and some blaming and some guilt-tripping, but it all boiled down to me feeling like I had offered a pretty good lesson without even losing my temper. GO ME!

I can't wait to see how she does TODAY. I'll keep you posted.

Leona

Back in My Walking Shoes

How many more times can I say that? It seem to keep starting and stopping on this crazy weight loss journey. Argh!!!!!

Before I was 40, friends of mine kept lamenting that when they hit 40 their bodies just fell apart. I felt pretty good in my late 30s, so I thought they MUST be exaggerating. Ha! Little did I know.

I swear, a few months after I turned 40 I started finding things wrong with me. The first was my back. I'd had some shoulder issues for a few years, but it always seemed to resolve rather quickly. Now, suddenly, I was in excruciating pain. After endless tests, the doc determined that I had a repetitive soft tissue injury in my shoulder. Not much could be done about it, so he just gave me some Naproxen for the pain, when I have a flare, and sent me on my way.

Then the stomach problems that I mentioned in an earlier post started happening. Since my grandmother died of colorectal cancer, I was a little freaked about all these changes in my body.

I am beginning to wonder if my friends all collectively bought a "Leona's Turning 40" voodoo doll and started poking it with stuff. ;-)

To shorten my story, the past month it has been one thing after another. I've had a horrid cold of some sort, then suffered through my kids all having it and then last week was (FINALLY) my colonoscopy. Can you say COLON CLEANSING HELL? Yep, I knew you could!

My diet and exercise schedule went totally by the wayside again, and I am starting to hit a major depression and wonder if, at my age, I will EVER see the scales go down below 130 again. *sigh*

So, here I am starting from what I consider scratch. I did lose about five lbs before my health went to pot, so I am a tiny bit ahead of the game, I guess. I just need to get back on that exercise horse. We'll see how I do. I'm hitting the concrete at 1:30 p.m. for the 20-minute trek to Colton's school. Wish me luck. Send good vibes.

Leona