Holiday Rush!

So what has been happening? I guess I should have looked at my last post to see what I talked about last time. Did I mention my air cast? I think I did. Oh yes. My last post was Dec. 8th and since I injured myself on Dec. 6th, I must have mentioned it.

Well, since tearing the ligaments in my ankle, I haven't been able to work out and it is killing me. Besides that fact that it's really starting to show on the scale. I have just been gaining weight and I'm ready to cry. I need to find something that I can do to burn some of these calories. And if probably wouldn't hurt if I really started to watch what I put in my mouth. I know it's the holidays, but combine that with a bad leg and it's just one giant excuse. So I need to do something now. No excuses!!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! Or a Happy Hannukah!! And of course, a wonderful New Year!!!

Injured Reserve

Life has been cruising along at a nice pace. Work was going well. Friends and family were fantastic. Christmas shopping was almost done. Cards sent. Gifts wrapped. I was really in the spirit. And then, crash!

Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration. (My husband says I always exaggerate.) Anyway, Tuesday night, walking from the car to the house and my ankle just gave out on me and I fell to the ground. Originally I thought the worst of it was my hand that I used to brace myself and the scrap on my left shin, but the pain there was over and done in no time. But my right foot was really sore to walk on. It's hard to explain the pain, but it wasn't at the ankle, but a little further down on the top of the foot.

I started looking online, and of course, posted on Facebook for opinions wondering if I might have a broken bone in my foot. After about 2 hours, when it wasn't feeling any better, I decided we should probably visit the ER and get some x-rays. I must say that there wasn't a single George Clooney or Noah Wylie in the place. But everyone at the Norwood Hospital was pretty nice and I was in and out of there a lot faster than I'd expected.

And thankfully, nothing was broken. The doctor (Dr. Geller...I didn't ask if his first name was Ross, but I wanted to) said that it could be a bad sprain or torn ligaments. He gave me an air cast, recommended I use crutches and take ibuprophin for the pain.

Less than 48 hours later and I have to say, almost no pain now. Just a twinge or an ache when I move a certain way. If anything, the muscles in my leg ache more than the foot. I move at a snails pace and I can't work out at all. And with just 2 classes left, I've had to give up on my belly dancing. But again, nothing is broken, so I should heal just fine and will be dancing again before you know it.

Holiday season is upon us!

I am really enjoying the holidays this year and it's not even December yet. I'm just about done with my shopping and I'm pleased with what I've gotten everyone. My bank account looks sad, but it will soon be replenished and it felt good knowing that I had the money to spend. Paying off those debts felt so good and it continues to make me happy.

If there is one thing I could teach the young people today, it's not to get caught up in credit card debt. Spend within your means and don't borrow against the future. Ideally, you should be able to pay off your credit card each month, or only use it for emergencies - like car repairs or other unforseen things.

Life is so much more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about how your going to pay the bills.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish all my friends and family and anyone else reading this a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a lot to be thankful for this year!!

Shop til you drop!

I love holiday shopping. I try not to start too early though because once I find that perfect gift for someone, I just really want to give it to them right away. I did some shopping yesterday and I did find the perfect gift for one friend. I can't tell you what it is though, because what if she reads this? That would ruin the surprise.


My family says I always find the perfect gifts. I don't know why I have such success. There isn't some secret that I could tell you. I just see something and I just know it's right. But that doesn't mean I always find the perfect gift. Sometimes I do struggle on what to get someone. Probably more often then not. But if feels so good when I find the right one.


I hope everyone finds at least one absolutely perfect gift this year, but even if you don't, I hope that you find joy in just giving and sharing with family and friends.

(I wrote this on Sunday, but couldn't get it to post.)

Lead or Follow? Neither!

My mother used to tell us to be leaders, not followers. And I used to think that was really good advice, but I've come to realize that I am not a leader. But I'm also not a follower. I don't want to be either one. I am just me. I am who I am and I don't want people to follow me. I want them to walk beside me. I can look at all my true friends and see that each is unique and special in their own way and that is what makes us friends.

To be a leader, you need followers. Yes, there are leaders who do good things and their followers are the people who support them. But I think that in the world of friendships, there shouldn't be a leader and followers. The leader in a friendship is really just a bully and the followers are just hangers on. That's not real friendship.

The resurection

With encouragement from my friend Crissy, I am resurecting my blog and taking it in different directions. I will probably still talk about my weight loss journey and still hope to be fit and healthy sooner rather than later, this will also be about my life in general and just how I am feeling about different things.

