Ku-Ku-Kachoo

I don't do well when I'm sick. I am a big baby, and generally complain and complain to anyone who will listen. And it was no different last week.

On Tuesday I sneezed 4 times in a row as I hopped into a friend's car to run some errands. And that was that. Full on head cold, complete with a horrible taste in my mouth. I got the chills, I was congested, I got a headache- it was terrible. I spent the whole day Thursday in bed!

On Friday I forced myself to get up and get moving. Got in a light skate in the morning. Just 20 minutes, but it felt good. Then I had some wonderful women come to visit me for the weekend. One of them had me try a "neti pot." Yes, a neti pot. An extraordinary experience, let me tell you! It's like a teapot. You fill it with warm salt water, and while tipping your head sideways over a sink, you hold the pot to your nostril and pour the water in. It fills up your nose, chokes through the back of your sinuses and comes out the other side of your nose.

Needless to say, I wasn't sure this was going to be terribly effective. In fact, it took some doing initially because my nose was THAT plugged. I sort of gurgled and choked it through. I couldn't breathe and was blowing bubbles with my nose back in to the pot. And then something crazy happened. It worked! It actually worked! Shocker! It drained immediately. I am seriously bowled over by this. And you should all try it. Not kidding! As much as I hate this word, the phrase "booger buster" keeps coming to my mind. lol.

In spite of the killer cold, I managed to make it through the week without doing any damage to my calorie schedule. AND I got through a weekend of good company and good food (and lots of it) without put on any weight. 199 this morning. Actually, I was 198.6 over the weekend, and I was really pumped. But that was apparently a major, major fluke. But that's okay. It's coming and I know it. I worked super hard today with my trainer, then skated for 35 minutes. I am on the tail end of this wicked cold and I'm exhausted, but I know the good numbers are coming.

So hurray for me!!!! Right? Right! I'll keep at it all week. I would like to be at 196 next Monday, but realize I should focus on one pound at a time. One pound at a time. Just the one. I just get anxious. You know me.

So, I am going to relax and hang out tonight. I think I need to work hard at staying healthy, or I will lose track of what I am trying to do. So I will keep you tabbed. Have a spectacular week. It's finally spring! :)

Queen of Mean?

I learned something important this week. I had a horrible weekend of binge eating. I ate anything and everything unhealthy. And as the weekend wore on, my spirits plummeted. By Monday, I was sooooo crabby I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. I was ticked off at every thought that sprang into my head, and couldn't pinpoint a bloody concrete reason. And alas! I had an appointment with my trainer. This wouldn't be good.

So I got there at 1:00. By 1:15 I was running on the treadmill at a 3 incline and a speed of 4.2, crying my eyes out and spewing out the venomous feelings that had built up. My trainer and my friend D were very, very supportive, but I chuckled later at the look of dismay that registered on their faces as I raged on and on. Hah! Good sports! And all the while my trainer is saying "Get it out! This is where you get it out. Work it off and work it out."

25 minutes later we moved on resistance training. By that time I felt both faint and sick. Workin' the thighs, core and arms at the same time. Light headed. Oh. My. Goodness. I didn't get in every exercise she put out there. I had to sit down to keep from passing out. No orange bucket that you could throw up into. But I kept at it, finishing strong with the oblique work. Good for me.

And then she told me something really interesting. She said that there are a LOT of people out there who have a physically emotional reaction to the wrong kind of carbs. Lots of bad carbs (chips, potatoes, bread etc..) can create an emotional firestorm in some people. It causes yo-yo emotions and depression. VERY interesting to say the least. I am going to really, really work at avoiding bad carbs, but I am also going to keep track of what happens when I do consume them. This is a pretty novel idea for me. It's like having an allergy to certain kinds of food. And if that is one of the things that causes me to experience melancholy and/or unreasonable anger, then I can live with avoiding it. BIG REVELATION!

So I will leave you with that bit of information, and then simply postulate this: do you suppose my trainer had too many carbs this weekend? Can you say "dominatrix"? Ouch.

Crazy

Sometimes I wonder if I am out of my ever-lovin' mind. Seriously. I mean, here I am, 199 pounds, planning to run/walk/run a marathon in October. My bro is training by running. I am working with my trainer, walking, skating & swimming. But I decided to test the competitive waters and really push myself out of the comfort zone in which I live. How? I have signed up to participate in a triathlon.
Did you faint? Don't feel bad if you did. lol. The look that comes across the faces of people I tell this too is either one of genuine concern for my MENTAL health, or pure, unadulterated incredulity. Err . . . . you whaaaattttt???

It's okay folks. I am not as ambitious as that. But I want to participate. So I enlisted the help of 2 teenagers -- a swimmer and a cycler -- to do this as a relay. So my swimmer will have to finish 24 laps in an olympic sized pool (yuk!). My cycler will have to pedal 13 miles of pavement (yuk!). And me, I have the easy part. I have to run 3 miles. I can handle running 3 miles. They think my part is the hardest. I don't agree. But that's why it will work.

Unfortunately, since our ages are 16, 16, and late 40ish, we cannot compete in a specific age group. But I'm not competing to win. I just want the t-shirt. And they seem to be okay with just getting in there and doing it for fun, so we're good.

