Each Journey Begins with a Single Step

First 5K

2008-12-07T21:43:00.004-10:00

Okay...First race report ever. First off, I did it and beat my goal by almost 4 minutes! I was so excited to be there, even tho I couldn't sleep well last night, mainly because I couldn't find a pair of shorts that fit. But, sometime around 3 a.m. my drawer coughed up a pair that wouldn't fall down, and wasn't too small. Anywayssss....Sarah picked me up on time, we drank a smoothie on the way, and both felt pretty similar....this was about having fun and doing the best we could. Never mind that this was the World Championship for the Xterra Off Road 21 K. We had our race to run.

We saw the Real Racers off, then the 10K'ers. Next was our turn. Everything started out great – I was right in the middle of the pack, running along. Right around the first bend appeared a killer hill...I didn't know

at the time that it went up for about the first mile, but I did know that I couldn't run up it. What I also didn't know was that I could walk up it at a fairly good pace without stopping, even when taking pictures. So, at the first aid station (1.7 mile), I was way behind the pack, but had quite a few people behind me. That was quite a relief. After that it was a piece of cake. I watched myself on the extreme downhills and over the cattle gates,but ran quite a bit, even passing a bunch of people. At times I actually felt like I was getting in the groove of running.

In the midst of it all, I took pics of the mountains and various movie settings. And, in the end, I came in 4th in my age division. My friend came in 2nd. And I wasn't even close to last over all. Yay! Now I'm thinking of doing a mini tri. Talked to an 80 year old who had good information about them. Why not?

What Was I Thinking???

2008-12-03T08:22:00.002-10:00

Four days until my first 5K...and I am scared. I don't think I'm ready. I'm sure I'm not ready to run the whole way. I'm pretty sure I can finish, I just don't want to be last. I was supposed to do a 28 minute run this weekend, but I didn't. I did, however go for a walk and two bike rides – one was for 3 ½ hours. Yay, flat Arizona topography!!!

So, yesterday after strengthtraining class I tried to do the 28 minutes on the tread. No good. I only made it 12 minutes before I had to slow it down. I tried to keep the pace up as high as I could, alternating fast walking and running/jogging, and eventually finished two miles in just under 30 minutes. SLOOOOOWWW. So, I guess I'm going to shoot for a time of under 50 minutes. And that might be pushing it. I'm trying to keep that ugly voice out of my head, so it doesn't keep telling me I'm going to make a fool of myself out there. Right, every time it tells me that I tell myself it's a good thing that I'm even attempting it, given the shape I was in six months ago. Still, I hate to embarrass myself.

Okay, enough of that kind of thinking. I'm going to do it, and I'm going to have fun doing it. Period. Here's the good news. I lost another pound this week. Even with turkey sandwiches and maybe the best lemon meringue pie I've ever had. What I've come to know is that, for me, the key to losing weight and feeling good is Keep it Moving. Speaking of which (sorry cold winter mainland people), I'm going to head to the beach for an hour of bodyboarding before work.

Something's Different

2008-11-25T14:43:00.002-10:00

Something clicked in me today. I realized that I've once again recreated my body. I'd done it once before in 2003-2004 without consciously trying. This time was different though. This time I've worked hard at it. I've altered my way of eating and my daily food choices. I've exercised like a mad woman, almost every single day for six months. This truly is a new way of life for me. I look forward to challenging myself physically, can't wait for Dallas' Happy Hour each week, love to find new hikes to explore, and while I can't say I exactly love running yet, I AM running – 25 minutes at a time so far, and have entered my first 5K. These are big changes.

So, as I thought about Thanksgiving, and Christmas, coming up, I thought about whether I would gain weight or not. And I suddenly realized: it didn't really matter if I gained a pound or two this weekend. What???? Is this the obsessive constantly on the scale, tracking every possible variable number girl? Yes it is. Since I hurt my leg at the end of September I haven't been tracking my food intake or exercise. Why?

On the Food: I KNOW how to eat now; choose low or no fat over regular fat, keep portions small (deck of cards, deck of cards runs through my head when I occasionally run across a barbequed steak on my counter), load up on veggies and salads (my dinner plate is ALWAYS at least half veggies and salad). I love my morning smoothies and even tho I got sidetracked by grilled cheese sandwiches this past month (made with PAM or I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray, and often with mushrooms and spinach), I have reverted back to the smoothies – by choice, not because I have to.

On the Activity Level: I LOVE being active again, feeling my body move and do things it couldn't do a month or a week ago, lifting heavier weights, actually running (okay, jogging, but in my mind it counts as running), being able to sprint up stairs, feeling light in my steps. That had changed for me at one point; I stopped doing anything active for I can't remember exactly how long, but I know it was a long time. I never ever want to revisit how I felt then. The best I could do was get up to work, the rest of the time I pretty much stayed in bed or sat at the computer. Mind you, I still spend probably too much time on the computer, but the point is I now balance it out with being active almost every single day.

So, as I head into Thanksgiving weekend, I'm not scared about eating too much. I'm sure I'll have some of all my favorites, and probably some mayo on that turkey sandwich, and even if I gain a pound or two, I know that it won't be permanent. It would take a whole lot of work and determination to put back all these pounds and inches I've lost, and I'm just not motivated in that direction, ya know?

Also as I head into this weekend, I feel profoundly grateful for all the blessings in my life; my three wonderful, independent, loving children, my friends, my work, my home, the ability to go to the beach, my health, and my online friends who have motivated, inspired and supported me in quitting smoking and getting healthy through eating right and exercising. I hope you all also appreciate what you have and enjoy the coming holidays in good health.
-aloha

I DID IT!!!!!! - Part II

2008-11-19T14:43:00.001-10:00

Well, I did it. No, not run 20 minutes again. That will be Friday or Saturday. Actually 25 minutes. I signed up for my first 5K. I'm happy, excited, and scared all at the same time. I'm reminding myself that I don't have to run the whole 5K (notice how I don't call it a race?), since I've yet to do that even in the gym. The point is to go out there and have fun, challenge myself to do something I've never done before, and complete it.

I've gotten back into the tread running on a regular basis, and ran 8/5/8 with 3 min walks in between on Monday, and two 10 minute runs with a 3 minute walk in between today. My shins get a little sore, and today my HR was almost up to max, so I slowed the pace down a bit for the last few minutes. Oh yeah, I also increased my pace today -2/10ths of a whatever it is on the tread. Maybe by the time of this 5K my pace will be up to where I can complete it in 45 minutes. I know that sounds really slow, but considering I couldn't even walk for 10 minutes at a 2.1 pace 6 months ago, I'm doing okay. I need to give myself a break, and realize I can't keep up with people 15-20 years younger than me – yet. Although I'm hoping that day will come.

Oh! The other good thing is that my 157 weight the other day was not some aberration. Today, on my official Wednesday weigh in, I was at 156.4. Only 12.4 pounds to go to my goal weight. I'm more than ¾ there! Yee hah!!!

One more good thing. Well, actually two. An old friend called last night and she said after seeing me about a month ago, that she is inspired to get healthy again. She's seeing a nutritionist and wants to join a gym. So, I'm going to show her around mine on Saturday, and encourage her to start where she's at and build from there. The other good thing is Sarah, who I met hiking a few weeks ago, is still interested in the Xterra 5K. I just sent her the link and hopefully she'll sign up too.

Okay, one last good thing. I'm going to AZ to see my boys, and hopefully daughter, too, next week for Thanksgiving. I have lots to be thankful for, including you, my inspiring blog peeps.

I DID IT!!!!!!

