Oh My.......

Well goodness.  It definitely has been a while, huh?  You all probably thought I had forgotten all about this and had given up on it, right?  Nope, I haven't.  Now admittedly, I haven't been exercising or dieting, but I am about to change that......again.  I could give all kinds of excuses as to why I haven't been, but I suppose the main truth would be laziness on my part.  I admit it.  And I am going to fix that.  However, partly it is I have felt like I have been in such a rut in my life, and not motivated to do anything, and that also meant getting on the treadmill..  But then I decided I needed to get out of it and start doing things I wouldn't normally do, and so I'm trying.  I have discussed this with a couple of you so you know what I am talking about.  I have even made a list of things I want to do, and while they won't all get done at once, or maybe even some of them at all, it was still a good jumping off point for me.  So we'll see.  It would be really great if  I lived closer to at least one of you so I would have someone to do things with, but seeing as that isn't an option, I'm on my own to get it done.   

However, on the nice side of all this is I have only gained 2 lbs since summer, which, while gaining weight isn't a good thing, at least I haven't gained it all back.  And to prevent that means I do need to get back on that bandwagon and stop being so lazy about it.  And exercising, as much as I hate doing it, does make me feel great afterwards.  Too bad I couldn't find an exercise I love...

So, here I am.  The one thing I am going to do differently (I hope) is not to be so hard on my left ankle.  The reason why it was swelling up so much is because the tendon that goes up the side of the ankle is split in two (when it should only be one piece), and if it doesn't get any better in 6 months, then the doctor wants to go in and repair it.  I'd rather not have surgery, so I want to try and take care of it and not make it worse.  The funny thing is, my ankle hasn't bothered me at all for well over a month now, it hasn't been swelling up or hurting, but then again maybe it's because I haven't been doing anything exerting that causes it to get like that. 

At any rate, we shall see.  And I really want to do this.  I liked it when I lost those 13 (now 11) pounds, and I would love to see more come off.  So wish me luck (again) and I'm off. (I hope) (No, I know. Yeah...I know...)

My Reason For Not Exercising This Past Week, You Ask?

Right off the bat I will tell you I haven't been exercising for the past week. But I have a reason, at least for not getting on the treadmill.  And this is it:

See that fat Fred Flintstone-like ankle/foot?  Yep, it's mine. Lovely, right?  Here is what it looks like in comparison to the other:

You can actually SEE the ankle bone in my right leg.

An upper view of my log leg.

             

A normal ankle.  (of course, I am hoping they get thinner as time goes by.)

So that's why I haven't been on the treadmill.  Because not only is the ankle swollen as all get out, it hurts too.  I don't know what I did to it except maybe really pushing myself on the treadmill, and I have been trying to hold off going to the doctor until after I get back from California.  But I think today is the day I go because the pain is getting worse and wrapping around my leg, and I am assuming, though I am no doctor, that that isn't a good thing. 

A few years ago, when I was in California, I jumped in the pool with Sean Michael and hit the bottom and twisted (or something) that ankle and it swelled up and was painful.  I eventually went to the doctor (I'm really not very good about going to the doctor at all) and he said I had bursitis in my ankle and then I was given steroids to fix it, which it did.  Since then, I have had it swell on and off,  but it goes away.   This time though it doesn't seem to want to go away and like I said, it hurts when I walk on it, even first thing in the morning when I get up and the swelling is gone.  But once I'm up it doesn't take very long at all to balloon right back up and looking like a tree trunk.

And there you have it.  I know you just really wanted to read all this, not to mention getting to see it too.  On the bright side though, I haven't gained any weight, so I'm still at what I was last week.  And right now I'm not even really trying too hard because of getting so many side tracks, but I figure once I'm home from California and we take Kyla home and get back on a schedule, it will be much more easier for me.  Though I am thinking I am probably going to have to force myself to get up early a couple of times a week to exercise because of taking Sean Michael to TKD.  Oh well, it'll be worth it in the long run, right?