Lately, things have been, how shall I put this...perhaps CRAZY is a good word. Today in particular, I feel free and alive and I want to dance, which is really nuts because with what some people have said about me and my family in the past week and a half, I should probably just be really angry. But I'm not. Maybe that's a sign of growth.

Today I actually feel free after learning what someone who I once considered a friend had to say about me. Crazy, right?

I know that I am a good person. I love doing things for my friends and family just because. I like making them happy. It just makes me feel good. I don't ask for anything in return, but sure, inside I hope for good things to come my way too...and maybe that's just a hug from my niece and nephew or some kind words or a thank you, but even just feeling good because I did it is a plus.

I'm not perfect. I know it, but I don't apologize for who I am. I get angry and impatient and sure, sometimes I probably think I'm better than someone else, but under it all, I still think I'm a good person.

For now I'm going to end this by reposting what I said on Facebook, which apparently made an impact on a few people as they shared it on their pages too (and that made me feel really good) and what led Chrissy to encourage me to re-start this Blog.


I do things for people because I want to, not because I have to. It's who I am. But when you come to expect things and/or use underhanded tactics to make sure you come out on top, I no longer want to do anything for you. I will continue to do things for those who appreciate my generosity.


Love to all my friends and family!!!

Where have I been?

I have really been lazy about posting, and lazy in working out. I think this weather is really getting to me. Thankfully, the last 2 weeks, my WW weigh-ins have been for losses - only 0.4 each week, but a loss is a loss. And yesterday, the weather was decent enough that I could get out and walk at lunchtime. Yay me!

Not sure there will be much workout today. It's raining/snowing, so I probably won't get out at lunch and we are doing a secret shopper at the movie theater tonight, so I don't think I'll be home in time to workout before bed. We shall see.

Slacking...

Friday night was our office holiday party. I probably ate more than I should but not as much as I could have. So overall, not a bad evening. The party was at the ICA and the food was just ok, nothing great. The excitement of the evening came when the fire alarms went off midway through dinner and we all had to evacuate into the cold Boston evening. And the ICA is right on the waterfront, so it was even colder. So glad we had the car keys and could run to the car.

Saturday and Sunday, I worked job #2. I was so exhausted last night that I could barely move, but I did do 30 minutes of step on the Wii Fit.

This morning, up at 5:06 am and it is a balmy -2 degrees outside. Needless to say, I won't be walking at lunch today. I did do my 10 minutes of Wii Fit running and I plan on running again tonight, after the WW meeting.

Speaking of WW. I'm not expecting anything good tonight. We shall see. With all the hours I have been working at the store, (5 out of 7 days last week) and the holiday party on Friday night, there wasn't much time for working out. And this week doesn't look to be much better. Work tomorrow, Friday and Saturday and I am on-call for Wednesday and Thursday. They really need to hire more people that can work an evening shift because I can't be working every day of the week at both jobs. It was less stressful during the holidays than it is now. The money is good (well, not good as in I'm making a huge salary, but good to make some extra), but burnout is not.

No Workout Friday

I have this clock that is supposed to be controlled by some place in Colorado. I'm guessing it is via satellite or something. Every now and then it goes a little screwy. Today was one of those days. I remember waking up around 4:15 and going to the bathroom. I climbed back into bed to go back to sleep and then my husband was bouncing around again, so I was yelling at him for waking me up. I roll over and look at my clock and it says 3:43. HUH? So I look at his clock and it says 5:43. I was supposed to be up at 5:07 so I could work out and head off to work.

Needless to say, no workout today because of the clock. And of course, we had snow overnight (and it is still snowing now at almost 9am) so I had to clean off the car and make that rather unpleasant drive to the train station. It was quite slick, but I made it and now I'm at the office. The office where we have delayed opening until 10:00 am.

And tonight is our holiday party at the ICA, so there won't be any working out at home tonight either. Oh well. I did run for 20 minutes last night, so at least I got that in.

Quick post!

I know it has been a few days, but life gets busy and blogging just isn't the first thing on my mind.

Had a WW meeting last night and when I weighed in, I was only down 0.2. Yes, it's still down - hooray, but I wanted it to be much more. I did have sushi for lunch and it filled me up quite a bit and I was still feeling full when I went to the meeting, so it is very possible that that is what caused the number to be less than I wanted it to be. Hopefully next week's number will make up for it.

I really need to get more veggies in my diet, but there are only so many things that I like during the winter and I prefer to eat my veggies fresh and raw, which is not always easy with winter veggies. I need some new ideas.

