Borderline

            This week's WW meeting topic about combating boredom while on your journey. This is extremely important. I sometimes feel as though I have ADHD. But I was not always like this. I have become quite the multi-tasker. Sit and watch television? Not me. Most likely I am knitting something or readng a magazine and or even working out. When did I become this person? I have no idea. I often think it's all the stimulation we human beings have all of the time all around us. Cell phones, blackberrys, laptops, Playstation, Wii and DVRs. We do not allow time for our brains to clear out. I suppose this is why I have to read the Idiots Guide to Zen Living. Sometimes I have to read something like three or fours times. Be in the moment . Be in the moment. A collegue at work said we should have a meditation group. I was so happy that she said that because once upon a time, I used to meditate. Even while I was pregnant with Jake I meditated. And then it was gone. So we invited  all of the executive assistants in our office. Two people joined us. We said we would meditate for ten minutes every morning at 11am. One week later it was just my collegue and me. No one else could pull themselves away from the fray long enough to meditate ten minutes each morning.  I struggled really hard with concentrating on my breathing. But other things crept in. The slightest noise took my concentration. Eventually the business of work took us both away from our meditation every morning.
          But folks, this is what life is like for most of us everyday.We are constantly moving on to the next thing. I am knitting and watching televsion and having a conversation. So it's no wonder that I could find boredom creeping into my weight loss journey. I remember years ago having a co-worker who had a can of tuna and cucumbers for lunch ( or a bag of carrots) everyday. I tried doing it for a while too. And I like tuna and love cucumbers. But everyday. Eeh! Don't get me wrong. I like my steady go to's like on work days the gentleman at the deli counter in my office building says "the usual" when he sees me( the usual is two egg whites on and english muffin- no butter, no cheese). I happen to love that quick breakfast with two oranges. It keeps hunger at bay until lunch. But on the weekends I want something different like whole wheat blueberry pancakes or a veggie omelet with turkey bacon.  You have to change it up .
EVEN EXERCISERS GET THE BLUES
          If you have been reading my blog, you know that the snow this winter got me down. I became so used to taking longs walks, jogging and riding my bike that I was almost bereft when my beloved neighborhood track disappeared into a puff of white. I was using a couple of WW dvd's that I loved but looking out the window at all the ice and snow started to make me feel down. That's when I spruced things up by pulling out ancient exercise vhs tapes. I had forgotten how much I used to love these things. Sometimes I get stuck on one for a whole week. But just the fact that at any given workout, I can do something different gives me comfort.
         Another source of beating the exercise blues are magazines. I remember avoiding magazines like Shape, Fitness and Women's Health because they always have a skinny women on the cover. I felt like they were saying to me that I did not deserve to read these magazines because I was not going to be that skinny women. But last summer I purchased one. And lo and behold there were tips from women who had lost large amounts of weight like I am trying to do right now. There were tips on how to start running. I swore I would not be able to run until I was thin but reading an article on how to get started said "if you can walk for miles, you can run". That was the very words that inspred me to try. And I did it the very next time I went to the track.
CHALLENGE
       I also find that the way to break out of the rut is a challenge. Of course I am not ready for the NY Marathon but there were things I could try. My wonderful WW friend the awesome Ms.Bitchcakes climbs the stairs every week. I would hear her say that in a meeting and think wow, how does anyone do that. Then one day after sitting at my work from home desk waiting for the five o'clock whistle to blow me outside to the track, it started to rain. And I thought about Sheryl and her weekly climb and decided to give it a try. I actually did it. I used the stairs in my building ( no audience there) and ran down twenty-one flights and crawled up twenty-one flights. I felt accomplished at the challenge I gave myself. Until then, I thought the stairs in my building were a form of torture when the elevator was broken.  Months later, listening to Sheryl talk about prepping for her Empire State Building climb, I thought "why did I stop using the stairs for an exercise?" So I started doing it once a week and the end of my work from home day. If it was not for Sheryl and the other wonderful people in my meeting, that idea probably would not come to mind. Look for inspiration in your meetings , co-workers and friends. Something you thought you could not do EVER just might be possible.
FOOD PORN
        I love when my leader Melanie uses that term. I happen to love watching the Food Network.  Especially Diners,Drive-Ins & Dives. I swear I drooled one evening watching that show. Yeah it's food porn with dynamic personalities peddling it but there is nothing wrong with desiring good food. The trick is to find a way to cook some of the things you desire in a way that you can control what it contains. This is also a way to have a diverse food ideas for meals. I pick up those ideas in WW meetings and the WW ETools website.
One of the challenges I made for myself this week regarding portion control was to eat from small plates. It lasted two days. Some foods do no fit on a small plates. I'm just saying.
         This week I gained .6lbs. It's not much but I will say it hurts my pride when I enter it into WW ETools and the reply is you gained a bit this week. It might as well say you cow! I was talking to my friend Cindy in our meeting after the meeting. I told her how I get annoyed when I gain weight. But then I have to positive talk myself into realizing that I lost 45lbs. .6lbs is really not that much.
This Week's Activity
Tues- all day= 5pts
Wed. - climb 60 flights of stairs and did the 53 mins Richard Simmons workout = 5pts
Thurs. - all day = 4pts + 30 mins walk dvd using 3lb weights = 3pts
Fri. - all day = 2pts + 30 mins walk dvd w/ 3lb wieghts= 3pts
Sat. -five walking laps around the track = 8pts
Sun. - rest day (sort of)
Mon. - all day - 6pts + 30 mins walk dvd w/ 3lb weights = 3pts
Total for the week = 39pts
               This week I will take it a day at a time. There are signs that Spring is coming and I will take every opportunity to take advantage of it. On Saturday it was fairly warm but still winter like but after some warm days and rain my track was visible to the human eye. I saddled up my sneakers and my MP3 and walked around the track until my legs started to shake. Sure I was walking through all the mud and dirty that was caked under all the snow but to be able to use my legs the way they were meant to be used felt so heart warming. I almost teared up. I've never been so happy to see pavement in all my life. I was wearing a winter jacket. That was the only thing that kept me from trying a jog. There is always next weekend.