I Lied....I Weighed In Anyway

When I got up this morning and went to take a shower, the scale seemed to be calling my name : "Pssst...Sharl...Sharl...over here, Sharl...get on me....c'mon, you know you want to.....".  And, well, I did want to, so I stepped up on it, eyes shut, and looked slowly down at the glowing digital numbers.  But you know what?  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Because I had not gained any weight at all, and as a matter of fact I even lost a pound, which surprised the heck out of me after thinking I had probably gained a couple.  Nope, it was one pound lower. 

Now of course I know this doesn't mean that I can just do this kind of "doing nothing" and "eating Snickerdoodles" routine all the time, and really keep it to a bare minimum if at all.  Because I have to admit I didn't exercise yesterday either and I did eat Snickerdoodles for dinner.  Yes, you read right, for dinner.  (Yeah, I know you want to hear my excuses.)   Mostly though because when I got home I had to take Cas out and feed him and the cats, and then Hector had called and wanted me start his dinner at 6 so it would be done when he got home so he could eat and then go to bed.  And by the time I was done with the animals it was already 5:30 and I didn't want to exercise for only half an hour and then have to be interrupted to go fix dinner, so I decided that as soon as he was home and eating dinner I would go downstairs.  Except he didn't get home till 7 (grrrrrrrr that pissed me off big time) and I just don't feel like exercising that late unless it is on a weekend.  Anyway Vickie called me and I had to talk to her,  so no exercise. (Yep, gonna put part of the blame on you Vickie. lol)  (No, I take it back since you gave me such good news last night....none of it was her fault.)  :>)

At any rate, I will tell you right now I probably won't be exercising tonight either, because I am meeting Hector for dinner (that will be at Salad Creations, so a nice salad there) and then go shopping for a refridgerator.  So far today though, I have eaten better, Starbucks Oatmeal for breakfast (I do love their oatmeal, though I leave out the dried fruit part that they give you), my macchiato (of course! Did you really think I wouldn't have my caffeine???), and then for lunch I had a Slim Fast bar which was actually pretty tasty, and tonight the salad.  I will try to refrain from the Snickerdoodles as a late night snack, but there are only 2 left and the sooner they're gone the better, right? (And no I am NOT going to give them to Hector.)

Tomorrow when I get up I can head down to the basement and get my workout done for the day.....but on the other hand Starubcks first would really rev me up to want to. Hmmmmmm.  Decisions, decisions......

Feelin' Guilty......

Well crud.....I have to admit I haven't exercised in a couple of days and I didn't eat so wonderful yesterday.  It actually makes me feel really guilty too which is so weird because I don't enjoy exercising and I do love to eat.  I wish I could have the mindset to love exercising and to only eat healthy, but unfortunately that's just not me.  The thing is though I do like healthy kind of foods, like most veggies and fruits and  Greek Yogurt and cheese and chicken and fish, etc., but then again, I also like all the things that are bad for you too, like cookies and chocolate and ice cream and cake, etc.  However, I have cut back on the latter drastically, though maybe not as much as I should, but still drastically for me anyway.

For the exercising, I don't really have an excuse for Tuesday execept I was not in a good mood after I got home from work, and really that's probably when I should have gotten on the treadmill and work off some of that steam. lol  But I didn't, thinking I would work out the next day.  Of course that didn't happen because I went grocery shopping after work and didn't even get home till 7:30, then had to put away the groceries and eat a frozen pizza for dinner.  (Well I did bake it first.)  When all was said and done, it was almost 9 by the time I sat down, and then I had 3 Lofthouse Snickerdoodles and a glass of milk.  (I know, I know......but I did say I didn't eat so great, and they are really good cookies.)  

And so today, as soon as I get home from work (and I have nothing to do after work but go home), I am changing into my workout clothes and then going to the basement for an hour or more.  I have eaten a little better today, had a smoothie this morning, a couple of jalapeno cheesesticks and Special K cracker chips and water for lunch, and probably just a salad for dinner, to make up for the past couple of days.  (I promise I'll try to stay out of the Snickerdoodles later tonight.)