Whole Foods help!

I just entered a contest to win a Healthy Pantry Makeover from Whole Foods. This would be amazing for me if I won.

I would love to shop at Whole Foods all the time, but I just can't fit it in the budget right now. When we were in AZ last summer, we visiting the Scottsdale store several times, even having lunch there one day. Yes, I said we had lunch at Whole Foods. It was fantastic!

I know that I would really benefit from a Whole Foods Healthy Pantry Makeover. Wish me luck!!

Slacking

I seem to be slacking off this week. I think the blizzard in the middle of the week threw me off. I need to stop letting these little blips in the radar stop me from keeping focused.

I was home all day on Wednesday because of the snow and while I did get out and shovel, so that was some activity, I got lazy and didn't really workout like I should. I had plenty of time during the day to use the Wii Fit, but I just didn't do it.

So it's time to re-focus...again.

Cover Girl

A little off-topic, but I wanted to share. And beauty is part of getting fit and fabulous, so maybe it's not off-topic.

I've been a Covergirl for as long as I have been wearing makeup. How about you? Isn't Covergirl the first makeup all teens wear? I still wear Covergirl today because nothing gives me the coverage and the colors like the classic Covergirl.

Yesterday's Stats

Weight Watchers last night. I was down 0.8. Current weight is 195.6. I really hope that I continue on this downward slide.

Steps: 17,795

Workouts:
Wii Fit Running - 10 minutes (morning)
Wii Fit Step - 30 minutes
Wii Fit Running - 20 minutes (last night)

Overall, not a bad day. I tracked all my food too and while I did dip into my weekly/activity points, I wasn't over by too much and I made some good choices yesterday.

Weekend Wipeout?

Ok, not exactly a Wipeout, but it's so much harder to stick to a healthy eating plan on the weekends. Eating out is tough, although I'm sure I made better choices than I normally would. And when I'm home for long periods of time, I find myself munching...but I have to say, that I munched a lot less this weekend than I usually do - very good for me!!

I did some workouts too, but I'm sure I could have done more. Face it, we just get lazy!

I need to really focus on the weekends and not let myself think of it as a "vacation" from eating healthy and working out.

Weight Watchers tonight, so we will see what the scale says. I expect it to be down a little.

I have discovered that with the new Points Plus plan, the WW muffins which used to be 3 pts are now 5 pts. So needless to say, I won't be getting those muffins anymore. I don't see that as a good use of 5 points. I'd much rather have my Fiber Plus bars at 3 points each. And now they have a new flavor: caramel coconut fudge. It tastes just like a Girl Scout Somoa cookie (did I spell that right?), but they are so much better for me than the cookies. Not sure I want to tell the hubby though because then he'll eat all my fiber bars. Think I'd better stock up on a few more boxes.

Yesterday's Stats

Steps: 12,888

Workout: 30 minutes of step on Wii Fit.

Not exactly a blockbuster, but at least I worked out. And the Wii Fit says I was down 0.7 this morning. I'll take it.

Goal for today: 30 minutes of step and at least 20 minutes running.

It is Friday, so that's bagel day at work. One thing I can never pass up is Bagel Day!

Happy Friday!

It's the first Friday of the new year and I think I've done okay in my quest for a healthier me. I've tracked pretty much everything and I've worked out every day so far. I need to make sure I work out over the weekend too. No slacking! We don't get the weekends off.

I'm on call for work tonight and I'm hoping I don't have to go in so I can run tonight. I know, who would have thought I'd ever say I wanted to run? But, if I really want to do the Run to Home Plate in May, I need to get running.

Have you heard of the Run to Home Plate? It is a 9k road race in Boston to raise money to support our local military personnel who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Having family in the military and knowing how stressful it can be to serve overseas makes this an important event to me. And in addition to that, at the end of the race, you get to run across home plate at Fenway Park and as everyone knows, I am a huge baseball fan and the chance to touch home plate at Fenway is just beyond anything I ever thought possible.

I do need to raise $1,000 for the race, so I'm hoping everyone will support me in this...and push me to train so I can do it. A 9k is just over 5 miles. I've never run a full 5k yet (3.1 miles), so I don't know about a 9k, but I have to focus on it. Wish me luck!!

Unhealthy Dieting

It saddens me to see people who try all these fad diets.

