Hmmm....

What happened to my blog? I'm missing some of the cute stuff on the sides. Strange. Well clearly I have neglected my blog and half of it got up and walked off.

Life has been crazy. I've been traveling, visiting family, working like a mad woman and although technically compared to my weigh-in in May I have gained a few pounds, I actually gained more and have since lost 5 lbs. Try to keep up with that kind of whirlwind math.

A friend and I are doing an accountability project and so far it is helping both of us. Feeling pretty confident and happy with progress made thus far. Now to find the rest of my blog design......

Dear Me

I recently saw a magazine article that was filled with reader's online letters to their bodies. I was moved by the varying perceptions of strength, frustration and appreciation. I thought it was a great idea. Here's mine.

I haven't taken very good care of you. I have filled you at times with sugar, fattening foods and haven't moved you as much as I should have. I have taken you for granted. You're physical state has brought me to tears. You are not even close to your potential. And sometimes, I think you are actually working against me.

Looking back, you have brought me through a lot in 36 years. I'm thankful. It hasn't always been pretty. Thanks for sticking with me. With you, I have reached many goals I set for myself. You and me. A team. We have a Master's degree, you and I. We had adventures. I fell in love, and walked down the aisle to marry the love of my life. I need to take care of you. Now, more then ever. With your help, I can achieve my dream of having a child. It's not too late. So I need you to cooperate and work together as a team to become healthier. Let's do this!

Slow and.....somewhat steady

10.2 pounds lost! I am so excited to hit that mark. Obviously, I need to pick up the intensity a bit because it took 3 months to lose 10 pounds. I would like to say that I lost more than 1 lb since my last weigh-in, but at least the scale is moving in the desired direction. For my reward, I'm hitting the nail salon for a little manicure action. Yay for 10 pounds gone!

Tomorrow I am heading to Kansas City for work. My hotel has a fitness center, so I will be packing workout clothes and take advantage of my free time to exercise. I only have 10 days to reach my goal....have to work hard! 8.2 lbs to go!!!

Vacation = weight loss? Yes, yes it does!

My hubby and I flew out to Los Angeles last Thursday for a
weekend band tour. The band was set to do a series of shows in the area. I wish I could say we were able to get a lot of sightseeing in, but that just was not the case. Show business certainly isn't all glamour, that's for sure. It's an awful lot of hurry up and wait. Still, it was nice to get away--and the hotel suite was nice. I kept my eating in check (ok, well technically we went to In-N-Out twice) Other than the burgers, which by the way were delish--I did really well. And we ended up doing a lot of walking, so I am sure that helped counteract the extra calories a bit. The shows were a huge success, and we all had a really great time. I feel very fortunate that the band members are such wonderful people and enjoyable to hang out with.

We returned from Los Angeles on Monday. The bad news is, I was sick with a cold by the time I got off the plane. The good news is, I managed to drop a few pounds during a good chunk of time that involved travel. Yay! I am so excited about my loss that it almost makes up for the crappy way that I have felt the last few days. One of my issues when I am sick is that I crave comfort food. Anything creamy is what I want most--macaroni and cheese, mashed, potatoes, etc. Clearly these are foods that are high in calories and fat and certainly foods I should be avoiding and only indulging in occasionally. However, I am sure that my ability to portion-control is even more diminished since my head is congested and I'm thinking cold medication won't help my thought process. Today I was craving chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans from our local diner. Outrageously delicious --but not a meal I have more then a couple times a year. I had a left-over chicken taco instead and hot tea by what seems like the gallon because it makes my throat feel better. I am finally making some progress and I don't want to defeat myself my making a less healthy choice. I'm hoping to get to the grocery store tomorrow to stock up on healthy fare--we are dangerously low on even the basics at this point.

Anyway, back to my loss over the last two weeks---it's actually not a great loss for that amount of time, but honestly, right now a loss is a loss. I'm not going to dwell on how long it took. The scale is moving and I am getting a little farther away from 300-ville. I never want to see that number again and so the farther away I get the better I feel. My BMI went down a few points as well, which definitely feels good. So, my goal for May 10 is to lose 12 lbs, which means I have 9.2 lbs to go. That's just under a month, so it's going to be tight, but I know that if I work hard and be consistent, I will reach my goal. I need to think of a reward for myself. Any ideas for rewards?

