Bronx Side Story

          Since last week's blog I have been feeling very lazy. I remember working out on Thursday, but after that was this crazy little haze of a lost weekend. Not drinking, not bingeing, Not exercising! One of the downsides to an extremely active week is that it takes my 44 year old body a minute to recover. I need not have injuries or anything. It was combination of things.
1) The exhaustion of work- it's been really busy .
2) Holding out for vacation a little too long. I'm talking about seven whole days no traveling.
3) TOM and medications used to treat it.
4) Hesitation
    I'm sure everyone gets work burnout sometimes so there is no real explaination needed there. Holding out on vacation is different. I am not talking about the kind of vacation where you go on a trip. That is really out of my family's budget right now. I am talking about taking time off to DO NOTHING. Days where I don't leave my home in the dark and return home in the dark. Days where I can walk Jake to school and pick him up. This simple task really makes Jake happy and seeing him happy makes me happy. One day I picked him up from school and he wanted to go the the strategically placed ice cream truck parked conveniently outside Educational Park. I did not bring money with me to pick him up ( We practically live next door to the school) and told him so. He said that he had a dollar and I asked him "what can you buy for $1". He replied that he would buy and Itailian ice cup. So we waited on line longer than I wanted to when suddenly Jake changed his mind. He said he was not buying the cup ice but that he would buy a twizzler( popsicle with a few colors). He asked me if I knew why . And I asked why. He said because two come in the package and that he could give one to me. So we walked back from school munching on popsicles.

       From the moment I got home on Friday, I was in my bed. I only got up to cook- Jake must have his three squares. Mother Nature provided beautiful weather this weekend but I did not take advantage of it. I din't do laps or ride my bike. I caught up on all the shows on my DVR. On Sunday I found one of my favorite movies, West Side Story, on my DVR. I sat up at the foot of my bed and started snapping my fingers. [Sidebar: When I was little my mom had the album. I never saw the movies but I memorized the album and performed it often in my living room; singing and dancing. By the time they showed the movie on television I was singing along with the cast. I was fascinated with the choreography. To me, there was nothing more beautiful in life. I made sure that I was front and center when the movie played every Academy Award Sunday]. Fast forward thirty years later, I found myself doing the the opening ballet, twirling, kicking up my legs and doing kicks in my night gown in my bedroom. I found my hubby, then Josh, then Jake( who said I looked like I was a ballerina) and even the cat.

For the record, the cat stayed the longest. I am quite sure she thought I was hysterical. A funny thing happened while I performed all the musical numbers ( I fast-forwarded to them). I was really breaking a sweat. That was the only exercise I got all weekend. Sometimes just dancing around really is a workout. LOL.
          Hestitaion came every time I thought about exercising, I said I would do it later or tomorrow. I did not give myself the positive talk about just doing it.I had headaches and backaches and the "Poor Little Old Me's" also known as the PLOMS. I got that from my former meeting leader. I had never heard the phrase but I found there are times where to feel listless and you're not sure why. It's the PLOMS.  The good thing about them is that they will go away; not unlike the common cold. Hesitation is one of the side effects.
          TOM cannot be helped. It's biological. I tried a new over the counter drug Excedrine Complete, which worked well except for one thing. It should not be taken in the evening if you are an insomniac like me. Excedrine's ingredient is caffeine. I was awake until three and four in the morning for a couple of nights.

           So there you have it. My lost weekend or vacation or whatever. I did not go to my meeting this week but I did constantly weigh myself at home . I also stuck to eating properly and not binge. That does not mean that I did not have snacks but laying in bed trying to rest did not bring out the need. I ate three meals a day and tried to reach for fruit if I was craving. Hopefully when I go to my meeting this Tuesday the scale will be kind. I leave you with the sunset view outside my bedroom window with a few of the sky. Of course the sky is pink. It is me after all.

5k's And Yoga And Biking, Oh My

          I did not post last week because I have been a little busy lately. I had to miss last Tuesday's meeting because of the first parent/teacher conference for Jacob. I was disappointed because it fell on a Tuesday, which in my world means "Mom's day off". But since I am not the the morning drop off parent, it is important to meet Jake's new teacher. He is doing okay in school. As you may remember 5th grade is kind of hard. I do not have to remember thanks to the joys of 5th grade homework.

                        I felt a little out of sorts because I did know get weighed-in on Tuesday. I did weigh myself on my scale at home but that is not the same. I did get weighed on Thursday and found that I had gained 2.2lbs. I was not planning to be weighed that day and ate my lunch late as well as drank a ton of water. So even though I had a gain, I needed to be weighed-in. It helps to keep me honest.