Someone I know, who is a little tiny thing (very petite and her waist is about the size of my calf) is doing one of these fads. She says she's making healthy choices, but then she says that she's doing these diet supplement shakes as part of the plan. How is that healthy? It's not teaching you how to eat properly. You need to be able to eat in the real world. She lost weight last week and this week she says she wants to lose 3 lbs. That scares me.

It saddens me that we are an intelligent society and with all of the techonology out there, people are still expecting miracles when it comes to weight loss. We must eat healthier. We need to stop putting chemicals in our bodies. And we need to realize that a shake isn't going to help us to maintain a weight loss or get us on a healthier diet plan. Those shakes might help us lose weight fast, but you'll put it back on even faster once you go back to eating real food again. And what will be the long term effect of those shakes? What exactly are they doing to our insides?

I'm not going to claim to be the healthiest eater, but I'm working on it. One day at a time. There is so much good, healthy food out there. Let's stop killing ourselves with chemicals and fads!

Yesterday's Stats

Steps: 16,242

Workout: 10 minutes of Wii Fit Running in the morning.

Wii Fit Weigh-in: down, I think it was 0.4.

Food, glorious Food!

The hardest thing about getting healthy is changing what I eat. The fact is, I love food! I love to cook. I love to eat. I love to read food magazines, watch food tv shows and I'm always looking at recipes. And while I know there are plenty of healthy foods and recipes out there, sometimes I just want a big ole piece of chocolate cake or an ice cream sundae or fried clams. So moderation is the key! I can't eat all of those things in the same day and probably not even in the same week, but once in a while is ok. I just keep telling myself that.

Last night, I worked my second job, so there was no time to do a workout. But I am on my feet at the 2nd job and walking around a good deal, so I ended that day with over 16,000 steps. Yay me!

And I weighed in on my Wii Fit again today. It said I was down 0.4, which is good. As long as a see a DOWN, I will be happy!

Yesterday's Numbers

Steps: 16,877

Workouts: 30 minutes Wii Fit Step Aerobics and 20 minutes Wii Fit Running = 50 minutes.


And according to the Wii Fit, I'm down 1.1 lbs.

Biggest Loser - Season 11

I am a big fan of Biggest Loser. I think the show is a real inspiration and has been a real help to people who need to lose weight in order to save their lives. Season 11 started last night and, of course, I was watching - and working out while I watched. I can honestly say that the show was what inspired me to make some changes in my life and start losing weight. Granted, I wasn't as heavy as most of these contestants on the show and I am happy to report that I no longer qualify (and haven't for some time) to even be on the show.

I know there are many naysayers out there. They think the show is unrealistic and that while these folks may lose weight on the show, they all gain it back. But that isn't true. Yes, when they are on the ranch, they are under strict supervision. They only have access to certain foods and they work out, on average, for 8 hours a day. Most of us can't do that. But what they learn on the ranch is very valuable to helping them maintain a healthy lifestyle and that is the key. They learn about proper nutrition and they learn how to work out properly. And while some do regain the weight, the majority have not. The majority have changed their lives and they are living healthier and happier. That is what the show does for people.

As I said, Biggest Loser has inspired me and I don't work out 8 hours a day. I don't even average 1 hour a day, but I do work out more than ever before and I feel better for it. Last night, during the show, I worked out for 50 minutes. 30 minutes of step aerobics and 20 minutes running with my Wii Fit. Thank you Biggest Loser for inspiring me.

Yesterday's Stats

WW Weigh-in: 196.4 lbs

Steps: 19,248

Workout: 10 minutes Wii Fit running in the morning. 30 minutes of Wii Fit Step Aerobics at night.

A letter to my fat!

Dear 59.4 lbs:

We've been together for so long, but the time has come for us to part ways. I just don't love you anymore. I'm not sure I ever did.

It's not you. It's me. I grew comfortable with you, but I never really loved you. You became my security blanket. I could hide behind you and never really face the world. But I can't do that anymore. I need to break out of my shell and make some changes. I know it won't be easy, but I have to do this.

I hope you understand.

Sincerely,

Skinny Me

New Year - New Focus

Well...in case there was any doubt, I didn't make it to my 50 by 40. And sadly, I'm probably at a higher weight now than I was when I started this blog last year. The good news - the gain was minimal, only a couple pounds. I'll have to go back to the first post and take a look to see exactly.

So I'm starting Fresh! New Year - New Blog - New Focus. And New Goals!!!

Wow - I didn't realize that I'd started this Blog in August 2009 and I was at 205lbs then. So I'm happy to report that I am not back at that. I'm currently at 196.4. I'm not happy with that and it's time to work on changing it.