I think watching too much TV makes me gain weight

OK.  I'll start with a little disclaimer of sorts.  There are two key parts the the above sentence.  The first is the part that says "I think".  I.  ME.  The bomb-diggity.  :) THINKS.  I have no research to support this thought.  It's just that.  A thought.  The second part is the part that says "me".  I know, this post so far seems like it's all about me.  Guess WHAT?!?!  It IS, in fact the whole blog is.  :)  This is an observation I made about MYSELF. If you think it could apply to you, fine.  But don't e-mail me and tell me you watch 2 hours of TV a day and have lost weight every week for _______ [amount of time], and so therefore I am wrong.  I didn't say anything about your journey, and I'll thank you to return the favor.  :)

WHEW.  I'm pretty sure I could never be a lawyer if I always had to explain myself like that, but it was a fun exercise.  Wait, exercise, do I get activity points for that?!?! JUST KIDDING :)

I have noticed a pattern, that is the point of this post.  In November and most of December, I watched a very small amount of TV.  I think a grand total of less than 5 hours each month.  Spread out at less than 30 minute intervals at a time.  And during none of that time was I eating.  (As a matter of fact, I try to not do anything while I'm eating, it helps me pay better attention to my body's signals.)  I lost 5 pounds in November and 7.4 in December.  Then towards the end of December, more in the beginning of January, I was working full time, commuting 2 hours a day to work, and stressed to the max.  So I was watching TV for an hour or more or a movie at night.  Almost every night.  January week 1 I lost .8, week 2 I lost .6, then week 3 gained .8.  (That gain was that every 4th week unavoidable gain...so I don't give it much merit.) but still!  Those numbers are small!

There are two possible causes:

Well, there are actually more than 2, but I'm only going to evaluate 2...

1.  The increase in TV watching had an effect (or is it affect???) on my weight loss

2.  I'm starting to get to the point where the weight isn't going to fall off anymore.  

I've already really addressed #1, so I'll move right on to #2, but it's possible it could be a combination.  :)

SAY WHAT?!?!?!?!?  It's true.  When someone first starts losing weight, the first big (different for everyone) can come off really fast.  For instance, the first week, when someone starts eating better and gets moving a little more, may not bring a whole lot of change, but it's enough to produce a big number on the scale.  Then when the body starts to settle down, week 2 can seem like a downer.  I've written about it many times.  After that, it kind of evens out, but the numbers are still fairly large.  Then a point comes along that the battle is less of getting rid of fat, and more of toning muscle.  The excess fat at this point will be *mostly* gone.  I say mostly, but if I'm there, I still have 30 pounds to hit my goal.  Of course my goal could be unrealistic...we'll see when we get there.  But I digress!  The point is I'm used to these 1.5-2.5 per week losses and I may just have exhausted that power.  Now I'm chinking it away .5-1 pound at a time.  But that doesn't make me upset because it still falls in my goal: NET loss each month.  Simple.

So what happens now?  Well I'm back in school, so the TV will pretty much stay off again.  And I will continue to work my butt off in the gym.  I'm adding toning classes to my workouts instead of just running.  Like there's anything "just" about running :)

There's a class I really enjoy called Body Sculpt, which works muscles all over, it's not targeted, and it's great!  I can make it twice a week, and the moves are starting to get easier and I'm starting to have to go up in the weight amount.  :)  There's also Pilates once a week, and you bet I'm going to be all over that!!  I LOVE Pilates.  Love, love, love!!!  I'm also going to *try* Yoga again.  TRY.  And when it gets warmer, get back in the pool :)

My appetite hasn't changed recently.  And I still can't spell appetite, I have to let spell check grab it.  :) I still have to remind myself to eat breakfast because I don't wake up hungry.  I might have eaten lunch today, but I don't remember.  I did have some leftover Fettuccine Alfredo that my roommate made.  BEST Fettuccine Alfredo EVER.  Period!  The spelling of Fettuccine doesn't look right but the spell checker is being silent.  Never-mind, it was the Safari spell checker that didn't get it.  The Google spell checker got it, and now it's right :)

I'm off to do something.  Probably nothing but goof off for a few minutes.  I've been highly productive today.  

Until next time,

:)  

Excuses exshmuses

I've written this blog post about 20 times in my head so when I actually sat down to write it, as you can probably imagine, I had to go look at my actual blog to make sure I hadn't written something with this title already.  I would hate to be repetitive.  :)

Why haven't I posted this post yet?  Because my computer was on the other side of the room and I was lazy.  Because I was tired.  Blah, blah, blah.

And I know the second word of the title looks a little funny.  You know how you can add shm to the first syllable of a word and come up with two words to say?  Like fancy schmancy.  It's my attempt to be cute.  Just go with it.  :)

It's amazing to me how many people say they're going to start eating well after the holidays are over.  Are holidays ever really over?  My family's gotten a lot bigger over the years and there's always a birthday or graduation or Valentine's day (a.k.a. single girls eat chocolate day :) or WHATEVER.  Aren't those holidays too??  So what happens then?  Do we just spend our lives waiting for the next big thing to be over so we can get back on the wagon?  Doesn't that fall under the umbrella of wishing our lives away?  Haven't we been told by people older and wiser than us that that is not a good idea?  And, yes, I tried to figure out a way to word that sentence without using "that" twice.  