I'm not even going to weigh myself till Saturday morning (mostly because I don't want to be depressed now...lol), but hopefully it won't be as bad as I fear.   So keep your fingers croseed. 

How Many Inches Was That Again?!?!?

Today after I got done working out, I thought to myself that I should also start taking measurements to keep track of them once a month as I lose weight.  So I found a tape measure and measured all the places that need measured, such as bust, waist, hips, thigh, upper arm.  And when I got done and looked at the numbers that I wrote down in a little notebook, I was like Yikes!! That's a lot of big numbers!! And the sad thing is, you really can't blame them on the tape measure, because unlike scales that can fluctuate from scale to scale, an inch is an inch is an inch.  Crud!  lol  Of course now I have to remember exactly where I measured so that I measure there every month so I can make sure I get an accurate reading.  I thought about using a Sharpie and just marking myself but then figured it would probably be better if I just remembered. And boy do I hope the numbers go down.

I have to admit that yesterday was the first day I exercised since I have been home from California, but in my defense ( of course I have one!) there has been no AC in the building where I work and so when I get home I just feel so drained from the heat all I want to do is sit down and enjoy my home's AC.  Now admittedly, Friday I probably should have (ok, I definetely should have) exercised because I got an unexpected afternoon off but instead I took a nice nap and then did a little shopping and then to Salad Creations for dinner.  Oh well, at least I had salad for dinner.

Yesterday I did spend 45 minutes on the treadmill and also intervals of the Golds Gym and lifting weights.  And today the same thing, though only 40 minutes on the treadmill.   I have increased my speed on it too, not that I am ever going to run on it or anything. Walking is one thing, but running.....yuck.  Even in my Marine Corps days I never liked to run so I can't imagine liking it now.

So for the rest of the week.....I am really hoping we have AC tomorrow.  But if we don't, I guess I will just have to force myself to come home and work out.  Of course, I do have grocery shopping to do after work.....   ;>)

Better Than I Thought

Having just come back from California after 10 days, I was really kind of afraid to weigh myself, even though I did at my mom's and her scale numbers were a little less than mine.  But, I bit the bullet this morning and got on it, and after opening my eyes slowly and squinting down at the numbers, it registered that I had only gained one pound. Yep, I was happy about that (well, obviously I would have been even happier if it had been the same or lower when I left, but still....one pound? I can live with that.)  So it means I just have to lose that one measly pound (though, one pound to lose can sometimes feel like it takes as much work to lose ten pounds) and I'll be where I was the morning when I left for California.

Which was good, because I had lost 11 pounds from the time I started all this until that day, and I was at an even "0" number.  From here I will set my goals at 10 pounds at a time rather than the whole amount, which can be a bit daunting if I think of it that way, so I would rather not. lol 

I am a little surprised I didn't gain more really, because even though I didn't go crazy, eating my way through Fresno, I still didn't particularly watch what I ate and I didn't exercise a whole lot.  We did walk to Starbucks a few times (but that was only 6/10 of a mile, round trip) and I did go in the pool (but not to swim laps or exercise), but nothing extrenuous like I do at home.  Which is on the agenda for today when I get home from work.  I ddin't exercise yesterday at all (heck, I didn't even go to Starbucks yesterday if you can believe that) because I was tired after flying all night and not getting any sleep on the plane.  So that means today I need to start back on my routine and exercise, exercise, EXERCISE.  Fun, right?  Not.

I could always talk myself out of it (which doesn't take much, that's for sure), but I am encouraged that I have lost weight and it is enough to keep me motivated to keep trying.  And who knows....maybe by this time next year there will be a whole new me.  :>)

Exercise Still Sucks, But.......