Jake,me,Tamra,Cindy,Sheryl,Melanie & Bob at the start



Tam taking pics

at the half way mark



Jake & me





Jake chills out is front of light display



Cindy and I taking a quck break

Here we are at the finish line.

                       Last Thursday, my WW hommies, my sons and I did our November 5K+( we always walk over 3.1 miles-the more the better). Tamra took us through a tour of the Madison Square Park light show. As always we have a lot of fun talking, walking and taking pictures.

                          The next morning I started our my office's annual Job Health Fair with an in house yoga class. I used to love yoga as a teenager but for years I did not practice. When I did go to the gym in the mid 1990's, I did not go to yoga class. While I was pregnant with Jake, I did buy a prenatal yoga vhs tape. It was fun but not much like the yoga classes I used to take. I was going to take the day off to get some rest after the 5K+ but I really wanted to take the class. I did very well. I was able to do all of the poses ( basic of course) except for one where you lean on your head. It felt uncomfortable. The yoga class took part in our office's cafe which has a glass wall. It seems that a few of my co-workers were walking by and taking a look. I received compliments on my flexability. For the record, flexability was never my problem. The fat on my body made it hard for me to hold up my weight . I still have far to go but the weight I have lost so far and the strength building I have been doing allowed me to endure a yoga workout.

I took the opportunity to go to some of the other tables at the Health Fair. I went to the Nutrition table. The first thing out of my mouth  was "I'm in Weight Watchers". From then on I went on to talk about the changes I have made in my eating habits and the working out. They were so impressed with me that they gave me a lot of door prizes. One of the door prizes is a bran crispbread. It made me think about our WW meetings when members start talking about the products they purchased in Whole Foods and other Manhattan stores. I do not food shop in Manhattan because it is a long commute and I have to shop for the family. But sometimes I hear my friends talk about food ideas and I never find them in the supermarkets in where I live. Then one of the nutritionists told me that she has the same problem but she solves it by ordering from Amazon.com .I use Amazon to find things all kinds of things but I never thought to look for food items. I also found out that these items are not cheap but I think it would be nice to order one thing to try at a time. I also went to a local gym's table and received a one week pass. I will fill you in when I use it.

                       In my previous blog I told you that I was starting to feel lazy. I found a cure for that. My doctor was excited about my biking escapes. He told me that I should ride my bike for 30 minutes a day. In the Summer it was easy to come home and hop on my bike for 30 minutes but now it is Autumn and five days a week I leave home and return in the dark. I also read something in the October issue of Fitness Magazine where one of the editorial assistants said that she keeps her dvd's stacked in her line of vision that reminds her to queeze in a session ; even if it's just 15 minutes after a busy day. I decided that 30 minutes a day is doable. What I do now, is come home on weeknights, put my dinner on to cook and workout with a dvd or tape. Sure, I am really tired and work has been hard but once I do the workout I am glad I pushed myself.  On the weekends, I try to get up early and walk/jog around the track. A few times I could not part with my bed early in the morning so I took my bike out for one hour rides. My hubby repaired Jake's bike so he and I rodes our bikes in the afternoon.

                        This week's meeting topic is Thanksgiving and how we deal with it. Thanksgiving has not been a problem the past few years because I do all of the cooking for my immediate family, using the WW website to find ways to cook my favorites more healthfully. The first year I used though recipes suggestions, I did not tell anyone I had modified the food. They loved it anyway. For me, Thanksgiving is a day worth saving your bonus points for because there are more sides dishes than usual. I eat a low point breakfast while cooking and we eat early. I also have dessert. Pies actually. My family eats the leftovers until they're gone for the next day or so. That way I don't have to cook and I already know what is in the food and count my points.

                       This week I lost 3.6lbs. I got rid of the 2.2lbs from last week and then some. I now weigh 233.6lbs. So far I lost 44lbs. I am still in the 230's but heading in the right direction.  Here are some of my activities for the past week;

Tues. 11/9: 6,608 steps walking

Wed. 11/10: 30 mins dvd workout with weights

Thurs. 11/11: 15,338 steps/6.53miles of walking( thanks to the 5K+)

Fri. 11/12:7813 steps of walking and 45 mins of yoga

Sun. 11/13: biking for 60 mins

Mon. 11/15: 30 mins workout dvd

                        This week I want to maintain my loss. I know weigh-ins can go up and down so I will try my best to keep working out at least five days a week.  What I liked about the last week was that I got to do a yoga class. I am developing an imaginary bucket list (in other words -not on paper) of things that I was able to do before I let myself go and things that is discounted for myself because I my weight. I saw a sign when we were almost at the finish line. It says the future only goes in one direction. I need to keep myself going toward the future. Toward a healthy body and a better me.

