Just Do It!

I left work feeling like my brain was fried, literally. Huge project I've been working on the past 2 days has literally depleted all the brain cells I had left. As I'm driving home, I'm thinking how I don't want to walk, I want to just lay on the couch and watch TV. I was trying to think of every excuse not to walk. I called my hubby and told him I was headed home and that I was going for a walk. I figured that was halfway to actually doing it - if I told him I was walking, I had to do it.

Got home and looked at the couch for a minute and really contemplated laying on it and not getting up for a few hours. But alas, I did not. I could not ignore Blue barking, expecting to go on our daily afternoon walk, or the fact that I NEEDED to walk.

So I changed my clothes and off we went. It was hot and humid and I was not totally into it, but the farther I walked, the better I felt. Each step I took made me happier that I did not listen to my inner evil voice and lay on the couch.

I will remember this the next time I don't want to walk and I'll tell myself JUST DO IT! And there will be no excuse because I know I can.

A delicious lunch!

As I sit down to have my lunch, I thought I'd share. This is a filling, fresh salad with lots of protein - all for only 3 points.

Ingredients:

Lettuce (today I used icerberg lettuce but most of the time I use romaine)

Cucumber

Tomato

Diced onion

Artichoke hearts (in water not olive oil)

1 serving of Solid White Albacore Tune (in water) - 1 serving = 1/2 can

2 tbsp. Ken's Light Options Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing

The tuna has 1 point and the dressing has 2 points - a lot of food for 3 points.

Enjoy!

Me 3 - Scale 1

I felt like I was walking the plank this morning as I walked up to the scale. I knew that it would not be in my favor. I know my body well enough to know when this will happen. My hubby told me this morning on his way out the door to let him know how I did after I weigh in and I said I know I gained. Way to be positive, he says... Technically I was being positive, I was positive that I gained.

Lorraine, our fearless leader, asked me about my gain, did I expect it, how do I feel? I told her that yes, I expected it, but it still sucks. It has been a tough week all around, party last weekend, Daddy's birthday Monday, not feeling well, less activity because not feeling well... All of that is reason for the scale to be up and not down. What I am surprised about it that it's not up more than a pound. BUT, today starts a new week and this one will be better. She told me that is a great attitude and to not give up.

For all those keeping score out there, I have weighed-in for 4 weeks now, and 3 of those weeks I lost weight. This is the first week with a gain. Technically I am still winning. But that doesn't help with the little voice that keeps trying to interrupt my thoughts telling me that I could have done better.

We're starting a walking challenge at the meeting and of course I signed up. I can totally do that.

Now that the weigh-on is done and I faced my gain head-on, it's time to put it behind me. I will not let the scale beat me next week. No way, no how. The score next week will be Me 4 - Scale 1... Guaranteed.

Confession...

I am TERRIFIED to weigh-in tomorrow morning. This has been an off week for sure. The weekend was a rough one. Temptation everyone with my sister's birthday fun, although I still think I skated enough to work at least some of it off. I have not had as much water as I should this week, I've only walked twice (in addition to the 2+ hours of skating on Sautrday), and today I had a moment of weakness and had Pringles. Ugh.

I was also sick yesterday and didn't care too much about portions when I had my soup for lunch and snacks. It has just been a stressful week. And can I mention that mother nature is paying a visit and that always screws things up? Ugh again.

The scale won't lie, that is for sure. I dread getting on it, but of course I have to. And then a new week will start, which means a clean slate. I can't dwell on the bad choices I made this week, I need to move on and look ahead to the better choices I will make in the coming week. Until tomorrow.... 

Setting goals - April!

My goal for March was to walk 100 miles - did it. I have been thinking about what to set my goal for April. I want to keep up my walking but I need to add in some cardio and I think I want to get back into TaeBo. And while the thought of that terrifies me at the moment because I know it will be hard for the first few weeks, I am quite sure that I can suffer my way through it. After all, I did just walk 104 miles in one month. Clearly I am up for a good challenge.

Here is my goal for April:
Walk at least 15 miles a week
TaeBo at least 2x a week
Ultimately I would like to walk M-W-F- S-S and do TaeBo T-Th. But I think if I try to keep to a set schedule like that, it may get complicated as my timing may not always work out the way I want. So... I'm just going to do what I want, when I want and see how it all works out.

So here we go!

Bittersweet weekend

This weekend has been a busy one... My baby sister turned 21 yesterday. We had a roller skating party, which I think was a FABULOUS idea!! Oh my goodness, it was so much fun. It was so neat to get on skates after at least 25 years and skate like I never stopped. We were there for about 3 hours and I probably skated for a solid two hours of that, if not a little more. So much fun.

Afterwards we all went to Chili's for her birthday dinner and drinks. There was food and drinks and laughter and silliness all around. When they brought the cake out and Jenni blew out the candles, her excitement over turning 21 faded and she cried. Jenni and my dad always celebrated their birthdays together since they were just 2 days apart. After dinner, some of us went to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa and had more fun. Jenni had the most fun of all, you can only imagine, I'm sure... The night ended very late!

Today we went to the Bay Pines VA Cemetery as a family to celebrate my dad's birthday, a day early so we could go together. It was tough. It's an odd feeling to wish someone a Happy Birthday and not be able to hug them or have a conversation with them. To have always celebrated birthdays together makes it very surreal to all of a sudden not. It is the first birthday since his passing. The 4th day of the 4th month of the year, which is 4 months since his passing.

It was so nice to be there with Mike, Mommy, Nick, Jenna, Autumn, Jenni, and Nile - together to honor my dad. There were tears and there was laughter. One thing I've learned since losing my dad is that my emotions can be extreme and can change quickly. Overwhelming doesn't quite explain it.

So it was a bittersweet weekend, indeed. I am exhausted, physically and emotionally. But I am glad we spent the weekend together. There is power in togetherness and being a family.

Reckless abandon and more

I am so proud of myself for being down 6.6 pounds in the 3 weeks since returning to WW. I am right on track for how I want to lose it. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

We talked about what works for us in yesterday's meeting. The first thing that came to mind is ACCOUNTABILITY. I need it. It's the only way I can succeed. Otherwise I will eat anything and everything, in large quantities, and without any thought about what it will do to me. Without the accountability and structure of WW, I eat with reckless abandon. And that isn't good for me.

Losing 6.6 pounds gets me under the 160 mark. Always setting small goals for myself, my next milestone will be 149, getting just under the 150 mark will be huge as it's been probably a year since I've seen those numbers on the scale.

I talked in the meeting about my 100-mile walking goal for the month of March. Some of the members thought I was CRAZY. Others thought I was the coolest thing ever for not only setting such a goal, but for actually completing it. One of the ladies that works there pulled me aside at the end of the meeting and told me I am a huge inspiration and because of me, she is going to walk more. That makes me feel so good. I like the thought of inspiring people. Who knew??