2008-11-15T09:10:00.003-10:00

I ran 20 minutes this morning!!!!! I tried on Tuesday, but had to slow it down after 12 minutes because my shins were hurting. I really didn't want to deal with another injury. But this morning I did it. I'm not saying it was easy, but it wasn't that hard either. And I'm pretty sure I can do it again. After that I went to a strengthtraining class. I noticed that I felt weaker than usual. Probably because of the run right before. So, I guess this means I'll sign up for that 5K. I hope they give us as much time as we need to complete it, because I am very slow. I mean super slow.

The other exciting that happened was I broke through that weight plateau I've been cruising on for over a month. This morning, despite the grilled cheese sandwich I had last night, I weighed 157!!! Yee hah! In the 150s. I'm proud of myself for keeping on when the weight wasn't coming off. It helped that the inches were and that more and more clothes are just too loose to wear. But in the 150s. That makes me do a happy dance.

I was planning on either a hike or some more bodyboarding today, but it is overcast and looks like it might rain hard Here's a pic from my balcony yesterday morning. Rain brings its own rewards. If it continues cloudy today I think I'll go in search of a new bathing suit top. I'm about ready to get back into two pieces – let my stomach get some sun. One of my mottos is “Fat looks better tan,” but some things shouldn't be seen. I'm feeling like its getting small enough to be allowed out in the light of day again. All kinds of progress. Yippee!!!

AWOL but Doing Stuff

2008-11-09T21:33:00.005-10:00

Since my computer crash I've been gone, but not because I wanted to be. I tried to post something last week, but I lost it when I hit Publish. This time I'll be smart and save it first. (just tried that and I can't do it)

Synopsis: I didn't lose any weight last week. I did lose 10 inches last month and am fitting into some of my old fave clothes, even tho I weigh 15 pounds more than I did then. Guess I'm doing something right. I haven't fit in the 20 minute run, but intend to this week - again. My leg is totally healed. Even though I haven't done the 20 minute run (actually I haven't seen that part of the gym for over a week), I've gone to strength training classes twice a week. I went on an awesome hike with my friends from Kauai, John and Sue. The Likeke Falls one, but this time we went all the way up to the Pali lookout. This pic is of where we started from (the building down below) Another one of those big elevation hikes. It was fun! I only had to stop once or twice, and covered that by taking pics of John and Sue. And, the other really cool thing is that I met a potential new hiking/training buddy who said she would love to do the Xterra Kualoa 5 K with me in December! Yeah! Really hope that works out. We really had fun this weekend. Don't John and Sue look happy? I don't have any pics of Kalama's, but trust me when I say the waves were great!!!!!

What a week

2008-11-02T00:28:00.002-10:00

This really has been the most stressful week since I was being stalked by my ex more than 15 years ago. I knew I was going to help my daughter with her final move to the mainland during the three days she was back in town and that it might impact my usual program. But, here's the Top Ten List of What I Didn't Know Beforehand;

1) my computer would totally crash the first day,
2) the cleaning I did at her apartment a few days before would just be the tip of the iceberg,
3) she would get really really sick the second day (thought it was a UTI, turned out to be e coli), 4) she was storing that much stuff at my house (she had asked, I just didn't get what I'd agreed to), and I'd have to find a place for it all,
5) when a computer guy takes your hard drive and puts it in an external hard drive enclosure it doesn't mean you can access and use what's there,
6) even if you call to check on when they're open and you rush to get there, it doesn't mean said computer guy will be there during open hours,
7) even though computer guy made the external hard drive for you, it doesn't mean he will help you figure out how to use it,
8) Windows Vista is nothing like Windows XP and doesn't like any of the apps and programs created on earlier versions,
9) even when you figure out how to re-create some of your most important stuff, it doesn't mean that it won't disappear and you have to start all over again, and
10) even when you're pretty good at backing stuff up, it really really really sucks when you have to get a new computer because of a crash.

So, that's where I've been - computer hell. Still trying to get things working, semi-successfully. Hopefully I'll be able to do my monthly billing tomorrow. Just glad I was able to find my way back here even though it was a twisty path getting here.

Another thing that's made this a stressful week is that my oldest son is dealing with the imminent passing of his dad. They're pulling his feeding tube, so he has less than a week to live most likely. I'm struggling with how to best support my son - Do I fly to where his dad is? Do I just be available on the phone? Is it okay to wait until Thanksgiving when I planned to go be with both my sons?

All of these things have made it hard for me to focus on my health. I've been eating okay mostly, but binging a little. I haven't been tracking either food or exercise. I've been to the gym a couple of times. Helping with the move was a workout, but I haven't fit in the 20 minute run that was next up. I just feel really overwhelmed. And I have a new appreciation for everyone who works full time, is a parent, and/or is dealing with their own or loved ones' challenges, and still finds time to make their health a priority by eating healthy and exercising.

I'm sure things will get back to normal soon and I'm really looking forward to having fun again. John and Sue are coming over from Kauai next weekend, so it will be fun showing Sue around Oahu. Depending on the weather, we'll either go snorkeling, hiking, and/or bodyboarding.

In the meantime I'm going to keep getting this new stupid a## computer working like I need it to do, and fit in some exercise when I can. Over and out -aloha

To Sign or Not to Sign

2008-10-23T22:26:00.004-10:00

How do I know if I'm ready to sign up for a 5K? Like, how far ahead should I do it? And how well should I be running? Like what percentage of the 5K should I be at? I've been incredibly inspired by all of my blogger running friends, but truthfully all of you are 15-20+ years younger than me, and that does make a difference. And it seems to me that it has taken me a whole lot longer for my heart rate, and body in general, to get up to speed, compared to all of you. Luckily Michelle gave me the example of doing each week for as long as I needed to, and I have.

Okay, so I'm sometime this weekend going to attempt, and hopefully succeed at, jogging 8 minutes/walking 5/jogging 8. Then, within a week, I'm going to try 20 minutes. I'm not at all confident that my heart will feel good about that, so I'm not going to kill myself doing it..literally, folks.

So, I guess what I'm wondering is, should I work myself up to closer to the 5K goal before committing myself to a 5K, or should I just sign up, and keep working towards it? I'm asking this because I saw one that I think would be fun. It's part of a larger series of races sponsored by xterra, and it's at a place I'm familiar with. Actually a place I love. So I thought that might be a good place to start. Opinions, please?

Update: This morning I did the 8 jog/5walk/8 jog with no problem whatsoever. Heart rate didn't go any higher than it was at 5 min jog time. If I can do the 20 minute Jog within the next week, I'll sign up for the race. It's Dec 7, so that'll give me a little over a month to work my way up to 30-40 minute jogs. Yikes! That sounds long. Thanks for your encouragment everyone.

Going Down Again

2008-10-22T11:19:00.003-10:00

Well, that sure was a long month of barely any weight loss. One of my mini goals was to be at 160 by the time I went to AZ last month, but didn't quite make it. So, I was so happy to weigh in today and see I'd lost 3 pounds, for a total of 40 pounds. I love round numbers like that. I'm hoping to be in the 150s by next week. Only 15 pounds till I'm in the normal weight category. Very exciting!

Did I mention how much I love my new Mizunos? Running in them feels so good. My jammed toe doesn't hurt, my knee doesn't hurt. I can't say that I've yet to experience that "runner's high", or any kind of exhiliration yet, but I have recently remembered how joyful running used to feel when I was a kid. I loved going off on my own, running through the woods. I hope that once I can comfortably run for longer amounts of time that that feeling will come back. I started week 5 of my C25K plan, running 5/walking 3 times 3, and it was easy. My heart rate went a little higher than I like, but it settled back down again within a minute. Next time I'm going to try the day 2: Jog 8/walk 5/jog 8.

I'm hoping to go on an outdoor adventure in the next couple of days, and will probably go bodyboarding tomorrow. I've asked Ann to choose an adventure. She's been walking up the outside of Diamond Head for the past few weeks, so it sounds like she's ready for some hills. I hope she doesn't pick something TOO steep, since I haven't been back to walking for too long.

