No One Is To Blame

              This week's meeting topic is about the outside influences in your life. We all have both good and bad influences in our lives. I remember all of the diets I have been on in my life. My late mother was often an obstacle unintentionally. Because she did not have a weight problem she did not understand my struggle. She was an excellent cook, just like her mother before her. She knew how to make carrot cake and gingerbread from scratch. And she could cook the best southern dishes that could put the most popular soul food restaurants out of business. This was all she knew. I am so sure she wanted me to be skinny. The flip side was that every time I went on a diet, she would cook the good/bad food. I once asked her to just cook for for Josh and herself and I ate a small bowl of pasta and tomato sauce every night of the week. She did get to see me lose some of the weight before she passed away. She did not understand all the athletics and changes to her recipes. My mom was a food pusher. I did not learn for a long time how to say "no" and to stand up for myself.
              Work is another place for food pushing. I have been lucky enough to have a job where food was plentiful. I worked in an office where there was plenty of gourmet leftovers for the team. I happily devoured them. When I started Weight Watchers, I started saying no to the leftovers. I explained to my co-workers that the extra food was a problem for me and that I had to plan and pay attention to what I eat. Now when there are leftovers, they look at me and say "I'm not gonna ask you". Winning! (sorry Charlie)
             It is a constant job to pick and choose what you want to consume. I have to confess that I did not do the best job of all in the past week. No one pushed food on me; I shoved food down my own throat. I enjoyed it too. I did something I have not done in a long time. I stayed up late finishing a book( the last Twilight book "Breaking Dawn") and I brought the entire bag of Salsa flavored Sun Chips into the bedroom with me and just kept sticking my hand in the bag until I finished reading. I was not stressed or depressed. I was just engaging in "naughty" behavior and endulgence on my part. This week I neither lost nor gained weight which means that I am still holding on to those four pounds I gained last week. But considering all the snacking I did, I'm lucky.
           Mother's Day weekend was absolutely wonderful. My darling hubby to me to see the Broadway show "Memphis". It was great because he went with me.

my old man

           I have been trying to keep active. That's probably why I did not have a gain after massive snacking. I am also working towards my 5K event on May 21st. I am hoping to jog the whole 3.1 miles. I realize some things about balance like even though I can jog the whole 3.1 miles, I do not have to do it every time I get on the track. My body is making changes on the inside. My muscles are ripping and repairing. I need to respect my body and listen for the messages it sends me. That being said, I have been jogging at least two laps around the local track worth 1.6 miles.
THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITY
Tues. - treadmill (41 mins) + bike (22mins) + all day = 13pts
Wed.- an unplanned rest day
Thurs.all day plus May 5K Walk = 14pts
Fri. all day = 5pts
Sat. - Mother's day( forgot my pedometer)- opts
Sun. - jog + all day = 5pts
Mon.- jog + all day = 8pts
TOTAL = 45 activity points
          Activity can be so much fun. You should really do things that you like to do. This week me and my WW homies did our May Monthly 5K. Tamra mapped out a great walk to and through Central Park. We have been dying to do that and will probably do it again. I leave you with some pics of our group of fab five ( Tam, Cindy, Pete, Steve and me).

me, Pete, Cindy and Tam looking in different directions



Cindy, me and Tam



Columbus Circle

where's David Letterman

Times Square

Cindy and Pete and the pub

me and Tam at the pub

WALK FROM BRONX NEW YORK TO SEATTLE
2676.89 - 26.3 = 2650.57 miles to go

     My friend Bob, who gave me the idea to make my weekly mileage a destination, has made it to his own hypothetical destination to San Diego and is now in the process of walking back to New York City. Way to go Bob!