What A Feeling

             The meeting topic of the week is "Non-Scale Victories" I think that I talk about non-scale victories all of the time.But I will do it again;
1)My clothes are loose. I have been wearing long sleeve blouses that last year were in danger of buttons popping someone's eye out. but not any more. I've gone down three bra sizes and three jeans sizes. Some of my shirts are hanging off my shoulders. I'm bringing "Flashdance" back because right now I can't afford to buy a new wardrobe. So if you see me outside, just start singing "What a Feeling".
2)Last week I spoke about climbing the 103 flights of stairs. I never could have completed that task in the shape I used to be in. nd I'm riding a bike like it's my part time job.
3)My co-workers and neighbors I rarely get to see saying "you lost a lot of weight". Looking at myself in the mirror does not get it for me yet but someone else saying it makes it real.
4)I have so much energy sometimes. I am capable of jogging three miles, riding my bike twelve miles, and doing an hour long workout dvd. But I find that I have a lot of energy to do my errands. Last Saturday I racked four miles on errands alone.
5) I am healthier. My blood pressure is lower and I was able to stop taking one of my medications.
6) I make better food choices. This does not mean I don't pig out occasionally. But now it really is occasionally and not every night. I can go to parties and pick and chose things that I really like to eat and not get a giant plate of everything. I can watch my family eat cupcakes and ice cream and not want it myself. I can have meals without rolls.
              This week I managed to lose again. I lost 1.4lbs. bringing my weight loss to 43.6lbs. I am really grateful for that because it hard after a large weight loss week to keep losing every week. I put a little extra sweat in this week.
-Wed. Oct 13: I did six laps around the track. I walked for five and jogged for one lap. The total was 5.74 miles/ 13,481 steps
-Sat. Oct 16: Running errands ( I don't drive) , I walked six miles/9,522 steps
-Sun. Oct. 17: I joined my friend Cindy for her Kidney Foundation 5K.  plus traveling came to 6.57 miles/ 15,420 steps. We started at the South Street Seaport and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and back. My sons Josh and Jake came along for the walk. Jake was really itching to do another 5K. He's such a pro now.

Sheri Shephard from "The View" and Grizz Chaplin from "30 Rock" were there.

Jake

Me and Josh

Jake munching on a very deserved giant pretzel.

The Brooklyn Bridge

Trust me to find a building with pink painted frames

Me and my friend Cindy, our team captain.

Jake and Josh and a view from the bridge

- the other days I earned 3pts each days with my normal activities
             Also this week, I am still feeling the season change. It's still dark in the mornings. And work has been out of control. I had a binge on Friday. It was "Every man for himself" dinner night. I bought one of those noodle cups which was a single serving. But I went back and had another one. Later that night I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich( 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, two tablespoons of jelly, two slices of whole wheat bread. Then I had another one. It was as if I was never satified. I finally ate a cold leftover piece of chicken , hoping to stop the carbfest. I don't recommend this to anyone. Somehow that put a stop to me. I was like Godzilla.
            But the next day, I went back to my usual breakfast of three egg whites and an english muffin. Binges don't happen to me that often anymore. I used to have a lot of anguish before. I would try to keep myself from the food. It's probably just a PMS thing. It happens. But the important thing is that I did not let it become the norm. Whan I woke up the next morning it was a new day. A new fresh start. I did not feel bad about myself. Binge happens.
         Lately I have been having days when I don't want to exercise at all. Some days I work out a lot and need to learn that rest days are just as important as workout days.On the days that I cut myself some slack, it's about getting rest and not going back to my old way of eating.It has been a long time since I sat watching television with an open bag of cookies or chips next to me. Long ago are the days when I would only stop eating when I got tired of chewing or moving my arm to the bag. When I have a bad day at work, I can go home, enjoyed my planned dinner and read magazines or watch a good show. That is a major improvement in my life.

         Speaking of a good planned dinner, my new obsession is my slow cooker. I have an old crock pot (I'm dating myself- they don't call them that anymore- LOL) in the cabinet but I did not miss having to clean it. I bought myself one of the newer slow cookers months ago on sale. I sat in its box all summer until it looked like furniture. When the weather started to turn, my body craved the stews. But I did not want to babysit a stew on top of the stove. I wanted to ride my bike. I finally pulled out the slow cooker. The new one has a cassarole like dish that sits in the heater. I even bought cooking bags so that my dishwasher ( that's my husband- I don't own a dishwasher) wouldn't have to scrub so hard. The two things I have been making so far is boneless pork neck bone stew in tomato sauce and stewed chicken. I sevre them with brown rice or whole wheat noodles. These are favorites that my family loves at this time of year.And I love to throw in lots of veggies. And these days I throw in some potatoes because they're Jake's favorite.But the best part is that it frees up my time to do another things. We all must multi task now.

          This week I would like to keep journaling. I have another adventure this weekend . I sgined Jake and I up for the Bronx Bike Tour for 25 miles. Wish us luck. We're both excited.