Back To My Program

2008-10-19T20:42:00.008-10:00

I am so over my leg injury..so so so over it. I rested all last weekend. This weekend I devoted to some medical procedures I don't want to gross you out with. Suffice it to say the prep was way worse than the actual procedures.

Okay, back to Back To My Program. Despite not being able to exercise much for the past three or four weeks, other than dancing to Santana, I didn't gain any weight. That's good. And, here are the much better good things. I'm back to Dallas' Happy Hour, lifting more weight than I was before.

AND! Here's the really really cool Good! I'm back on the tread...at the same level I was at before I hurt myself. No problem. Whatsoever. I was able to jog 5 and 3 - TWICE, with half that much walking in between. With no trouble heart rate or breathing. I love it! And I did it two days so far. Once more and I'll move to the next week, which is jog 5, walk 3, jog 5, walk 3, jog 5 (first day), and I don't think that will be much of a problem, then jog 8, walk 5, jog 8 (day 2), then jog 20 (day 3) ??????!!!!! I'm sure everyone will understand if this week takes me 2-4 weeks to get through. But, I will get through it.

So, to celebrate the reality that I just might be able to make it to a 5K in the not too distant future, I went out and bought myself some REAL running shoes today. Mizuno Wave Inspires. Here's a pic I tried out a bunch of shoes, jogging around the store, and decided on these. It was tied between them and a pair of Saucony's. These were $20 bucks cheaper and felt as good. I am so so happy! I was so happy that I also bought a new (first ever) running shirt too. I was trying to find a pic of my shirt and look what I found! A link to all kinds of 5K races here in Hawaii!

So, maybe I AM turning into a runner. Who would have thought that was even a remote possibility????? Thank you to all my blogger buddies who actually have turned into runners..and more...for your amazing inspirational examples. I'm running as fast as I can in your footsteps. Especially to Shosh who today completed her second half marathon in a week, Bekkles who is about ready for her tri, despite having just moved cross country, is working incredibly long demanding hours, and being an awesome wife and mother to the cutest little Lucy girl ever, Cyndi, whose dust I'm eating, and is not only ready to run her first 5K, but is thinking of a half marathon herself while she works full time, is also an awesome wife and mom to three amazing kids, and of course, to my dear dear friend Michelle, who got me started on this path by sharing her journey with me and others, turning me onto the blogosphere, and who just sent me two books; The Slow Fat Triathlete, and Your First Triathlon. You think maybe she wants to live vicariously through me during her babe's first year?

Thank you, all you wonderful inspiring women. I'll try to live up to your examples. Really. And no standing on chairs again. I promise.

TAGGED!

2008-10-14T07:55:00.002-10:00

Shosh, that fabulous athlete and person, tagged me. So, here goes, 6 facts about me.

1. I was born in Yonkers, N.Y. and my first home was in the Bronx. I grew up mostly in Minnesota, though. I left Minnesota 5 days after graduating high school. Then I was a hippie in the Haight in the late 60’s. Inside I’m still a hippie, but sometimes I can hide it pretty well.

2. I never went to college until I was 40. Then I powered through to a doctorate by the time I hit 50. Typed my whole dissertation and all those other papers with 2 fingers. Still 2 finger typing to this day.

3. My favorite food is raw fish.

4. I was spelling bee champ two years running.

5. I’ve been to 47 states. All except Alaska, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. I’m hoping to visit my non-smoking buddy, Pollye in Oklahoma one of these days. Maybe that will get me to Arkansas too.

6. I smoked for 36 years until I quit in March, 2007. Haven’t had one puff since.

I'm tagging Pollye, Cyndi, Bekkles, and Superdave

Anybody Have Any Injury-be-gone Spray?

2008-10-08T08:54:00.004-10:00

It’s been a long few weeks with this hurt leg. I’ve been doing what I’m supposed to for it. I can really feel the lack of exercise – I’m antsy, a little cranky. So, yesterday I went to Dallas's Happy Hour. It helped my frame of mind a lot yesterday. I could do most of the exercises, all except some of the lunges and squats. It felt great! Here are a few pics of Dallas. One is of her “flashing” as she calls it. She pushes us in ways that make me laugh. Or makes me want to laugh if I only could while doing things like the gluteal pulses she loves so much.

A friend from D.C. was in town visiting over the weekend, and since he is vegan I ate mostly that way with him. We have our first ever Whole Foods market here, so one night we ate there. When I told him about the nearby Umeke market, and how the opening of Whole Foods will likely force them out of business, we ate there for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday I began making a vegan pasta dinner with roasted peppers and 2 kinds of squash, but he was more interested in talking than my cooking, so I finished it off Monday and shared it with my student tenants. As a result of all this vegan eating I lost 1.4 pounds this week despite only one hour of real exercise.

My leg still hurts, but is slowly getting better, so I’m hoping that by next week I can get back to some cardio. In the meantime I think I’ll go to as many strengthtraining classes as I can. Or, I’m still tossing around the idea of going to the Bay Area to see Carlos again. But, I really wanted to go on a Michelle and Miguel adventure when I went to the Bay Area, and I obviously can’t do that, so I probably won’t go. Injuries suck. Not at all sure what I’m supposed to learn from this, other than to never use a chair instead of a ladder or step stool. See? I told you I was cranky.

Stupid Human Trick

2008-10-01T14:28:00.003-10:00

I knew better, but I did it anyways. I was unloading my truck of some boxes that I was storing for my daughter, and was putting a box of very fine shoes on a top shelf, when Kaboom! The 20 year old plastic chair I was standing on collapsed! Who couldn’t have predicted that??!! Anyway, it was the night before I was leaving to go to AZ to see my sons and Santana, and my right leg was hurting big time. I iced it, compressed it, elevated it, and rested it as best I could. ICRE, you know? No dice.

I was so happy to see my sons, and to cook for them as moms do. I kept up with my ICRE routine, and was very happy on the night of the concert to wear my red patent heels. They actually felt better than the flat shoes I bought. I guess it had something to do with the stretch of the affected muscles. And I did look pretty hot, if I do say so myself. Thank you again, Bonnie!

The concert was so awesome. More than I had hoped for, and so wonderful to share it with my son. Such a better thing than last March when we spent over a week together in the hospital when he had lung surgery. And we both danced our you know whats off. As long as I stood in place I was okay. It’s the walking that’s killing me. He sang this new song with the refrain, "Love peace and joy is what I want for everyone in my life" I loved that. It's exactly how I feel.

So, here’s the bad news. Eating, even in moderation, some of the old family faves I cooked for the boys, and not being able to exercise like usual, has taken its toll. I gained this week. Just .4 pounds, but wrong direction. I am bummed about it, but there’s nothing to do about it now. Not sure when my leg will be better. I went to the doctor this morning and she said a week or two more. In the meantime I’m back home and eating according to plan again, and I did do some upper body lifting at the boys’ house and will do that here at home too. I just know it’s not enough to keep my progress up to the level it’s been at. And no new outdoor adventures. I think I’ll miss them most of all.

Slow and Steady

2008-09-24T14:12:00.008-10:00

That's me in the weight loss and running progress departments. Wednesday weigh in. Another 1+ pound loss. This scale is a funny thing. All week it looked like I wasn’t going to lose anything, even though I’d exercised every day including doing the Maunawili Falls hike again. Then presto chango, this morning it read 164.8. A few of my blogger friends are experiencing scale weirdnesses too. I think we all agree that as long as we keep on eating right and exercising regularly in whatever manner we choose, we’ll keep getting healthier and the weight will eventually come off.

I want to add a big congratulations to Shosh for reaching her WeightWatcher final goal weight this week. Yeah Shosh!!! I haven’t been following her journey that long, but I do know she’s been on this path for a while and has turned into quite the runner. And writes some excellent inspirational posts.

