Seeing Results

Well, I've been exercising mostly regularly since before the holidays.

In January I began my diet overhaul...and this blog (Thanks Danielle for doing it with me).

And I'm starting to see some results. Today a friend at work informed me that she was confused. She feels that I look VERY skinny, and yet I tell her I have lost 5 lbs (god's honest truth!).

She is, of course, in sales. :-) But it is nice to hear. Everything feels better, I do feel lighter, clothes are looser and I am (mostly) making good food choices with the occasional indulgence. And rarely do I feel like a bloated whale. All of these were my immediate goals (i.e. feel better!!)

So I'm making some progress, which is good.

Now for that SMART goal. I decided to be blatantly vain about 1 goal...I'm going for the 2-piece swimming suit by August. (that gives me some time to work up the abs!).

M&Ms

I don't have anything inspirational right at the moment...just a funny story.

Ryleigh and I were hanging out inside her castle tonight and she had a little plate of magnetic letters. She told me they were not crackers...they were seeds. She carefully sat the letters down on the carpet going "seed, seed, seed." I asked, "are you planting broccoli?"

Ryleigh's answer: "No. I'm planting M&Ms."

The latest babysitter's assistant told me my tonight that my child is bossy and stubborn (no, she didn't use those words but it is a lecture I've heard more than once). She asked me if my husband liked to get his own way and said exactly what he was thinking. He's a man...so yes. But I'm pretty sure she gets that whole bossy thing from me. The assistant remarked, "Oh, well you and your daughter are meant to be leaders." Well, hell yeah! Who wouldn't want a smart leader who plants M&Ms instead of broccoli. Seriously!!!

Something to believe in...

So, I've been kind of winging this whole effort to see how well it goes. Now I need a longer-term plan.

I haven't had a good goal to work toward in a while. The thing about goals in this arena is that they're VERY tricky. A good goal has to be rewarding enough to get you through days where you want to just chuck it all and dive into the couch and a pizza.
It also has to measure just how far you have come and be attainable....Dear god, I hate to say this...but it has to be a SMART goal "Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely".

So i'm thinking hard on this today and tomorrow. I can't run a 5K or do a triathlon (sorry, Becca), here are some of the ideas floatin' around my head....

• Fitting into a size 12 comfortably for the first time in 12 years?
• Wearing a 2-piece to the family float trip?
• Walking 3 miles without hip pain?
• hiking the katy trail?
• Eating 2 slices of pizza and stopping...happy and full? (is that POSSIBLE?)
• Weighing less @ my 16 year high school class reunion than i did @ graduation?
• Ideas??

hmmm these are all good goals.. and a couple of them are possible sooner rather than later... i'm thinking....
What do you all think? I know Becca has ideas...

Team Kristy

I've had some issues with my health over the years...I've assembled what I like to believe is a crack team of health advisors.
Since it's very good to be on top of your own issues...it's good to have people that can help you through your issues...

Yoga Teachers
These lovely ladies and gents fall under my yoga and meditation help. They also help me to learn how to treat myself nicely and to develop my own instincts. Especially when I'm berating myself or treating myself terribly.

Doctor Heather
This is my general practitioner. I go see her for bad cases of the sniffles and such.

My Endocrinologist
I have a special place in my heart for my Endo. When I was in college, we learned that I had a pituitary tumor that was wreaking havoc with my metabolism...no matter how much I worked out, I gained weight. As soon as I started on medication, the extra weight came off, and my moods improved GREATLY. :-)

Dr. George
Currently several of my friends are using the services of a sports-medicine style of chirorpractor. He's fantastic. right now he's my #1 asset in my fitness world. He loosens up my injured areas, then gives me exercises that help to heal them.

I suggest you employ a similar team!

Back at it

I'm detoxing again for 9 more days. A friend of mine expressed interest in the Fat Smash and I obliged by telling her that detoxing is something that wouldn't hurt me in the least...especially since I've managed to consume a 10" pizza, a large bar cheeseburger, a quesadilla (love the chef @ work), and numerous other fatty things in the last week.

Another detox might be good for me...:-).

Mom

I'm sure not everyone is the same, but my mom can be my biggest supporter and also my worst enemy. She knows exactly what buttons to push and when.

Nothing in particular triggered this thought pattern. I was stuck in traffic for two hours tonight (about an hour and a half longer than usual), and I got to thinking back over some funny/frustrating times over the years.

Mom Story #1
When I had lost all my weight last time around (about 60 lbs), my mom called up one day and told me she found a great shirt for me at Sears. She just didn't know what size to buy. I promised to go try on clothes and report back. And I did.

Me: "Mom, I tried on a bunch of clothes. I wear a size 10."
Mom: "Ok, great, I'll buy you a size 12."

Mom Story #2
Same time period as Story #1...Mom and I are conversing after I went shopping at Old Navy.

Me: "I tried on a pair of 12 jeans, but they were too big. I'm definitely a size 10."
Mom: "Those jeans always run big."

Mom Story #3
Flash ahead to December 2008...those darn 60ish pounds are back on. Mom and I are chatting on my way home from work.

Me: "Did you make the appointment with the surgeon to have your hip replaced AND be checked for cancer?"
Mom: "Yes, I finally did it [after weeks of ignoring you]. Now that I did you a favor, how about you do me a favor?"
Me: "I know where you are going with this. Please don't. If I need help, I'll ask. Besides, calling the doctor isn't a favor for me. And you aren't comparing apples to apples."
Mom: "Yes, I am. Cancer and being fat..."

I stopped paying attention about then. She got mad. I got mad. And she hung up when I didn't have anything else to say.

This post went to the dark side all of a sudden. Stuck in traffic, I was thinking about these stories as humorous. However, I don't find as much humor to them as I reenact them. I just hope that I'm not as critical of my daughter when she's growing up and when she becomes an adult. I'm sure I'll struggle. But I hope my own life experiences have given me understanding.

And with that, I must go to bed. Work gets in the way of all the fun...and it arrives toooo early!

Live to Eat

I never really understood the phrase "eat to live." I heard someone in line behind me somewhere years ago say that she only ate to live. I thought that was stupid because I figured we all eat to live...we kinda have to. But after all these years, I understand it. I don't practice it, but I understand the meaning.

Tomorrow through this next weekend, I thought I would try out this philosophy -- especially when eating out. I love food when it is yummy. I'm pretty good at not eating something that doesn't taste good regardless of the cost or amount of chocolate. However, if the food tastes good, I would like to eat it. I like Kristy's idea of moderation. I'm just not big on practicing the concept. I thought of all this when my omelet was very fat and tasty at IHOP this afternoon. I wasn't stuffed when I was done, but I started thinking about how it would be good for the waste and good for the wallet to get "just enough."

Another factor in my decision to think eating to live is my girls-only scrapbook weekend away. I only work a half day on Friday, leave to go scrapping, and will come home Sunday evening. While I will only be an hour away, I always get the vacation mentality. These women know how to cook some pretty darn good food!

I'm trying now to prepare myself to eat meals and snacks in moderation. I should really stop thinking that every meal could be my last meal. I will be 34 two weeks from today...I've been preparing for this supposed last meal for a LONG time. And if it is, who cares?!?! I'm pretty sure it won't matter where I'm going.

Kristy -- I said hi to pizza for you yesterday. We went to a cheap, yet tasty, pizza buffet ~ great for our wallets...very bad for the waste. And I thought of you the whole entire time I ate my loaded baked potato pizza slices. Not so much when I ate the small salad.

Have a great week!