I have lost almost 15 pounds since the beginning of November.  And every week except one I lost weight in some number.  2 days after Thanksgiving I weighed in and lost.  The week after both Christmas and New Years I weighed in and lost.  Did I have less fun?  No. I actually had more fun because I spent less time concentrating on food and thus less time feeling sick to my stomach.  Of course all this is helped by the fact that I have very little appetite any more.  But I won't circle that wagon again, I think I already covered that, and like I said before, I hate to be repetitive.  See what I did there?  I repeated that I ....... you saw it.  :)

I had one New Year's resolution: to remember to write 2013 on everything instead of 2012.  Nothing else.  I'm already doing everything I need to be doing right now, and I'm happy.  That's the best part.  That and I feel great, and I have more energy.  Oh, and I'm getting ready to go another size down in jeans. That would be the 3rd time in 2 months thank you so much.  I'll be back in a size 12.  WOOHOO!!!!!  It's been a while since I've been there.  Like a WHILE.  

I'm a little bored of this post since I've written it so many times in my head.  Hilarious.  It's hard to be funny when I'm bored.  Or tired.  Either way, I think I'm going to retire it and post anew another time.  :)

Until next time,

:)

Christmas is magical. . .maybe

I'm one of those hopeless romantics and I will forever be in awe of Christmas.  The way it has the power to bring everyone together.  And the music!  I've always been in love with Christmas.  As a child, I would live for Christmas.  

Even though I love Christmas and everything about it, Christmas overwhelms me.  All the gift giving.  All the gift receiving.  If I had it my way, I'd only be on the giving end, not the receiving.  Just get me a card.  I'll be more than satisfied.  Anything else you think of is just wonderful, but don't ever expect to ask me what I want and get an answer.  

Every year like clock work, Christmas Eve night the overwhelming feelings make sure to turn me into a sobbing mess.  I barely made it in my apartment tonight before curling up in a ball on the floor.  And every year it's something different.  

I think mostly I worry if I got the right gifts for everyone, worry that people went overboard on gifts for me that I don't think I should have.  If that doesn't scream self-confidence issues, I don't know what does.  I believe the underlying question is Am I Good Enough?  I've made some severe progress over the last couple of months in that regard.  Living my life the way I think it ought to be lived.  Not worrying about if anyone else thinks I'm good enough, I know I am me and I am OK and that's enough.  Christmas in all its splendor and magic threatens to take that progress away if I'm not careful.  So as I laid in the floor, I just let the tears pour, let it all out.  Progress people.  

December 25th.  It's just another day.  What makes it so special?  Why is there this stigma that we must see every living family member on that day.  Why is seeing our family on any other day not good enough?  Tomorrow, I will wake up in my own apartment and travel one whole whopping hour to see family.  And by the way, I feel like such an adult for getting to say that.  He he.  

And between seeing family, I plan on going for a walk with my sisters.  It was suggested to get coffee or ice cream etc., but I drew on what one of my Weight Watchers leaders told us last year: make being social not about food.  Too many things revolve around food.  Go for a walk, play Frisbee, etc.  One of these days, I'm going to find a run on these major holidays.  

For now, I'm going to go to bed, shut my eyes, and wake up to Christmas magic tomorrow morning, make it through the day, and have a very large glass of wine. :)

Until next time,
:)

I lost 5 pounds in 10 days

Well 5.2 to be exact.  :)

I'll explain the 10 days first.  Because the school semester is over, I no longer have Wednesday mornings free, so I switched my meeting to Saturday.  Therefore, last week I did not weigh on Wednesday, but had to wait and weigh on Saturday. 

Now to the 5.2.  Part of it is because I was sick at the end of last week and didn't eat or drink anything for 2 days.  Part of this is because over the last month or so, my appetite has significantly decreased leading up to the week before Thanksgiving when I didn't eat all day.  Over the last few weeks, I will actually get hungry, then I look at food or manage to take a bit or two and feel nauseous.  It's very odd. 

What I am not doing is fighting it.  I eat when I'm hungry.  I stop when either I'm full or nauseous.  I pay very close attention to my body's signals.  I am going to deal with what you may be wondering up front: I do not have an eating disorder.  I am not starving myself.  I quite simply am only eating what my body says I need.  We are getting to know each other. 

I have lost 12.4 pounds since the beginning of November, and 7.4 so far this month! 

I am loving the new direction my life is taking, and I think my concentration on the short term, each day, each week, instead having tunnel vision on my goal weight is definitely helping. 

Until next time,
:)

It's a good thing I don't get sick very often

I'm going to warn you in advance.  There may be a little complaining in this post.  Sorry, it's a sick thing.  I tried to keep it to a minimum and not go on and on and on and on and...you get it. 