Here’s a pic of the top of the mountains from where I parked near the beginning of the trail to Maunawili Falls.

And here is a pic of the same mountains at the top of the climb. It looks a lot closer, don't you think? After that the trail levels out for a bit, then goes down, down, down till it reaches the stream again.

This time Ann went with me and she needed to rest often. Sound like someone else we know not too long ago? I don’t know if it was the going slower with her, or just that I’m getting in better shape, but this time the hike was so much easier for me. Like no problem at all. That was a wonderful feeling. On the way back we decided to follow the stream instead of tackling that sharp uphill. I’m glad we did because we could keep a steadier pace that way, even though we had to make like Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea at times. Speaking of running, I went to Week 4 of my C25K running plan on Monday, which was 3 min jog/90 sec walk, then 5 min jog/2 ½ min walk, repeated twice. Now to any runners reading this it might not seem like a lot, but to me it was huge. I jogged for 5 minutes! Twice!!!! It wasn’t super easy, but it was certainly doable. I think it helped that I’ve been setting the incline up a bit on the tread each time. For this first Wk4 workout I set it back to zero. Still watching the heart rate. And this time it never went above 140. That is so excellent! Oh! And last week when I went to the doctor for some odd rash and little infection that showed up the day after the Maunawili hike, my blood pressure was 120/60! That is down from 142/90 on May 21 and 136/80 on June 9th. I should have gone for a jog/walk this morning, but I was beat. Woke up at 5:30 a.m. (two mornings in a row now), didn’t get home from my daughter’s until 11:30 last night, and didn’t go to bed until almost 1 a.m. So, I went back to bed, read some, and woke back up at 11. I might go after work, but not sure. If not, I’ll probably go tomorrow before I leave for AZ.

Yeah, AZ! I’m so excited to see my sons and of course, the one and only Carlos Santana. I am so inspired by his and his family's spiritual and life journies, and his music makes me feel so great. You know there will be pictures when I get back. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to fit some exercise in between shopping and cooking. The worst that will happen is that the only exercise I’ll get is walking around stores and dancing at the concert. I’ll be back in time for Happy Hour with Dallas on Tuesday, though. I remembered my camera yesterday, but the battery was dead! Next week I WILL get a pic.

A New Wardrobe

2008-09-17T13:37:00.003-10:00

This is going to be a quick entry. After last week’s screeching halt to the downward scale movement I did a lot of positive self talk, reminding myself that even if the scale didn’t show it, I continued to live a healthy lifestyle and felt great because of it. So, I just continued on that path for the week and voila! Another 3 pounds are gone.

I didn’t have any super calorie-burning experiences this past week either, so I guess that’s not what the factor was the week before. I’m not going to waste any more of my thoughts on it. As long as I continue to eat healthy and remain active I’ll continue to get in better shape, feel great, and most likely lose weight. I just want to say that I’ve only got 22 pounds left to my goal weight though, and I would like to be there by the end of the year. If I don’t make it, oh well. But, it’s something to shoot for.

I’ve continued on Week Three of my C25K running plan, and most days my heart rate has stayed where it should. I’ve also done it on a 1.0 incline, so I guess my heart is getting healthier. Sometimes I finish off with a 2.5 or 3.0 incline walk for a bit, just to mix it up a little.

I went to Kona last weekend to visit Bonnie and Dawn. Had a fun time, although no snorkeling this time. What with all the weird shark action we all decided to stay out of the water. We did go to a beautiful beach, Anaeho’omalu at sunset time one evening. Here’s a sign we ran into. We also drove up to Waimea where they were having a ho’olaulea. We got there in time to hear a good reggae band, so we danced a little.

The day I got there Bonnie’s car was leaking oil, so while her friend fixed it I went shopping at Bonnie’s “garage sale”. She has containers full of clothes, so I got a whole new wardrobe. Lots and lots of tops and bottoms and a few cute dresses. It was great, because I’d gotten rid of all my current size clothes when I lost weight before. Thank you, Bonnie! Now I’m ready for Arizona and Carlos!

Sharks and Turtles

2008-09-10T09:04:00.013-10:00

Well, for some reason I didn't lose any weight this week. I ate really well (in calorie range) and was active. The only thing I didn’t do was have one BIG calorie-burning day. Like a 1500+ calories hike or bike ride. Oh well. I’m comfortably down three pants sizes, and even those are kind of loosish. I am NOT going to get all upset about no weight loss. I’m NOT! I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and hope more comes off next week. And I'm posting this pic of me to remind myself that all this dedication to getting healthy is paying off by being able to have fun doing cool stuff (even if I do still have pockets of fat all over my body). But, I’d love to be down another size by the time I go see my son and Carlos at the end of the month.

I’ve been going to strength training classes twice a week. Dallas teaches the one on Tuesday mornings and she really pushes us. I’ll try to remember to take a pic of her. She makes me laugh, calls it “Happy Hour” while she is having us add “pulses” just when we think we’re done with a set.

Also moved on to week three of my C25K plan. Well, actually I took it a little farther the first day, jogging 3, walking 3 the whole time. But then yesterday I did what was recommended. 90/90, then 3/3 and then repeat. It wasn’t really too hard, and my heart rate stayed where it was supposed to for the most part. Progress. This getting old thing sucks. Everything takes longer. But, I’m really thankful for all the progress I’ve made so far. And how happy and healthy I feel.

I didn’t go on any bike rides yet. I’ve got this cold sore on my lip from the sun. I know, Ewwwww! So except for my one fun adventure last Thursday, I’ve been trying to stay out of the sun. Good thing, too, since there was a shark sighted at Kalama’s on Saturday, who was described as “acting aggressively.” No details, so not sure what it was doing. Nobody got attacked, and they can’t growl, so maybe it was baring it’s teeth? Or teasing swimmers by swimming up really fast, then turning away at the last moment? Just kidding. I don’t think sharks have much of a sense of humor. In fact, I know they don’t. I started writing this post yesterday, and before I finished it, there’s been an actual attack. Not at “my” beach, but up the coast aways, at K’a’a’awa. But in the general oceanic neighborhood. Sheesh. Now I don’t know what to do. As many of you know, bodyboarding is my “go to” exercise, the one I love the most. Have to do some thinking about this.

Okay, on to the adventure. My friend Ann (there she is getting ready, with my bodyboard and bag next to her) and I went out to Goat Island last Thursday. I lived on that bay almost 30 years ago, but had never gone out there. I guess because there was such good bodyboarding right in front of our house and we had an acre and a half. Anyways…we swam ourselves and our stuff out there, had a picnic, swam in this little bay, walked around the island, and just felt grateful for living where we do. We found a bunch of beautiful shells, more than either of us had seen in years. We had the island to ourselves except for this poor turtle we came across who was really sick. Lots of our sea turtles have these tumors, and this guy had a necklace of them. His shell was dry and when Ann touched it, he retracted his head a bit. At least we knew he was alive. When we got back home I tried to get someone in the animal rescue business to go get the turtle, but still don’t know if anyone did. Now I’m thinking about how that turtle = sharks in the area. Actually, I did think about sharks as we were paddling out there, but since sharks are always present somewhere in the ocean, if I let that stop me from going in the water, I’d never go. But, given the most recent shark happenings, I’m definitely going to be more cautious. I can’t promise I’ll stay out of the water, but I will make sure I’m extra aware of what’s going on around me. Anyway, we had a good time, except for the turtle thing.

Hiking Along

2008-09-03T14:04:00.010-10:00

Okay, so I’ve done many things since my last posting. Including losing weight. Yee haha! 2.6 pounds last week, and another 2 pounds this week. As long as I stick to my eating plan and keep active it seems like I'm going to keep losing. And I've lost a total of 24.5 inches overall. Amazing!