Yesterday I got home from work and I sat down with a snack of string cheese and a few multi-grain tortilla chips and watched the rest of  The Barefoot Contessa on tv while eating, gearing myself up for my workout. (Why I like to watch cooking shows when I can't eat it is a mystery, but I do. )   After I was done, (and trying to think of a good reason why not to go downstairs to exercise and coming up with nothing)  I changed and went on down to the torture....er.....basement to get it over with.  After using the weights and the Gold Gym machine thingy, I was about to get on the treadmill when I decided to call a friend and chat while being on it.  I figured it would take my mind off of it and not be so bored at the same time.

Well let me tell you, it does work!  We talked the whole time I did my 2.10 miles and it really seemed to go by much more quickly than if I had done it talking to no one.  Really makes me wish I had a workout buddy!  Once I was done with the treadmill, we hung up and I continued another set of the weights, etc and then was done.  So I worked pretty hard but it didn't seem like it which was nice.  Makes me wish I had unlimited minutes on my cellphone.....I'd be calling all kinds of people. lol

For dinner we had fish, couscous, and roasted veggies, but I only ate about 4 ounces of the fish and all of the roasted veggies.  They were delicious!!  I put some zucchini, onion, asparagus, artichoke hearts, and red bell pepper in a baggie and added a little olive oil, a lot of garlic, and some sea salt and shook up the bag so they would all get coated and then I poured it on a cookie sheet and roasted it for about 20 minutes at 450.  They were really yummy too.  So very healthy dinner last night for me, and no snack for later. 

For today I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to work this out; Sean Michael has tkd at 7 and I'm the one who has to take him because Hector doesn't get off work until 6:15.  Fortunately though we are having just leftovers from Sunday's dinner, so I'm thinking if I get home by 5, I can heat up the chicken and pilaf in the microwave and I can have the chicken and a salad and steam some asparagus I left out from yesterday and be done eating by 5:30.  Sean Michael can clean up the kitchen while I go workout downstairs for 45 minutes, and when I'm done I have 15 minutes to clean up and then leave the house to take him.  Or I could workout first and then eat dinner.  I kind of like working out after dinner to burn those calories,  but then again sometimes after eating it's like oh man just let me sit down and watch tv.  I guess I'll have to just see when I get home how I feel to do what first.

Tomorrow I am off all day and while I have a lot to do, I'm going to try and get two workouts in, as I know Friday I probably won't get to at all.   So ambitious, right? lol  But we'll see if I do get the time tomorrow.

Nothing going on at work right now, boy do I wish I had a treadmill in here!!!

Exercise Sucks. No Really, It Does

Here we are, two weeks since I have started working out. And I don't like it any better now than I did two weeks ago.  I do like how I feel afterwards, but during, no way Jose.  And yes, I am keeping with the program, though I do admit I didn't exercise yesterday. Though I have an excuse....sort of.....I didn't get home till 5:30 and then had to start dinner (which was homemade tomato basil bisque) and didn't eat until around 6:15.  By the time I was done with it and cleaning up the kitchen (though, I'm wondering why I had to do that since both Hector and Sean Michael were home all day and doing nothing) it was 7.  So then I really didn't feel much like doing anything except sitting down and stare at the tv.  Except that I had to fold a load of laundry while doing that because apparently I am the only one in my house who seems to know how to fold.  I think folding lessons are in order, don't you?

Anyway, because I actually felt guilty for not exercising (how can one feel guilty about not doing something they don't like to do in the first place???) I decided I would get up early this morning and do it.  I even wore clean exercise clothes to bed, like I read somewhere to make it easier to just hop up and do it. Let me be the first to tell you it doesn't work.  I woke up a couple of minutes before the alarm even went off and I changed it back to my original get up time and rolled over and went back to sleep.  So much for guilt, huh?  Of course that does mean I am going to have to work my butt off tonight when I get home and no excuses as the boys will be at TKD and won't be home till 7, which gives me a lot of time.  And I'm making fish for dinner which only takes a couple of minutes, so treadmill here I come. (yuck)

Other than that though, I did take off from exercising on Friday, because of having to take Sean Michael to a party and then dinner with Hector (we went to Salad Creations and had a salad and a red pepper bisque, both of which were really good) and then Hector went on to a concert and I went to Kohls.  So I decided that Friday would be my free day instead of Sunday for exercising,  not counting on today. Ah well.