That would be because I'm a BIG baby about it!  I won't even lie.  I've had a little bit of a sore throat since Tuesday and it kept getting worse until Thursday evening I couldn't talk, eat, drink, swallow.  That caused me to not be able to lay horizontally, so no sleep for me.  Friday morning my temperature was on the rise, it went over 100 at one point.  So I went to the minute clinic and they said I have strep throat, a sinus infection, and an ear infection in BOTH ears.  No wonder my head felt like someone stuck a balloon in my head and inflated it.  I now have 3 prescriptions and at least 3 other OTC remedies.  I barely get out of the bathroom applying all these different remedies before it's time to repeat them all over again! :)  The good news is, even though I hadn't improved as of last night, and so another night with no sleep, I do feel better this morning.  I think I might actually be able to eat something!

Here's what amuses me.  Do you know what they gave me to treat strep throat?  Pills the size of TEXAS.  Someone wasn't thinking!  I'm about to gag just thinking about them.  Luckily I only have to take them every 12 hours. 

Yesterday, I made an attempt to eat and drink a couple of times before giving up.  So in 36 hours, I had 4 sips of soup and less than 8 ounces of water, all of which was consumed when I was taking my Texas pills.  When I woke up this morning, I thought something has to change, because I'm going to end up dehydrated and malnourished.  I already have trouble with my appetite now (I'll go into that in a later post), this is only going to make it worse. 

The good news is my fever disappeared in a matter of a few hours, I am getting that drainage out, and I am feeling better, more perky.  So what do I do when I realize this?  I do the dishes and start to clean my apartment before catching what I was doing and banishing myself back to bed.  Don't judge, you do it too.  When I start to feel better, I overdo it.  I don't know if I feel guilty for laying in bed when I don't feel crappy, but I know I need to get over that one real quick. 

I feel like I've been smart with this round of being sick.  I tried OTC remedies myself first and when they didn't help and I got the fever, I sought help.  So all in all I don't think I was TOO much of a baby this time. 

And as a side note: I have noticed that I am totally unable to spell the words disappeared and appetite.  Every time I use either one, spell checker gets me. :)

Until next time,
:)

Something small and you could lose it all

Injuries are scary.  The threat of injury is scary.  How do you figure out of stretching is a good idea?  Don't do it and see what happens. 

I had this goal to run 3 miles today.  My knee had other plans.

I was running my speedy mile in Campus Rec, and on about lap 3, my knee started to twinge.  I thought it was just warm up pain.  Then around lap 5, it got worse, it wasn't muscle growing pain, it was legit pain, like when you run up the stairs to fast and your knee buckles.  I tried to hurry through my lap 6.5 to make a mile, and I did, but boy was that stupid.  At that point the pain had subsided, but I knew continuing running was not a good idea.  I couldn't run more than a lap at a time after that, and towards the end of my half hour workout, I couldn't even make it the full lap.   

While I was walking, after my life flashed before my eyes, I started thinking (another bad idea).  What would have happened if I had hurt my knee?  What if I did?  I'll tell you what, it's scary!  I know what injury is.  And I was scared then too.  I talk about it in this post, right before my shoulder surgery, more than two years ago. 

Injuries (or the threat of them) are depressing!  They have the ability to take all the wind out of you.  I'm not sure even if my knee hadn't been hurting if I'd been able to run the rest. 

It's just a lesson that I have to be careful.  I can't be paranoid, but I can't be stupid either.  There is some pain you can push through, like side stitches.  Joint pain is NOT one of those kinds of pain. 

In other good news though, my 1 mile run has been consistently under 10:30!

Until next time,
:)

My own personal guiness record

There are times I know the title of the post before I know anything else about it.  Then there are times I open up the editor and know I'll struggle with the title until the bitter end and finally come up with something. . .manageable, mostly because after writing it I'm sick of staring at it.  :)

Don't let today's (possibly) bad title fool you.  It's been a great day!  I woke up after hardly sleeping, the water main near our apartment caused the entire complex to be without water for almost 6 hours, it's the end of the semester and I'm currently in the library, OH and I ran 1 mile in 10:10.  Did you see what I did there?  :)

I RAN A MILE IN 10:10!!!!!!!  That's the fastest mile I've run in..well I wouldn't want to show my age; but A LONG TIME! ;)

I was holding out on working out because I was feeling a little lazy, and because the water was out, I wasn't going to be able to take a shower (or use the restroom, or [you get it]).  So finally, at 4:30, when the water still wasn't on, I packed my computer bag for studying later, my backpack for class before studying, and my gym bag, and ventured to the campus gym to run my fastest mile and then shower.  What an interesting experience.  Then I went to class, then the library, got stuff accomplished, and here we are.  Still totally overjoyed at today's running success.  And after I thought I wasn't going to run at all.  I certainly didn't make the 30 minute goal, but that's OK.  I did something, and if you ask me (who else would you ask???), that's pretty darn tootin' awesome!

I'm now going to go home, and sleep.  Maybe :)

Until next time,
:)