The results are in, and…
Last week’s weight: 221.6
This week’s weight: 220.6
Current loss: 1 lbs
Cumulative loss: 17.8 lbs
Not quite the drop I was hoping for, but at least it’s headed in the right direction. So no complaints here. 
Full post later.
Okay, people. I’m not happy. I’m in a mood; a funk, if you will, that shares nothing whatsoever with any music played by a white boy, funky or otherwise.
It appears as though my hormones are messing with my mind in a big way. Either that, or I’m suffering from the midlife onset of clinical depression (which I suppose I could be, but that? would really suck). Wednesday night, I ended up getting… oh, about four hours of sleep for reasons that I won’t spell out here (and which were not the kind of fun reasons that make it worthwhile to lose sleep).
And yesterday I was wrung out. Exhausted. Everything was tired and achy, including my head (which still hurts today). And no, it wasn’t a hangover: if I can get hung over from having a single beer at 2:00 PM, I’ve really turned into my mother. And I haven’t.
No, it was just a bad day. A really bad day. A day with too many cups of coffee, one can of diet cola, zero water, and poor eating. How poor? A bowl of Special K Vanilla Almond cereal for breakfast, two slices of swiss cheese for lunch, and some fake crab with edamame for dinner.
Now close your email client, because I don’t want anyone telling me that wasn’t a bad eating day, because it was exactly that. Sure, it was fine as a dieting day, because I’m sure I didn’t consume much in the way of calories. But, ummm, where’s the fruit? Only one serving of veggies? NO WATER???
In hindsight, perhaps it’s not my hormones after all (yesterday, anyway): perhaps my body was trying to send the message that I was starving it of nutrition and it wasn’t happy. Whatever the reason, I broke my biggest rule: I didn’t work out yesterday. I just couldn’t do it. Could not bring myself to get on the bike, or turn on that video, or do anything.
Now, for the good news: I’m reasonably sure that one poorly-fed day and one missed workout do not indicate that it’s all over and I’ve blown it. I feel much better already this morning (although still in a “oh, gods, I suck at everything and I’m a total failure and why can’t I catch a break and SQUIRREL!” mood), and the scale isn’t complaining yet, so it can be repaired. Every day’s a new day, right?
I’ve got a metric ton of work to slog through today, but I’ll be sure to drink my ovaltine water, and get in a couple of salads. And some berries. And oh, I’ll be working out tonight. You can bet on it.
How’s Friday treating you so far?
The title is a reference to an old song. If it makes no sense to you, you’re too damn young to read this blog (picture me waving a cane and yelling at you to get outta my yard, ya damn hooligan!). 
So, I went to get my hair done yesterday, as I do every four weeks without fail. I consider it akin to paying a tithe to the gods of youth, as I refuse to walk around with all the gray hair Mother Nature decided I should have starting at age 23. Damn Irish genes: short, stumpy body and gray hair. There oughta be a law.
Anyway, you may remember that I stated my intention to get a cheeseburger and fries yesterday, to ease the relentless craving. And I got them, with a beer, for lunch before my hair appointment. And that burger, fries, and beer? Were good.
I’d love to tell you that I ate them and felt no ill effects. I’d love to tell you that, but it’d be a lie. Within an hour of eating, I was yawning; I continued yawning for the remainder of the day. But I don’t regret it, because (did I mention?) it was good. Not so good that I’d run out and do it again tomorrow, or even next week. But good. This yawning tells me something: carby deliciousness may be… well, delicious, but my body doesn’t like it. Doesn’t mean I won’t ever do it again, but I know I don’t want to make a habit of it.
When I returned home (some four hours after I’d eaten the carbolicious meal), I was still yawning. And oh, so sluggish. But I hadn’t yet worked out, so onto the bike I went. And in (very mild) penance for the greasy, carby, salty deliciousness that was my lunch, I went for 40 minutes instead of 30. That’s the good news. The bad news (although, really, there’s nothing bad about it) is that I did 9.1 miles in those 40 minutes. Not exactly lightning speed, but then I think I mentioned that I was feeling mighty sluggish yesterday.
Oh, and I did not eat dinner. Oh, don’t bitch at me: that lunch was still working on my system, and I wasn’t hungry. So there. 
And that’s really all there is to talk about. Busy day, yummy, splurgy meal, and a reasonable workout. How was your Wednesday?
You know, when I wrote yesterday’s post about the changes I’ve seen since I started working on evicting my excess fat, I totally neglected to mention the biggest change of all:
You!
[SappyGratitude] I created this blog, really, for Hubby, and for me. Oh, I figured eventually I’d grab a reader or two, and I knew that the online community can be a really good source of support. But I never imagined that I’d find so many people – men and women, of all ages – who are doing the same thing in the same way (via changing our eating and exercise habits to be healthy as opposed to, say, starving ourselves and getting lipo).