Saturday I did cheat food wise, but I knew I would so I did exercise pretty hard that morning to make up for it.  We went to a Peruvian restaurant and I had the Jumpy Steak and this appetizer that had an avocado with crabmeat in the middle and boy was that yummy!!  Unfortunately they had creme brulee, naturally I HAD to have that because creme brulee is a weakness for me.  If they hadn't had that on the menu I could have gone without dessert because nothing else looked good.  On the bright side of my brulee, it had quinoa in it, which is a really healthy grain to eat.  So all was not lost.  :>)

Sunday was barbequed chicken for Fathers Day, and I made pilaf and had a big salad with it, so that wasn't too bad.  Not to mention I did exercise pretty hard that morning too, to work off that brulee.  In the back of my mind I think I should work out twice a day on weekends sometimes, but then the front of my mind is like, naw......so I listen to the front of my mind.

And there you have it. I am still exercising and eating pretty okay.   I know I could do better but at least this is a start.  I'm really hoping going to California isn't my downfall;  I need to stay strong and walk every day and I was thinking I might go buy some weights at Walmart or something because I don't want to stop that either.  A good thing is I don't usually feel too  hungry when I'm there, but I do need to eat breakfast in the morning. That's still a downfall fo rme, not to do that, but I'm not giving up. Though after all, my motto is:

I'd give up chocolate but I'm not quitter.  :>)

Nope I Haven't Given Up

I know its been a couple of weeks since I last posted, however, I am happy to report that I HAVE BEEN EXERCISING every day since last Tuesday, and watching what I eat. Surprising, huh? I will say it isn't easy, and when I get on the treadmill I am always thinking I can't wait to get off this thing.

I started out doing only 30 minutes on the treadmill, which really doesn't sound like a long time, except that when you're out of shape and too heavy and been at work all day and really want to just come home and veg out in front of the tv, that half hour seems like 2 or 3 hours. lol  As soon as I get home though I get on it and  I have finished the half hour and amazingly I do feel a lot better afterwards.

We also have workout equipment, I can't even think of what its called but one of those big things with weights and you can do different exercises on it, and I have been doing that too, using only the 5 lb. weight. I usually do a set before I get on the treadmill and then a set after I'm done. I know that technically you shouldn't do those every day because from what I read you should do it every other day and let your muscles rest, plus you are still burning calories that way. Still, I have been doing them every day, though today I am going to try not to and just do other exercises and then jump on the treadmill.  Also this week I am using the 10 lbs. weight, which I have Hector to thank for that. One of the pins that holds the weights came out and he saw and stuck it back in there, but at the 10 lbs. At first I thought about moving it back to the 5 (especially after I tried doing a set and was like yikes! This is heavy! And yes you would be surprised how heavy just 10 lbs feels!) but then I decided to just go ahead and keep it. But I don't think I will be moving to 15 any time soon.

I have upped my time this week on the treadmill too, to 40 minutes. Last week I averaged about 1 1/4 miles, 205 calories, and this week it is about 1 2/3 miles and around 250 calories.  I keep telling myself to take it easy and slowly build up on the exercise because after all,  I am out of shape and I can't expect to just get in shape over night, but once I start then I feel guilty if I don't finish by the expectations I have in my mind. And like I said, once I'm done I do feel pretty good, so thats a plus.

As for food, I kind of round about count calories, but haven't been writing them down or anything. But I have been eating less and I haven't been going crazy with them either. This past weekend I did have Cheesecake Factory with Vickie, but I had a pretty healthy salad to offset the piece of cheesecake I had (which I didn't even finish.....I only ate maybe a little over half of it.) When I do want something sweet, I bought grape and strawberry popsicles and they only have 80 calories and they satisfy the sweet tooth I have.

All in all, so far, I'm pretty optimistc and plan on sticking with it. I think it might be a little more difficult while I am in California, because I won't have weights to lift, but I'm going to try and get a walk in every morning and in the evening, and of course I'll be swimming and that's great exercise too.  So we'll see.