Okay. So I'm needing to make sure I'm getting in a run every day. And you know me. I am a bit of a procrastinator. So pray for me. I don't have a lot of time! May 1st is only 6 weeks away and I'm pretty much still a big blob. Blob, blob, blob. But not for much longer. I've gotta move it!

With that said, I am going to go take a little snooze (did you think I was going to say take a walk? Hahaha). I will later. At the moment I've got a bit of a migraine. Going on two days and BOY does that get old! So I'll go for a little shut eye before I walk or run. Besides, I skated for an hour this morning. Skating helped take the edge off of my headache but didn't get rid of it. All that blood circulating and my heart pumping - I could only hope it would disappear. And tylenol, ibuprofen, and aleve have not produced relief either. Oh well. It could be a lot worse.

So I'm off. Have a wonderful day friends. Life is good.

Too Busy To Breathe

eSometimes I find myself with absolutely nothing to do. Bliss. It's bliss, really. Being able to go about your day as you choose, doing either nothing or going like gangbusters.

Well, I have been going like gangbusters for a week straight. So busy. And of course that translates into an excuse to eat poorly.

I was on retreat last week with all of the women in my family. Fabulously uplifting. Too bad it also means 12 women who like their food & wine. Add to that a full schedule, which means no exercise, and you end up with a ZERO weight loss week. Yep.

My weekend wasn't a whole lot better in terms of staying on track. Went to a work training all day yesterday. Didn't have lunch so I was starving by the end of the day. I managed to order a cobb salad at the restaurant for dinner (yum!), but couldn't resist a little taste of the onion rings that someone ordered as an appetizer. Boooo!

Today was off the to races again, and I didn't fit any exercise in again. I didn't get on the scale this morning, and I don't plan to tomorrow. I am afraid I'll be too depressed at the numbers. I work, work, work and seem to sabotage my efforts at the first sign of temptation.

On the other hand, I have put in a pretty sold few weeks of training and change of dietary habits. And again, the pants are baggy. So I feel like I just have to get back on the horse tomorrow morning and keep on going with what I've been doing.

Our trainer can't meet with us tomorrow, so we're going to start out with a nice hour-long walk at 8:30. Then I can maybe get in a little something at the gym too. We'll see. I'd prefer to skate, but the ice came out last week and I'm not sure there IS any. I plan to check after my walk. It's such a great workout, keeps my heart rate at a fat-burning level for a good 1/2 to an hour. I love it. And they'll take out the ice for a month or longer starting in mid-April, so I have to get it while I can.

Well I wanted to check in. I know it's been a while and I wanted you to know that I'm still here and still working at this. I AM going to win this battle. I refuse to let it beat me. I refuse to be a chubba chubba for the rest of my life. No way.

And with that little self-motivating spiel, I am off to bed. Sleep well and peacefully my friends. And I'll be back a little later in the week to give you my weight numbers . . . . (sigh). :)

Plateau-Plateau-Plateau-Plateau-Plateau-Plateau

Yes my friends, I have hit it. The brick wall. The dreaded "plateau" that everyone who has ever dieted inevitably runs into. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, its a sad little joke your body plays on you . . . er . . . aside from the one about getting fat to begin with . . . and it refuses to shed a single ounce regardless of how strictly you adhere to your diet and exercise regimen.

Today, once again, I am 199 pounds. I have been the same weight for over a week. Almost 2 actually. And for those of you who think I must be "cheating" or slacking off, let me assure you I haven't. My highest caloric intake over the past week was last Saturday night, and it was right at about 1800. The other days have been 1300 or less. And my exercise has been off the charts!!! Not kidding. I get in strength training and aerobic activity almost every day. Usually between 1 and 2 hours worth. This is in spite of the fact that my training partner is off in Mexico somewhere drinking pina coladas and enjoying long siestas. Happy for her, sad for me.

The sad story of the plateau is all over the internet if you run a search. And searching comes with the added plus of a bazillion suggestions on how to break the plateau. Change what you're eating, change your exercise routine, yadda yadda yadda.

I'm not trying to make excuses here but my exercise routine is already insanely diverse. I train with the resistance bands, I walk and/or run, I use the elliptical, I ice-skate and I swim. I simply cannot imagine anything MORE diverse. So it's got to be the diet.

I came across what I know many, many people do to avoid a plateau. It's called calorie cycling. The idea is to load your calories higher one day, then lower them the next. It's like tricking your body into believing you are getting plenty so that it doesn't go into overdrive and hang on to everything. Interesting concept. Too bad I'm now petrified to try it. I gain a pound or two with a simple glass of wine. How the expletive am I suppose to do this every other day, as they recommend??? I just can't see that it would work for me. I understand the idea is to keep your calories to a certain WEEKLY number. I just don't know if my body will cooperate. Ugh!!!! What to do, what to do???

Well, I haven't fully decided what I will do. My only other option is to try and cut out more carbs, but I don't love that idea because of my work outs. I think I need the protein/carb balance I have.

So. That's whatsahappenin' in my life today. Can't believe a week has gone by. I really want to be better about getting on more frequently. In the meantime, I could really, really use your prayers. I'm a little exasperated and while I'm not on the brink of giving up, I AM on the brink of eating a big fat donut. Lol. I am sick of 199. Sick of it.

Have a great day! God bless you real good.