And every last one of you has been remarkably generous with your time, your thoughts, and your ideas. I sure as hell never imagined that so many of you would actually want to read about the insanity that is my life most days. But here you are, day after day. And you’ve given me an extra dose of accountability that I just couldn’t give myself: if I want to skip a workout, or drink a milk shake, I’m able to stop myself, because I know I’ll have to report back here. (Mind you, this doesn’t change the cheeseburger and fries I’m having today – because oh, they will be mine.)
Anyway, thank you. Thank you for reading, and commenting, and providing great examples. You people rock.
[/SappyGratitude]
Yesterday I elected to do the Slimdown Cardio Burn video again – and again, got through it without stopping (and with perhaps a teensy bit more intensity than the first time). I think I need to make it a habit to mix up my cardio, which is going to be something of a challenge until the weather gets a bit more human-friendly. Aside: Sonny’s school is still closed due to the snow. The snow that fell last Friday. I love my son; I do. But given that his father moved out of state last year, and it’s all Hubby and me all the time, I really, really would like Sonny to get out of my house for a few hours.
Dinner last night ended up being fake crab meat (yeah, I know they use chemicals to flavor it so it’s not the best, but it’s better than the hot dog Sonny had at 4:00 PM!) with edamame, dressed in a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce. I highly recommend it – yummy!
Busy day today: work like a lunatic, go have my cheeseburger and fries (cue mouth-watering), and get my hair done. I may not be able to work out until later this evening, but I’m not going to miss it, no matter what.
Have a great day! Tomorrow, I’ll return you to your regularly scheduled snarkiness.
Hubby and I started this thing one month ago today, and I thought it would be a good idea to document what’s changed over the past 31 days, since I changed my eating and exercise habits.
But before I do that, let me tell you about yesterday. I’m still at PMSCON1. WHY won’t my ovaries just give up the ghost, already? I’m not using them any more, dammit! And work? was out of control busy. So out of control busy that I realized at 12:30 PM that I hadn’t eaten breakfast. This is a bad old pattern that I continue struggling with. And I can tell you that, by 12:30 PM, after getting up at 5:15 AM, I was really fargin’ hungry. So, Hubby, being the fabulous, wonderful man he is, offered to make brunch for me. And so I proceeded to eat:
I now understand – and fully – why it’s a good idea to eat frequently. Because I scarfed that shit down, folks. And it was good. Note to self: don’t let that happen again.
Did my workout (my knees felt fine, so back on the bike it was), for yet another personal best of 7.5 miles in 30 minutes. Mixing up the cardio was a really good idea. And ate a very light dinner (baked mahi mahi with some steamed broccoli) in penance for the ginormous lunch I stuffed down my gullet.
Now, where was I? Oh, yeah: what’s changed from 2 January to 2 February:
Before: I had heartburn every day, to the extent that I was taking two extra-strength Zantac daily.
Now: I rarely have heartburn at all.
Before: I was exhausted all the time, and slept poorly.
Now: I wake up energetic, feel great all day, and sleep well.
Before: My hair was dull, unmanageable, and looked like ass most of the time.
Now: My hair is glossy and shiny, and looks great pretty much no matter what I do to it.
Before: I would look for and take advantage of any reason to eat chocolate, a cheeseburger, chips, ice cream… you name it. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And it showed.
Now: I still eat whatever I want, whenever I want. But I think about it first, and rarely make an impromptu decision to eat something fatty, greasy, or overly sweet. And the vast majority of the time, I eat healthy: lean protein, veggies, fruit, good fats, and whole grains. (True confession: tomorrow, I plan to have a cheeseburger and fries; I’ve been craving them for a week now, and clearly it’s not going to get out of my system until I have ‘em.)
Before: Exercise? A four-letter word, dude. And I would take any excuse not to move my ass.
Now: Exercise? Every day without fail. And I find ways around any reasons not to move my ass.
Before: When I went shopping, I drove around looking for the closest possible parking spot.
Now: I park wherever I find a spot.
Before: I wanted to be invisible.
Now: I’m back to my old, “give me an audience!” self.
Before: Two cans of cola. The full-caffeine, full-sugar variety. Every day.
Now: Maybe a can of diet cola a few times a week?
Before: I doubted that I had it in me to really change my diet – or to exercise regularly.
Now: I know I was wrong, wrong, wrong.
Before: I loathed going to the doctor, because getting weighed was such an embarrassment.
Now: I can’t wait to go see my OB in April, because he’ll be floored by how much progress I’ve made.
I think that gives you a pretty good idea of what’s different. There’s more (for example, my fingernails are stronger and not so prone to cracking, my clothes are loose – or, in the case of my go-to jeans, about to fall off), but looking at this list I’m amazed. Amazed by what I’ve done (evicting nearly 20 lbs of fat, eating healthy, nutritious foods, getting into a regular exercise habit), and amazed by how my attitude has changed.
By next month, I should have a weight training program in place with the help of the trainer I’m hiring. I can’t wait to see what changes will keep coming!
What’s changed for you since you started taking control of your body?
Posted in Eating, Exercise, Philosophical Musings, Weight Loss
Tagged Exercise, Fitness, Weight Loss
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