Ride Like The Wind

            Now that Fall has arrived and the sun sets way too early, I don't get to ride my bike as much as I did this Summer. I worked from home today and at five o'clock I hopped on my bike to go for a ride. I was so excited heading for the bike path and before I knew it, there were bugs everywhere. Tiny little flies or gnats, I don't know which but  they were all over. How could this be? Riding my bike is my pleasure. It's my sanctuary. It's my exercise ( and my doctor's favorite form of exercise for me). I kept on peddling because surely it could not get worse. It did. They were all over. My neighbors were walking and swatting them away. Before I could finish one whole lap, I stopped to put on my glasses to shield my eyes(didn't work). I thought for about quitting. It was too hard. It was the end of the world? No. It was annoying and a little icky.The  truth was I really wanted to ride my bike before I picked up my son at his nearby afterschool program and burn calories. The bugs kept coming at me and I kept on coming at them. I set out to do ten laps and ended up doing twelve. I rode my bike for a little over an hour and 9.84 miles. Sure, my clothes were plastered with bug roadkill but I set out to accomplish what I wanted to do. It's just like trying to lose weight. It can be hard. And sometimes you want to quit. But sometimes you have to push yourself past your comfort zone to get to what you really want. In my case it was a simple bike ride.
            This week's meeting topic is about grocery shopping. I pretty much spent my entire life grocery shopping with my mother and then grocery shopping for my family. I have many tips about grocery shopping and I also have a different view. I have to be a frugal shopper. I am shopping for a family of four (three men and me-who eats like a man). Here are some of the things I do;
-I read the advertisements for all my local supermarkets to see which one has the most sales.
- I also try to build my week's menu on some of the items on sale.
-I make a list from this information using what I consider to be our standard menu. For example, chicken is going to be on point for five or possibly six meals this week. What's on sale, whole chickens that I can cut into pieces or chicken parts or chicken cutlets?
-I try to get at least one form of seafood a week. Three out of four weeks I'm lucky.
-Ground turkey for the pasta dish of the week. I buy the 99% fat free one that turns white when you cook it. It's a little shocking at first but you get used to it.
-Whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Keep checking your advertisements for whole wheat pasta sales. Sometimes it's only a dollar a box.
-Produce. Get enough salad fixings (lettuce, tomato, cucumber ), sweet/white potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cabbage. Also purchase a bag of onions. They flavor soups, change up salads and make a sauteed garnish for your meats. I purchase very little fruit in the market because I like to buy fruit from the local street vendor and the farmers market. My rule for produce is to buy foods that look appettizing to you raw. Do not purchase a beat up looking piece of produce.
-Frozen foods are good. When I was paying attention to my nutrition when I was pregnant, I found out that frozen fruits and veggies are just as good as the fresh ones. They have the same nutrients and are conveniently chopped. They also sell them in steamfresh bags and you can just pour them onto the plate. No pots to wash.
-Dairy fat free and lactose free. 
-Buy snacks and use them sparingly.Everyone in my house has different snacks and we respect each other's property. Occasionally I bake for the guys.
-Never go shopping hungry. Everything looks good when you're hungry.
-I still use packaged flavored rice at least once a week. One of the reasons I do Weight Watchers is because you can eat anything. I cannot afford to eat organic everyday. I read the sides of the packages to tell me how many points a serving will cost me. If I think it's not worth it I won't eat it but at least I know I can.

             

                  This week  I lost .4 lbs. My current weight is 238.6lbs. I am happy with this result because I did not think I would lose this week. You see, I started my commitment to three strength training workouts per week.Sometimes when you start a new routine, you retain water for healing muscles.  I pulled out two items that were covered with a layer of dust; my free weights and dvds. Weight Watchers have really good dvds. The one I used this week is called Next Move. The workouts are in twenty minute increments. I like to do a combination of one cardio and one lower body workout. The lower body workout combined lunges,  squats and weight lifting. On Monday I added a second cardio workout and was literally pouring sweat.

                   On Saturday I did my "weekend warrior workout". I jogged. Very slowly. People were passing me. But sometimes I passed people. I like my Saturday workouts because there's no set schedule. I can take my time and burn as much as I want. This weekend I jogged for 4.1 miles. Me. I couldn't believe it. And then again I could believe it. I mean, I've been working out all along and building up my endurance. So it's not so shocking to me after all. I earned it. On Monday, I ran to catch my express bus carrying two bags. The bus driver looked at me and said "slow down, you don't have to kill yourself". I wasn't huffing or puffing or even looking faint. I looked the bus driver in the eye, smiled and said "thank you but you have no idea what I can do".