Here’s what I’ve been doing. Gina, one of my new tenants (here’s all three new tenants; Gina, Pam, and Kerstie-so cute!), and I, hiked the Makiki Loop Trail, as I said we were planning. Unfortunately we both forgot our cameras. At the beginning of the hike I pointed up to the top of the ridge on the other side of the valley, and said, "We're going up there." We both laughed. I was kidding! Little did I know we were going up there. We did make it, with a few breathing stops on the 700 ft elevation climb within .70 miles (16% slope!). Suffice it to say it kicked our collective butts, and we both decided, on the way down, that we needed to add to our hiking supplies, in the way of ankle/knee wraps/braces. I definitely learned from that hike.

So, two days later I decided to hike to Maunawili Falls. And I did. This time I packed a knee brace, an ace bandage, an energy bar, and of course, water. Oh! And my camera. It was a fun hike, with three water crossings, not too many stairs, and a waterfall at the end as a reward. Oh! I’d been considering titling this (my next) post “I Hate Stairs!,” but I guess it’s like childbirth…I’ve forgotten how painful they are. Believe me, I’ve spent a LOT of time lately imagining a post about how much I hate stairs on hikes. But, I found a long piece of bamboo right at the beginning of my return from Maunawili Falls, broke it in two, and now I have walking sticks to help me up and down the paths, so while I still think about how much I hate stairs, I’m okay with them…..for now. And I'll tell you, it felt like I was flying going down the trail that day.

Anywaaaays…been hiking. Had a few down days this past weekend, but have still managed to go to the gym, do strengthtraining and some C25K (been jogging 90/walking 90 seconds for the entire 30 minutes. Think I'm going to move on to the real week 3 this week), and of course, do some bodyboarding at Kalama’s.

Also did a short hike to Likeke Falls. Got a little lost on the way, but from what I’ve read and what I heard that day, it’s par for the course. Along the way I ran into three Marines who were as lost as me. They had a map someone had given them. I considered backtracking and following them, but decided to continue on as I’d planned. That afforded me an opportunity to climb a humongous hill and back down, and then backtrack. (Note the bamboo stick in my hand. That Marine wanted them, but I wasn't giving em up, no siree Bob!) But I also found the falls before the marines, so that was a sweet reward. I love having these adventures. A good life. Not perfect, but good enough.

Oh! And I got a bike. Not sure if I mentioned that. I think I'm going to give it a try this weekend - either riding to Kalama's or trying a bike path I've heard about. First I have to get a helmet though. I'll keep ya posted on that. Hey all you friends (and you know who you are), how about leaving me a comment?

Obese No More

2008-08-20T21:34:00.005-10:00

Yes, it’s true. I’m not obese anymore. Now I’m just overweight. I never ever EVER want to be obese again!!! Like anyone does? Anyways, after getting back to my program, eating within calorie range and being active pretty much every day, I broke out of that measly loss pattern of the past two weeks. I lost 3 pounds this past week!! Not only that, it brought me down to 29.9 BMI which, in case you don’t know, is the cut off between obese and overweight.

Funny, I went to the doctor today so she could take a look at my toe that has been hurting. Remember the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival pic of my feet? Well, I’ve kept my toe taped pretty much nonstop since then, and it still really really hurts when I go on the tread, when I walk very far with slippers, and well, pretty much all the time. While the x-rays didn’t show any break, they did show a pretty noticeable, at least to me, jammed up joint. Barely any space in between the two bones. So, I have to make an appointment with the podiatrist. Why do we always have to see specialists these days? Why couldn’t she have just taken that toe in her well-manicured hands (I notice that kind of stuff ‘cause mine usually aren’t. And I actually told her not to look at my very un-manicured toenails. I really need to get a boyfriend so I feel like doing that more often) and pulled it back out like it’s supposed to be?

Anyways, beside the toe issue I asked for a referral to a gastrowhatever so they can stick a tube down my throat and make me stop coughing somehow. That’s gonna take another couple of months apparently. Specialists. Anyway, what was funny was that I was all happy about my weight loss and said something about not being obese anymore, and she said, “Weeellll…your BMI is 29.9 and it should be 20 whatever” (I guess I should mention that she’s a thin Asian doctor) I told her I was very happy to be just overweight and not obese, and she conceded that point. It’s funny that I wasn’t bummed by her response. In the past I probably would have been embarrassed, mad, resentful. This time I was happy to be happy about it. I know what I’ve been doing to get here...and where I’m going. That’s enough.

The other thing is, my doctor likes me. She noticed I’d cut my hair. She said she was glad I’d decided to do the endoscopy. I think she gets a kick out of me still bodyboarding. She saw me through an emotionally rough time a few years back. And, when I told her I was planning on hiking on the Makiki Loop Trail tomorrow, she very kindly told me I should watch out for the pig hunters. I won’t go into all that, but suffice it to say that there are some people who love to play commando in the hills, hunting pigs with their packs of pit bulls, and that some of them think everybody should get out of their way when they’re doing it. She suggested I carry a BIG umbrella that I could open to fend them (the pit bulls) off. Not sure if that would work, but it sure gave me a humorous picture to consider.

I’m going to do it anyway, since I have a meeting I have to go to right next to where the trail starts. If you don’t hear from me by next week, call the police. Although my doctor says the police won’t do anything about the pig hunters.

Oh! My other big news is that today on the tread I jogged for 90 seconds/walked for 120 for thirty minutes. I’ll have to look if that fits into the 5K running plan I’m pretending to be on. I know it’s progress and that’s what counts.

Up Down and Sideways

2008-08-12T19:46:00.015-10:00

Well, I physically pushed myself this weekend. Did one thing I know I wouldn’t have attempted even a month or two ago. I went to Kauai to visit my friends John and Sue again, for my birthday. That isn’t the thing. The thing I did was hike the first two miles of the Kalalau trail, from the trailhead at Ke’e beach to Hanakapi’ai Beach. Now 2 miles each way doesn’t sound like much, and I’m sure it’s not much for those people, including my daughter, who hike the total 11 miles to Kalalau valley (it’s between that last little point and the big point in the distance) and back. But this isn’t your average little 2 mile walk in the park. Oh no, this baby starts at sea level and rises 1060 feet total, with a couple of ascents and descents, and with terrain ranging from dry to slurpy muddy, from rocky to root-covered. I definitely felt my lack of stair-climbing experience at the gym, because some of the trail demanded climbing rocks – lots of them. Nice for my ..umm…back of body area. Oh! And no matter what the trail is like underfoot, and what little challenges it throws at you, it meanders right along the edge of the cliffs for much of the time. This means you get some awesome views of the ocean and beaches down below, as well as up the coastline to Kalalau. It also means that you better not get dizzy or distracted too much…unless you can fly or don’t mind tumbling hundreds of feet down into, hopefully, the ocean.

Along the way you pass a few streams and waterfalls, and at the top of the first ascent you come to a really windy spot. Hold onto your hats is my best advice. And don’t start congratulating yourself yet, because there is way more, mostly up and down more, to come before you reach Hanakapia’i Beach. John had mentioned that once we got to the beach we could opt to hike another two miles up to the waterfall, but we didn’t have to decide until we got to the beach. Sue, bless her heart, announced about a mile in that she wasn’t doing that. Thank you, Sue! I was already formulating my most cheerful suggestion that they go ahead and enjoy some “alone” time while I hung out on the beach. I didn’t care how long it took them, I knew that I was going to be gathering my strength for the return hike.

Anyway, we reached the beach after about 1-1 ½ hours and I felt great! I think I only had to stop to let my heart rate come down once on the way in. Major progress!!!! I was feeling really happy and proud of myself and grateful that I was getting in such better shape and able to enjoy these kinds of activities again. Sue, being so considerate and all, had packed some fruit, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for us. Yummy. Oh! She also saved my ass by lending me a pair of socks. I, being the non-shoe girl that I am, had worn my fave hiking/festival/all around comfy shoes, but hadn’t worn socks. I’m pretty sure I would have been singing a different tune, something on the line of “Oh my owie blisters” had it not been for those socks.

