Spinning Wheel

            What goes up, must come down. Well when you're a weight watcher it often goes in the opposite direction. That's what happened to me for this week's weigh in. I gained three pounds.While this does not make me happy, it doesn't wig me out as much as you would think. First of all it can mean that I am retaining water from hormones, muscle repair, salty food or the weather.  I know what I did . I have been measuring and tracking and working out. But as my meeting leader once said, look at it over the course of a month. So here goes..
4 wks ago: -0.4
3 wks ago: +1.4
2 wks ago: -4.6
1 wk ago: -1.4
this wk: +3.0
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over all :  - 3lbs ( not too shabby) my current weight is 237lbs
                Now that I have ripped the band aid off the scab, let's go over the rest of my week.
Activity
Tues: 6313 steps on pedometer
Wed.: 11,438 steps( jogged 3 laps, walked 1 lap)
Thurs.:4068 steps
Fri: 4478 steps
Sat: Rest day
Sun: Biked for 12.5 miles
Mon: 13,152 steps (3 laps walk, 1 lap jogged)
                     I had some non-scale victories this last week. I went to a cocktail party on Thursday evening at my job. Usually at these parties I attempt to eat my weight in sushi and drink as much Jack Daniels and ginger ale that I can stand. But this time I ate eight pieces of sushi and no drink; not even water. I also had four shrimp with a tablespoon of cocktail sauce and eight black olives. Also, while walk/jogging I timed myself. When I first started to walk around my local track, four laps would take me one and a half hours. But on Wednesday the walking lap was 15 minutes and the jogging laps were 13 mins each. I started walking with the hope that I would eventually become a jogger. The fact that I could jog for 39 minutes straight without collapsing is a miracle.After my workout I picked up Jake and his friend from their afterschool program. I was doing my stretches while waiting for her mom. The next thing I know I'm working out again with the kids. We made a game of it taking turns choosing an exercise like jumping jacks or lunges. It was a lot of fun and it extended my workout.

                    On Sunday, my son Jake and I participated in the 15th Annual Tour De Bronx.We chose to do the 25 mile course. This is a miracle .  Two years ago I could not imagine that I would even think about doing this. I was sedentary. I work in an office sitting at a desk all day. I went home and watched television all night. I ate until I couldn't eat anymore. But this Sunday I climbed on my pink cruiser and rode 12.5 miles. Jake rode like the ultimate biker as well.

 Until his bike broke down at the second rest stop 12.5 miles into the tour. While I waited for the car to pick us up, I started to feel sorry for myself. I wanted so badly to prove that I could do an athletic event. Why couldn't I get to the finish line? Was I not worthy? But then I realized as I looked out over the river, that I am a bad ass and so is my kid. We rode 12.5 kick ass miles from the Bronx County courthouse. We were stuck so far from our home that we could not walk home. We rode through traffic. We rode on the Sheridan Expressway. We rode up hills ( Jake rode all hills; I had to get off and walk up two of them). I pedaled my but off. I had an experience with my son that we can remember no matter how many more events we do.
                 When I spoke about this in this week's meeting, someone asked me if I was always this active with my son. The direct answer is no. I have always taken my son outside to play with other children his age and in all kinds of weather for long periods of time. I was the mom on the park bench running my mouth with the other moms with a shopping bag or cart full of water, chips and candy. When I started walking, my son was older and I used his age to give him a small amount of freedom. He would stay in the playground while I did laps and then I would hang out in the park on the bench catching up on magazines. With the childhood obesity epidemic and the history my hubby and I have with weight, I decided to take things up a notch. Instead of just chips and candy, I incorporated bananas and grapes (the only fruits Jake will eat) into the snack bag. I only bring water. My family already drank water in between meals so that was not a challenge. I wanted Jake to see me move around more and do things with me so that an active lifestyle becomes the norm instead of forcing him to do calisthetics later in life. My mom was not athletic. She was a size 2 for most of her young life. She did not understand what it was like to suddenly gain 25 or 50 pounds in a year and have a new body that you did not understand. He can still play video games and watch Nickelodeon all he wants but he can also jump on his bike, play baseball and play a game of tag too.
                      On Monday, the day after, I took the day off from work to recuperate. After I walked my son to school, I went right to the track. I walked three laps and jogged for one lap.  I assumed I wouldn't be able to move at all. But instead I was able to do one more work out.
                        This week's meeting topic is about not depriving yourself. With Halloween in a few days, there will be a lot of snack temptations around. I have kids and I love giving out treats as well.  I usually buy several bags of bite sized candies. After the trick or treaters have come and gone, I am left with some candy bars. But I measure out a certain amount for myself and call it my Halloween treat. And then I don't look back. I calculate it into my points. I rarely use my bonus points so I have some available. The kids eat the rest. In my house this actually works. We all like different kinds of snacks and no one touches another person's  snacks. This is how I survive in my house.

                         For the week head, I need to get back into my strength training. I did not lift weights this week because I was concentrating on cardio and cocktail parties and bike tours. But I cannot allow myself to get too far off track. So I will complete three strength workouts this week.