     

Halloweekend and Other Tales

    First of all, belated Happy Halloween. This week has been very hectic. Work has been busy and Jake is having some difficulties getting used to 5th grade homework. I had a fun Halloween with Jake. My office had a Halloween party for children after work. Josh brought Jake and Vanessa straight from school. Part of the celebration is for the children to go around trick or treating from desk to desk, which of course means you need to have candy. There was a plate of candy behind me all day that I was able to ignore for most of the day. But Fridays can be a little wild and I gave in to a fun size Three Muskateers bar. Once I took the children trick or treating about the office, we went to the pizza party. I had one slice of plain pizza. Since we had pizza I decided not to make dinner. I think I had the right intentions but later on I was hungry. So I had some popcorn, a fun size Snickers, a Twix and a snack size bag of pretzels(all things that Jake did not like).
       Saturday my friend and I took the kids to a Haunted House. My friend promised her daughter that we would go for ice cream after. Guess who had a soft serve ice cream cone.  Later I snacked on lemon drops and sour cherry gum drops(more of Jake discarded candy- you would think he was adopted).  I know this does not sound like a lot of candy, but I was a little disappointed that I went for it. Eating the candy hung over my head like I stole something.  To make up for my snacking, I made sure that I got up early Saturday and Sunday to do laps around the track. It was the least I could do.
        There's something else. I found myself too lazy to get in workouts Wed-Fri. I was tired but I also felt a little unmotivated. So I really worked hard to make up for it Sat-Mon. I must have done something right because I lost two of the three pounds I gained the previous week.My current weight is 235lbs. While I know it is not traumatic to lose and gain, I really want to get out of the 230's. I think I have been here long enough. This week's meeting topic gave me some inspiration.  It was about building muscle which will help you lose weight as well as fight gains once you reach goal. As you know I have been working on my strength training lately. I honestly believe that it helped me throughout Halloweekend. Another benefit of strength building is it has changed my body structure. Sure I have a long way to go but my body has changed in other ways. I have built muscle in parts of my body that I have never been able to do on another diet. Sometimes at night in bed, I will feel a part of me that feels foreign. I'll ask my hubby "what do you think of that". He will remind me that this is my body building muscles and changing. It's a great feeling but it's also confusing. Even though I am losing weight, I don't always see myself as losing. It's good to know that even when I am not losing a lot of pounds, I am really changing for the better.

          Once upon a time, There was a girl named Carin who saw a red jacket in a catalog that she fell in love with. It was a short red quilted coat. She immediately ordered the jacket in a 1X(22X/24X) because she had been hovering around size 22X for a long time. When the jacket arrived, she ripped open the box with glee. She could not wait to wear the red jacket to work the next day. But alas, when she tried the red jacket on, it was soooo tight; she could not even pull up the zipper. This was a reality check for Carin because not only had she not purchased a jacket in a long time; but she had not tried on different sizes. Carin cried that night disappointed. The next day, she told her co-worker what happened and her friend told her to send it back and order a new jacket in a larger size. But Carin said no. She would not buy a larger jacket and she would not return the red jacket. She started she started Weight Watchers and lost some weight. Every few weeks she would try on the jackets but it was always a snug fit. She wore her large winter coat for that winter knowing that one day the coat would fit.  Seasons change and the a year or so went by.  The weather was a little nippy but not cold enough for a large winter coat. So Carin pulled out the red jacket ; put it on and went to work. But later in the day she noticed something astonishing. The red jacket was easy to zip. She did not have to suck in her breath to zip the jacket. As a matter of fact, there was extra room in the jacket in case she had to layer up. This made Carin so happy because she did not realize that her body had changed so much. Nor did she think of the jacket as a challenge when she put it on that day. It was no longer the un-wearable expense. It was just the red jacket. Carin was so happy that she had to take pictures. And there was no sadness in the coat closet.

         

          The moral of the tale is that sometimes things seem really hard and unobtainable. It seems so far away in the distance. But over time and with a little persistance it can work out. And little victories are not so little at all.

            During the next week( which is really this week . I am so late) , I will continue to motivate my self to workout. Between 5th grade homework and a grueling work day I find that I am getting lower on my own to do list. That is the absolute best I can do.