Taking a Little Trip

Tomorrow morning, we are heading out to the hill country to picnic and hopefully see A LOT of gorgeous wildflowers. I look forward to this time every year. Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrushes, and so many more beautiful wildflowers are such a sight to see. It's amazing because when you see an entire field of bluebonnets, it looks like water! So pretty. I actually need to go and prepare our lunch for tomorrow. I bought individual mini loaves of artisan multi-grain bread for turkey sandwiches and I am going to make a pasta pesto salad. I think along with fruit and wine we will have a lovely lunch in the hill country. Oh, and our pup is going too, so can't forget the Scooby snacks! Ooh and I need to make iced tea to take along. I was going to make cookies, but I'm kind of glad I didn't have time because who needs the extra calories? Not I!

I am so thankful that we get to get away and spend some time together.

Whoa.

Image via Wikipedia

Don't look now, but it's my second post of the week. Sometimes I amaze even myself.

My week so far has been good--I'm hoping my weigh-in next Monday will reveal the evidence of my work this week. I have cut way back on diet sodas--in fact, I think I have only had a couple in the last week!

Here's a wrap up of my week so far. Thank goodness it's a short work week, yay!

Monday-- I was not feeling well and took a sick day. I made a point of eating healthy and slept a lot. We still went out for an evening walk though as I was feeling better and needed to get some fresh air. Hubby grilled chicken and we had that plus small baked potatoes and fresh broccoli for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening catching up on DVR'd shows--Amazing Race and Rules of Engagement.

Tuesday--Went to the office....tried to stay away from the The Candy Jar, but did succumb to a snack size M&M's and one rolo. Not bad. I took my lunch, skipped breakfast and ate my apple/peanut butter for a snack. We walked again in the evening and for dinner we had left-over grilled chicken, brown rice with toasted pine nuts, olive oil, parsley and a bit of parmesan and a side of lima beans. And lots of iced tea with splenda! Does anyone know of any issues with using a lot of splenda? Tuesday is Biggest Loser night! My typical routine is to watch the show while I prepare dinner, which is great motivation to cook up something healthy and not snack mindlessly, which I am so prone to do when I get home from work. I am going to be sad when Biggest Loser wraps up the season--the contestants are such an inspiration to me.

Wednesday--Worked from home...hubby made breakfast of one egg and slice of 2% cheese on a sandwich thin (love those!), coffee with flavored creamer and splenda. Lunch was left-over spaghetti with meat sauce (a small portion) and snack was popcorn. Lots of tea and water. Took our pup for a walk. For dinner, we went out (these days meals out are not common) and went to a fave italian place. I ordered a veggie calzone (which was ginormous) I took more then half of it home for lunch tomorrow. Splurged with a diet dr. pepper! ha We went to Target to pick a few groceries, a baby shower gift, and a new stability ball (ours developed an inability to hold air).

And this brings me to Thursday--my Friday this week. I just need to persevere through one more day of work and then playtime on Friday. We are planning to jump in the car with our labrador and drive to the hill country to see all the wildflowers and picnic. Looking forward to getting away from the city.

I just remembered that I didn't say what I am thankful for in my last post. That will never do!

Today, I am thankful for:
*my hubby and our home
*the money to buy fresh, organic produce
*my pup, who gives great hugs, I swear
*one more work day!

Buh-Bye 300-ville

Image by seanwolter via Flickr

SO....it turns out I am horrible at creating regular blog posts. Life somehow gets the best of me and man does time go by fast!

The good news is that I have officially left the 300's and that feels so great! Here's what I have been up to over the last couple of months.


*Work has been non-stop craziness! Staff changes, deadlines, additional responsibilities....all have added to my stress level and have really forced me to practice healthy habits to compensate. Drinking more water, increasing exercise and trying to get at least 7 hours of sleep have really helped.

*Dealing with my grandmother's illness has been tough. My grandmother is fighting lung cancer and the whole family has been really upset and struggling with the news. She is doing pretty well despite that chemo/radiation is really tough on her. She inspires me on a regular basis!

*Discovered Leslie Sansone's Walk-at-Home series and really love it! I ordered several DVD's from Amazon so I have a great selection. I'm doing these on the mornings twice a week when I work from home.

*Taking our dog for evening walks. With the spring weather being so nice, we have been walking the neighborhood almost every evening. This has really helped the pain I was feeling in my hips. I noticed tonight that I wasn't feeling any pain and haven't for a couple of days.

*Focusing more on my spiritual life. Nothing like a family crisis to make you get on your knees more. I have been spending more time in prayer and that is always good.

I'm just trying to make healthy choices as often as possible. I can't wait to see the scale keep moving down. My current goal is to lose 12 lbs with a target date of May 10th.