So far so good, even if it is a later start than I planned. :>)

Day Whatever

So I figure you guys thought I had forgotten all about this blog and exercising and dieting, but no, I haven't, even if obviously I haven't kept up any of it. Though I will say I haven't really been eating crazy or anything, and somehow I have managed to lose 6 lbs. Go figure. At any rate, that is encouraging and enough to get me to keep trying.

What is weird is that the worst part is for me being here at work.....that's when I feel the most hungry. I can be home all day and eat absolutely nothing until dinner because I haven't felt hungry, but put me at work and I feel hungry. I don't know if it's because I'm so bored or what, which probably is the case. And there isn't anything I can do to change that because there is nothing much for me to do here. (I wonder why this "job" even exists.)  I swear if I could put my treadmill in here I would, at least I have the time to exercise and it would give me something to do instead of think about food. Unfortunately I do not like the snack foods you are supposed to eat, like carrots and celery. Yuck. I could eat celery if I put lots of peanut butter in the groove, but I think that might just defeat the purpose of the whole celery thing.

I also wish I was a breakfast eater, but I really never have been pretty much my whole life (unless it's around 10 or 11am). I keep reading you should have protein in the morning, like eggs, and while I like eggs, I don't like them at 6:00am. And again I have to take my meds on an empty stomach first thing in the morning anyway, so I really can't eat till around 7.  I've played with the thought of making an egg sandwich using that thin 100 calorie bread, and bringing it with me to work, but I'm not sure how that would be after an hour. I don't know.....I need to figure out something because everything I read says people do tend to lose weight faster and healthier if they eat breakfast. Then again, I know when I have eaten breakfast first thing in the morning, I find myself STARVING the rest of the day for some strange reason. Weird I know.

At any rate, if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

And today I am going home and getting on threadmill right away (stop shaking your heads...I can see you!) and then I think something light for dinner. I bought stuff for salads and maybe a little chicken on top.

 I'm not giving up.

Days....Oh Who Knows.....

Ok, let's start with the weekend. Or not. Yeah, let's not. I don't remember much anyway except Sean Michael got his black belt in TKD. And that I never made it to the treadmill.

But on the bright side, yesterday I weighed myself and I did lose 2 lbs. I'm not sure how I did that, but somehow I did, and that was rather motivating. Still, I do hear my treadmill calling my name from the basement, and today is the day that it's call won't go unanswered. (I see all of you shaking your head...just wait.) (But just in case, don't hold your breaths.)

So yesterday I did start the actual calorie count.  I had my usual macchiato, which clocks in at 330 calories. (yep, 330 empty caffeinated calories....but I'm not ready to give it up yet.) That was really it until dinner because I really wasn't hungry throughout the day. Dinner was tilapia with a lemon sauce, which I figured out to be around 200 calories, and then fried couscous with roasted veggies, which worked out to about 200 calories also. I'm not exact on these kind of things but I do round up to the highest calorie. And ooops. I forgot I had milk with dinner and so that would be about 162 calories, because I think I probably had a cup and a half. Crud. I better watch that I suppose and only have a cup. I would love to say I didn't have a snack, but......well......the guys (yeah, I'm gonna blame it on them) wanted homemade chocolate chip cookies) so being the obliging person that I am, I made them. And I always have to test my own food so I had three (and they were very very good.) I don't even know the calorie count on those so I'm leaving it out. There is only enough cookie dough for tonight and once it's gone, its gone. 

Even though I didn't make it to the treadmill, I did do housework which counts somewhat, right? I vacumumed and picked up things, etc. and after dinner I went outside and did a little planting. So at least it was some activity and not just spending the day watching tv.

Today I added a calorie counter to my favorites on my computer here at work to make things easier. I probably should put an app on my phone for the same, though I don't think I would really use it that much. I did write down on  the calendar I made last week everything I ate, but now that I have, I'm thinking I made it too small or I need to write smaller, but I don't want to re-do and re-print a whole new one, so I'll just make do with what I have.