So, after a bit of time hanging out on the rocks in the shade at the beach, watching the other hikers, including this one family whose kids kept passing us on the way in, then waiting for their parents to catch up, then moving on, we decided to head back. I remember saying after the first up hill on the way back, “Wow, that was easy.” I was feeling positively giddy with my new found fitness. But not so quick, oh new shoe-wearing, hiking girl. For some reason the way back was MUCH harder. I had to take at least five mini-breaks to settle my heart. Of course all the old tapes started right up, being embarrassed that I couldn’t keep hiking without a break, wondering if John and Sue were thinking what a drag I was for slowing them down. But, they being who they are, kept letting me know that the hike was a bit strenuous even for them (not sure if that’s true or just them being nice) and telling me that I was doing great. It helped that there were a few other people who were having to take breaks and/or taking it really slow, too. I’ve since read that the way back IS a lot harder in general.

Anyways, we made it back, and even though my calves have been sore ever since, I’m proud I made it. And do really look forward to at least making it to the waterfall one day. Not sure about all the way to Kalalau though.

So Sunday while Sue was at church John and I took another bike ride. Not as long as the one to Kipu Falls last time, but long enough. Here’s me looking like a bicyclist in front of John and Sue’s house with Sue’s porch railing garden behind me. We went back roads for about an hour and I had to get off and walk once, then John wanted us to go to Menehune fish pond lookout, but when I saw the hill going down, I begged for mercy and we turned back. It’s really nice to be back on a bike again, and it’s good to have John pushing me harder than I’d go on my own. After Sue came home we ate yummy salads, with leftovers from The Blossoming Lotus from the night before. I forgot to take pics! It was totally vegan and Yummy!

Then we all tried a new sport, stand up paddleboarding. It’s basically a big surfboard that you paddle with a long paddle while standing up. Balance and no quick moves is the key. That and taking short, instead of deep, strokes when you’re standing up. If there was a “Most Time in the Water Instead of on the Board” award I think I would have won it. I fell off sideways – each side, backwards, and forwards – many times. It must have provided some good entertainment for folks on the beach. I finally got the hang of it though, as did John and Sue. Of course John got it immediately, and he was cruising along back and forth between Sue and I, giving us pointers. Show Off. Anyway, fun stuff.

After that we went to Duke’s again for salad bar. I had that in my mind because of last time. Sue pointed out that since it was my birthday we could get a free piece of Hula Pie. Now, Sue had been pushing the desserts the night before, but John and I were too virtuous (and full) to take the bait. But, we didn’t want to disappoint her two nights in a row, well, at least I didn’t, so we let the waiter bring it. It was really huge, and I didn’t want her to get a stomach ache, so I helped her, just a little. John helped her more, I’m sure. Despite that benevolent gesture, the next day on my REAL birthday, I weighed 175.2 pounds. Not the straight 175 that was my goal, but close enough that I’ll take it. I can’t blame it on Sue’s pushing that Hula Pie, though I’d like to. I think I can more credit the hike and her lending me her socks.

Last night my daughter took me out to a fave Italian place and we each had Caesar salad and shared a delicious fish and capers entree. Another yummy meal. Not to mention the delish lychee martini. Now I have to stop going out to eat for a while and get back to my plan. I want the 2 pounds per week weight loss again. Don’t think I’ll have that this week. But, I have enjoyed the good food and company the past few weeks. Life is such a trade off sometimes. So for the next 6-7 weeks, till I go visit my sons and see Carlos I’m going to pretty much stick to my plan.

Oh my gosh! I forgot to mention what I did last Friday!!! Went to see Barack and Michelle Obama when they flew in for a week’s vacation. It was wonderful seeing them, so full of optimism and love. I sure hope he wins the presidency and makes some changes. Reminds me of the Kennedys and how hopeful people were at that time. Okay, that’s the end of this missive. Hope everyone is happy, healthy, and enjoying life. Aloha

Wednesday Weigh-in Update: 176.6. Even though I was down to 175.2 on Monday, I'm back to 176.6 today. No loss, no gain for the week. As I said, back to my program.

My Pants are Falling Down!

2008-08-06T09:52:00.011-10:00

Yep, those big girl pants are gonna have to be put away, cause they are just way too big now. I’m fitting into a few of my old faves now, and even those are getting a little loose. But, here’s the dilemma: I don’t have many in between sized clothes. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.

So, my second trip to Oregon was great! Spent the weekend experiencing the Columbia River Gorge with my good friend Judie. Jude worked for Columbia Hills State Park for five years, so was a wealth of information about the area. Plus she absolutely loves that area of the world, so it was fun to experience it with her. On Friday we went berry-picking with her friend Kate at “The Hatch”, which is a famous wind-surfing spot. We filled up containers and containers of those juicy morsels. Don’t tell anyone, but I brought some home to share with family and friends. We also took a drive up the gorge a ways. And ate at Taco del Mar.

That was the start of my making questionable food choices. I asked for a nutrition chart, but they looked at me like I was crazy and finally told me, “It’s online.” So, I ordered 2 fish soft shell tacos, hold the cheese. But not “hold the sauce” because I’ve never met a sauce I didn’t like. I just looked it up, and that was 540 cals, 22 g of fat with cheese, so maybe ..hmmm….475 cals and 15 g of fat without? WAY too much. Then we ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Again, no nutrition chart. I tried to order what I thought would be the healthiest choice, but my sweet and sour chicken turned out to be deep fried. Which of course I ate. The chop suey and rice probably weren’t too bad. I didn’t eat my fortune cookie though. I won’t go through everything I ate for the rest of the weekend, but let’s just say it ended with buying a 240 calorie bag of “reduced fat” chips from the vending machine at the hotel Sunday night. Oh! And eating not only the grilled chicken sandwich at Wendy’s (this time I did “hold the sauce”) at the airport, but most of the first class breakfast on the flight home. I mean, I couldn’t really turn my nose up at that, could I?

I did do a couple of good things food-wise though. I had a smoothie to start each day because Judie had stocked her fridge with frozen strawberries, bananas and yogurt. Thanks Jude! I also got to visit Trader Joe’s for the first time ever, and bought some low cal/low fat snacks, and we bought salads for dinner.

We did quite a bit of walking while I was there, including a cool petroglyph/pictograph tour on Saturday morning. Here’s “She Who Watches”. Judie said an elder told her that this particular one was created to witness the decimation of the people of that area. Sad. I learned that there were giant glacial floods that created the stunning cliffs and buttes of the gorge, and that much later on, in the 1950s, a couple of dams were made which flooded the river basin, effectively covering much of the Native American living and burial sites. This area was visited by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and 1806, and it was a massive trading site, with various tribes gathering each year. The “locals” fished 10000 pounds of salmon from the river per week during the season. Sounds like they were a pretty well to do bunch. They had wooden homes and storehouses, and an interesting way of cutting planks from trees without killing the trees. Nice.

We also visited the Maryhill Museum, which was built by Sam Hill, originally as his home. I got a great pic of Mount Hood from the lanai while we were eating lunch. During both trips to Oregon people kept telling me about the beauty of Mount Hood and Mount Adams, but they kept hiding behind clouds to the point I was beginning to wonder if people were making it up, until she finally revealed her beauty to me that day. Old Sam Hill had quite the collection of Rodin sculptures and drawings. Very Nice. There was also an incredible collection of Native American basketry, beadworks, and other tools, toys, and stuff. I didn’t see the collection of doll costumes. Maybe next time. Then we went to a replica of Stone Henge that Sam Hill also created. Jude said during the summer equinox this place really draws the freaks out. We also drove through someone’s ranch where there are all kinds of animals like zebra, camels, giraffes, emus, and more.

So, I got to experience all kinds of cool things with Jude, and best of all, spend time with her. It had been way too long. We’re talking about maybe camping on the coast next summer for a weekend. You can be sure I’m gonna plan that during berry season again. Oh! She had an exercise bike so I did 20 minutes on that one morning, plus did some yard work for her one afternoon. The net result of my bad eating and pretty active weekend? A half pound weight loss. Not what I’d like, but I learned something from it, and at least it wasn’t a gain. Off to the gym now. I've got less than a week and 1.6 pounds to lose to reach my next goal.

Life Just keeps getting Better.....

2008-07-30T22:04:00.002-10:00

Yes it does. Okay, so I lost another 2.2 pounds this week…..just doing what I do. It’s really not a struggle any more. I marvel every day how I can move around so much easier, climb up and down the ladder to water the screened in garden (where, btw, I have gloated over SLUGS each morning, worming their way over the screens, unable to get in..hehehe..maybe I was being too mean to the lizards, but we’ll see), carry buckets full of water, go to the gym, eat in my target calorie and WW range. None of it is hard. In fact, it’s easy.

It’s so nice to be feeling so great…I feel like I could lift those two bags of rice I’ve been carrying around. But, not quite yet…..at least I couldn’t press them a couple of sets. But, I can press these babies, and do lunges and pectoral whatever they’re called, and bicep curls. I am so excited..can you tell???

My 52K plan is going okay. I’m still doing the walk 2/jog 1, but it isn’t getting any easier and my heart just hates it! Okay, that might be too strong, but I just want my heart rate to stay where it’s supposed to. I’ll keep on with it, and appreciate that an hour of cardio is de rigeur these days, not a hard thing.

I’m off to Oregon tomorrow...to pick berries!!!! I was planning on going to Hilo to see my friend Karla and see a very cool planetarium show with Pink Floyd music, but the plane tickets didn’t work out. I was kind of disappointed, so, my daughter told me the flights were open to Portland, so off I go again. I feel so so lucky to be able to do all this cool stuff. I’ll post pics. And eat lots of berries. Promise.

In the Jack Johnson Garden with the Lizards

2008-07-27T18:03:00.013-10:00

I spent three hours this morning playing farmer. I have very little flat land around my house, so a few weeks ago I reclaimed a strip next to the carport side of my house. I cleared it of most of the weeds/bushes, and poisoned the rest. Then I set up a small brick enclosure to beef up some of the very clay soil by composting it. I figured, one step at a time while I was waiting for some of the more tenacious weeds to die, so I could do the same to more of that area.

There were a few challenges in this endeavor. One, there is no hose hookup on that side of the house. The hose from the other side of the carport reaches across the carport, but, did I mention this? The area I'm talking about is..hmmm...about 10-12 feet down, so I have to go down a ladder to work on things there. Lucky I am getting so strong again these days, because not only is that no problem, I actually kind of like it. Anyways, I had the brick enclosure done, but needed some more nourishing material to add. So, I had some mulch on another side of the house that I shoveled into buckets, brought the buckets up the stairs, and then down the ladder to the new compost pile.

Luckily the groundskeeper at my favorite beach has been saving the grass clippings for me, so I had bags and bags of that already. I dumped one or two huge bags of that in with the mulch, and mixed it together well. My brother says the grass clippings are great for adding nitrogen, so I think this is a good thing. Since then I've been adding all my fruit and vegetable cuttings, peelings, seeds, etc. And watering it. How, you asked? By using my dish water. Something I was shown in Green, Green Oregon. As soon as I figured out any fish or meat products need to be discarded first it has gone just fine. No smell.

Oh! And I think I forgot to mention that I picked up a half dozen buckets WITH Handles! On the side of the road on my way back from the beach a few weeks back. Empty laundry soap and kitty litter buckets from Costco, all nicely stacked up, with all the lids included. I so love this stuff! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! It's one of the reasons I fell in love with my last boyfriend..he always thought up the coolest ways to reuse things or rejuvenate them...but I digress....

Lately we have begun to get the most amazing cantaloupes here. Now, for those of you have never lived in or visited Hawaii, let me tell you that while the papayas, bananas, and mangoes, etc. are as delicious as you might imagine, the mainland fruit lacks flavor. Bigtime. Anyway, someone is now growing cantaloupes on the Ewa plain, and they are so so sweet, just like real cantaloupes! Needless to say I've been devouring them, and throwing the seeds into the compost.

Wellllll....some of the cantaloupe seeds began sprouting. I was very very excited, thinking Oh Boy! I'm gonna have my very own cantaloupes pretty soon. Well! Let me tell you, it's not so easy. Lately every time I get some new vegetable plant going pretty good, a few inches or so, I go down to my garden and one day....Bam! The stalk is bitten off. I've been trying to figure out who is doing it...slugs? birds? lizards? geckos? Well, it wasn't more than a few days than all the little cantaloupe plants were disappearing. I mean, they weren't even getting a few inches high. I was pissed!

So.......yesterday when I went down to water, I noticed what I thought was a dead lizard floating in the water bucket. I know, gross. But, it's not as bad as you think. Because, as soon as I tried to flick it out, it jumped out on its own. The little sucker was just cruising, using the bucket as a swimming pool. You know how I know this? Because a bunch of his buddies were having a party in the cantaloupe field! Well field is a grander name than it deserves, but it's my garden, so I'll call it that, okay?

Well, that answered that question. Now, what to do about it? For some reason my property seems to have more than its share of lizards, geckos, chameleons, etc. I've lived in Hawaii for 30 years, so I know what I'm talking about. There’re hundreds of them! Some of them are very pretty, a bright green with red spots. But the Party Boys weren't pretty - they were brown anoles (I think). And, just in case you're wondering, lizards can be carnivores, like geckos; herbivores; or even omnivores. Whoever they are, they loooooove their fruits and veggies. Good for them healthwise, not so good for me garden-wise.

Now, what to do about it? I remembered some old screen windows I had in one of the closets in the carport. Perfect! I laid them over the enclosure, and voila! Lizard Proof! I was so excited

about it, and kind of liked showing those Party Boys who’s Boss of This Garden, especially since they’d been making me think I was a really lousy gardener for the past month or so.

And, since I wanted to expand the garden space down there, I got the bright idea yesterday to go visit my screen man. I went both before and after my strengthtraining class, and had to wait a while, but it was worth it. He gave me three big screen windows he’d just replaced. So, this morning I built another enclosure, this one out of bamboo on the long sides, and brick on the ends. Needed to beef up the soil there, too. Still had plenty of grass, Thank You Groundskeeper, Lady! I’m gonna have to bring her a cantaloupe or two. But, I was pretty much out of mulch, so luckily the greenwaste dump is just a few miles from my house. So, I lined up my new buckets in the back of my truck and went there for free mulch.

Three hours later, and no idea how many trips up and down the ladder, not to mention a little shoveling and watering, and 1032 calories burned, I now have two new garden enclosures, screened on top.

Let’s review the reused/recycled items used, not dumped in a landfill;
6 buckets
25 bricks or so
4 Window screens
Bamboo poles

And natural resources reclaimed for another go around;
6 buckets of mulch (not much, but I just wasn’t up for shoveling a truckful today)
Probably 50 pounds of grass clippings
Gallons and gallons of water
Cantaloupe seeds and other veggie/fruit debris

After all of that I treated myself to a fun Goldilocks hour at Kalama’s – waves 2-4 and coming up. Woo Hoo! Life is Grand!