No TKD tonight and no hurry to get dinner right on the table when I get home, so I will straight away change clothes and get my butt to the basement as soon as I get home.

And as an oxymoron, I'll watch cooking shows (probably The Barefoot Contessa) while I'm on it. Nice. lol

Days Three and Four

Okay, so maybe Days Three and Four didn't go so well. Not that I really ate crazy or anything, but not what I had in mind either.

Wednesday I had my coffee, another coffee (which Hector brought to me at lunch, and no I didn't ask him to. lol) and then I went grocery shopping after work. I didn't buy any snack things that I like, only the ones for Sean Michael and he likes Little Debbie things which I do not, and thats good because they don't tempt me at all, even when I'm at my worst for craving something sweet. I picked up Papa Johns pizza on the way home, (I know....since when is pizza diet food?) and I had two slices of pepperoni pizza and a salad. I will say though that I always get light cheese and light sauce on my pizza if that helps. But....I made sugar cookies later for a snack and I ate two and a half cookies (the other half  went to Casanova).  All in all not a really good diet day, and again no exercising. Yikes!

Yesterday, Day Four, had my coffee, came home at noon and had a bowl of Cheerios before I took Sean Michael to the Orthodontist. Almost lost my appetite completely while there because 1) I HATE dentist offices and he kept trying to get me to look at Sean Michael's teeth and I'm thinking "Ummm....no....." and also because I could hear the sound of a drill and that just sent shivers up my spine. 2) The cost of Sean Michael's braces are going to be $5200. On the other hand, maybe we won't be able to afford to eat after paying all that! lol

Once we left the ortho office, we went to Starbucks and I got a caramel macchiato,  (hey, I needed something to soothe me after being at the ortho!) but just a grande one. Then we went to Kohls to get Sean Michael shoes (and a couple of necklaces and shirts for me), then on to TKD. Hector met us there and when Sean Michael was done, we went to Bob Evans for dinner, where I had bacon and eggs and hash browns and a strawberry/banana crepe. Not so good, huh? And later on, a Skinny Cow Truffle Bar.  :>0   I suppose I don't even need to tell you no exercising got done either.

I am hoping though that next week will be better. Sean Michael will have a different TKD schedule and it is a lot better than the one he has now and will allow me time to exercise as soon as I get home from work which is good.  I will be starting my calorie and exercise and weight loss calendars on Sunday to keep track of my progress.

Even though this week hasn't exactly gone according to plan, I'm not giving up. No sirreebob I'm not. :>)

Day Two

You know, trying to get in exercise is gonna be rough. (Or maybe I'm just making it rough? Who, me? lol) Seriously though, yesterday (which was Day 2, by the way) I had to stop at the PX on my way home to pick up Mothers Day cards (which I have been procrastinating doing) and then at Starbucks (which is in the PX) to pick up....are you ready....ICED TEA! (I know, right? Not my macchiato. Except the tea wasn't that great, so I think I'll stick with their black iced tea.) So I didn't get home until 5:20, and then had to prepare dinner right away so we could eat and the guys could get to tkd.

We had jumpy steak, which is Peruvian, but it's more like Pepper Steak, except I didn't have any red bell peppers so I just used onions and tomatoes (they go in it anyway). But then you throw french fries on top of it all, which while it sounds kind of weird, it does taste good. I also was very good and baked them instead of fried them, so we didn't have the calories of that. Its served with rice, but I always think that the french fries is enough starch for me, so I only make rice for Hector and Sean Michael.

By the time dinner was over and table cleared, it was 6:30, and the dog wanted out so I took him out and while he was doing his deed, I started messing with the plants I bought, and didn't go back in till around 8ish. So really too late to exercise, because I didn't want to be all adrenilined-up (lol) and be awake till who knows when. (I'm not sure that would really be possible because I was sleepy around 9 but did manage to stay up till the guys got home at 9:15, and then stayed up till 9:45. I slept pretty good though and that doesn't happen often.)

Food wise yesterday, besides my dinner, I had my usual coffee in the morning, and then at lunch I went home to check on Casanova (he hurt his foot and I wanted to make sure he wasn't messing with it) and while there I decided to make a smoothie. I used a banana, pineapple juice, Carnation Instant Breakfast, greek yogurt, and a bit of milk. It filled up my venti Starbucks cup and it took a while to drink but it was really really good. And it made me feel full and good to go for the rest of the afternoon. Around 9 I had a Skinny Cow  Fudge Truffle Bar and let me just say those things are YUMMY!! They are so chocolatey and creamy without a lot of calories but they make you feel like you're cheating.

So technically I ate pretty okay calorie wise, but somehow I have to sit down and figure out this exercise thing. I wish I were more of a morning person, and could just jump up at 5am and hop on the treadmill, but I know me and that just isn't gonna happen. lol  So I'll have to find a Plan B, and C, and D........  (Actually, its too bad I can't have a treadmill here in my office, I don't do much anyway so I'd have plenty of time to exercise during the day. lol)

Today (the real today, or Day Three) I found blank weekly calendars online that you can customize and I printed one off for every week till the end of December and put Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks on it, with Total Calories after each one, and then a Final Calories at the end. This will make it easier to keep track of all my calories. I should probably do one as well for exercising, come to think of it.

 I still wish I had someone here to do it with just so its not so boring by myself and for the motivation, but I suppose thats the way it goes.

At any rate, at least this is a start in the right direction.

Day One.....

Technically Day One was yesterday, but it didn't work out so well. So I think I should probably make Day One today. Hopefully anyway.

Yesterday I had my iced quad venti caramel macchiato which I realize isn't exactly diet food, but hey, I gotta have my caffeine. And the calories don't really count because I'm drinking it on my way to work. What? Ok fine. They count. Sheesh you guys are relentless.

For lunch I had oatmeal. Yes people, for lunch.  I am not a big breakfast person to begin with, and actually can't eat for an hour or so anyway after I get up because I have to take my thyroid meds and they need to be on an empty stomach. And once I have my coffee I'm pretty full and can last till lunch, though I will be changing that after I go grocery shopping. But more on that later. Back to lunch, so I ate the oatmeal because I figured it would keep me full till dinner, which it did.

But this is where it gets a little hay wired, because I had planned on getting on the treadmill when I got home, but instead I had to stop at the commissary and pick up a few things (because my house is pretty empty but I didn't have time today to do shopping shopping and won't till Wednesday), then as soon as I got home I had to start dinner, so that me and Sean Michael could eat and then go to Michaels and pick up stuff for a class project he is doing and then take him to tae kwon doh. Usually Hector takes him but Casanova had a 6:00 appointment at the vet because he hurt his foot somehow and was limping all weekend, so it was up to me to take Sean Michael. And we finally made it home by 9. Phew!

Anyway, dinner was chicken salad sandwiches (yes, hardly diet food I know) and then because I had to do all that running around, I had a tall caramel macchiato for energy. ***hangs head***   I also had a snack later, which was plain greek yogurt with almonds mixed in.

I am in the process though of making a menu for me to follow and shop for for the week, and so I can keep track of calories much easier.  And hopefully jump on the treadmill as soon as I get home from work. Thats my plan for today anyway.

So.....Day One again.  :>)

And Here We Go With This One......

Well, besides wanting to be 17 again, I would also like to be thin again. Of course I realize I won't ever weigh in at 120 lbs like I did when I was 17, but I would like to weigh substantially less than I do now, for health reasons as well as I just want to look good again.  So here I am, starting a blog about weight and losing it and the challenges and I'm sure the defeats that will come along with it, especially since my will power sucks. lol 

I am planning (though you know what they say about the best laid plans) on trying to update this particular blog everyday, keeping track of what I eat and what exercise I do, and what weight I do lose. So wish me luck and keep the chocolate away from me. :>)