10% Down, 20% To Go

2008-07-23T12:42:00.001-10:00

Just a quick entry to mark my progress. I’m under 180 pounds!!!! I’ve lost that first 10%. This is just surprising the heck out of me. Getting fit and healthy hasn’t been painful, it’s been fun. Just like I wanted it to be. Well, truthfully there have been some sore muscles occasionally, and just a few times when I felt hungry. But those times are rare and well worth the way I’m feeling these days. Full of energy, happy!

I’ve been to three weightlifting classes so far and one of the instructors, Amber, helped me with my form on the lunges yesterday. I also wore some old workout pants I used to wear when I was thin a few years back. With a big T-shirt over them I looked pretty okay. Better than when I wear my old baggy work out capris, which is what I wear most days to the gym. Pretty soon I’ll post some more pics.

Looks like I have a chance of making my next mini goal of being 175 pounds by my birthday, my old top weight and where I was prior to quitting smoking. Anyways, I’m just gonna keep on doing what I’ve been doing because it’s working. I’m hoping the weightlifting class will help build more muscle so maybe I’ll burn more calories per day and also start looking leaner. I still feel fat, but have just under 5 pounds to go to being just overweight and not in the obese category.
Getting there…step by step.

Stepping It Up

2008-07-19T15:45:00.003-10:00

No cool pictures to share right now. But, I wanted to update my fitness program efforts. I’ve been focusing on increasing my pace on the treadmill and adding some strength training. I finally reached 3.0 walking/4.0 jogging with my heart rate happy about it. So, yesterday I moved up to Week Three of my 5K training plan. Who knows if I’ll ever actually run a 5K, but it gives me some guideline to follow in how to improve my fitness level. Week Three is walking for two minutes, jogging for one for 24-30 minutes.

Yesterday I did that and more. After my bike experience on the hills of Kauai last weekend I realized my heart needs to get more used to inclines. I mean, I do random hill stationary bike riding, but it obviously needs more. So, after the 30 minutes of Week Three, I did 15 minutes of increasing the incline every three minutes, from 0-2.5. I think I may try doing all of my treadwork on at least a level 1 incline. See what happens.

I ventured into the World of Machines again this week, too. But, I feel so stupid trying to figure out how to adjust the machines and then how to use them properly. I tried one for pectorals, since I am a woman of a certain age whose girls have recently, and only recently, decided to start creeping south. Well, I followed the instructions, adjusted the seat and the weight, and then tried to release the arm things with the foot lever, as it said to do, then put my feet where they were supposed to go, and then couldn’t figure out which way I was supposed to grip the hand thingies and which way I was supposed to move them. I tried a few different approaches, and then gave up. Next time I’ll try a machine with fewer moving parts. And I might even remember to bring the notes I made when Beth, the nice trainer, showed me how to use some of them.

It IS intimidating, though, walking between all the different machines with obviously experienced users, peering at the instructions, trying to see what they’re for and how to use them. I spend some time on the bike watching other people use them, but more than a few times people have looked at me, like, “What are you staring at?” I’m not sure what the answer is, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.

So, since I really, really do want to add strength training to my program, I took two, not one, but two, strength training classes this week. One was pretty much strictly weight training, the other, this morning was kind of a combined weightlifting/cardio class, with emphasis on weights. Kicked my butt! Lots of lunges and squats and Step moves. My knees and thighs are soooooo sore. Besides the obvious benefit of these classes, people were really nice and welcoming. Someone in each class offered me equipment I needed. Many levels of fitness in each class. That’s something that has really surprised me going to the gym. As the treadmiller next to me replied after I told him I want to be just like him when I grow up, running more than walking, “At least you’re here. That’s the main thing, right?” And for now, it is.

Had some fun yesterday with my daughter Pua and her boyfriend. They were going to hike the Waimano Ridge Trail, but it was too rainy. I was considering going with them, but it’s 14 miles roundtrip and I’m not sure I could keep up yet. Soon, but maybe not yet.

Instead, we went to Kalama’s and played around in the waves. There was a big wind swell, just like the one when I broke my ribs, so I didn’t take my board in, but had fun diving under, and jumping and swimming over the waves. Pua and Ale both caught a few waves that looked really fast and really fun. I also made my favorite turkey/LCLW/veggie/kim chee sandwiches for them for lunch, and then boca burgers for a snack before they headed out. Nice that they’re eating healthy these days too. So far a fun weekend. Not sure what I’m going to do tomorrow, but I think I probably should go to Costco and replenish supplies.

All I Have to Say Is...

2008-07-14T21:18:00.011-10:00

.....life sure is fun at times. Another absolutely wonderful weekend. What is this??? Two amazing weekends in a row???!!! Yeppers.

So, life on Kauai is more laid back than on Oahu. But no less exciting. Maybe even more so. I got to meet my good good friend John’s new girlfriend. Well, actually they’ve been dating for a year and she moved in about two months ago. John’s been kind of hibernating lately. Now I know what he was up to. I fell in love with her too. Meet Sue and John.
I can’t tell you how happy I am for John…and Sue of course. We had a blast together and they’ve restored my faith in love is possible after a certain age. Sue turned me on to a good book, “Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships”, by John Welwood, which I started and have to order online. It’s about something similar in subject and combines the psychological with the spiritual. Right up my alley.

Okay, back to the exciting. Not that John and Sue’s love isn’t. Because it is. Very. On Saturday I got to meet not only Sue, but also one of my Sparkbuddies, Carol. We went to Mahalapu, a beach and fishing spot. We had a great lunch, sandwiches Sue made and lots of portioned out veggies and fruit that Carol had packed. Yummy! Thanks, Carol!!!! She also turned me on to some low calorie and fat chips that are available here. Carol always has great suggestions, recipes, and tips. I haven’t shown her the pics yet, so I’m not going to post any of her until she gives the okay. I don’t like the one pic I got of her and I so I am definitely not going to post that! But…we had a great hike along the cliffs and she showed us some cool stuff, like the “Marilyn Monroe” vent that shoots up air from the ocean’s power about 20 feet below, and the “dancing sands” vents…hard to describe, but very cool.

All in all we had a great time, ending with a swim in the ocean to cool off. Here’s a pic of John and Sue on the beach. I love Sue. I guess she forgot her suit, so she stripped down to her undies and tank top and announced that she was wearing her “new white look like undies but not” swimsuit….lol..gotta love her. John made some delish poke stir fry after Sue and I went to the store….where tomatoes were almost $5.00 a pound!!!!! Yikes! Good thing Sue is growing tomatoes, lettuce and basil at their house.

Okay, on to the most exciting part of the weekend. John and I went on a bike ride to a waterfall Sunday morning while Sue was with her parents. It was 8.3 miles roundtrip, and there were hills. Lots of them!!!! I remember thinking a few times, “What goes down must come up.” Okay, I tried to add the route with elevations but MapMyRide is being ornery. If I ever get it to save anything I will post it. But, it showed the elevations were over 300 ft. Maybe more. Now, this is the first bike ride I’ve been on outside of the gym since I last visited John almost two years ago. That time we had fun, but had to turn around when I looked (and felt) like I was going to have a heart attack trying to go up a really steep hill. This time, which was a different ride, I made it all the way, even though I had to get off and walk my bike a few times.

I felt so good this time, and almost like a real bicyclist, wearing a helmet and riding Sue’s bike. I didn’t listen to myself and bring my camera, or you’d see how real I looked. That won’t happen again, I promise. But, John took me back today to take pics. Here are a few pics of the road and of the path to the pond where people were jumping off the rocks above and swinging off the tire swing.

On the way back I was pushing myself too hard I guess, because when I stopped and John looked really concerned, I took my pulse and it was over 200. Not good. But, it went down quickly and I went on. Did I mention that John is a really really good friend? Stopping or slowing down next to me when I needed to, even though he was often practicing his wheelies behind my back?

Anyways, after the bike ride and walk to the falls, we showered, had a quick lunch, and then went to Nawiliwili Harbor where John volunteers as a sail instructor on Sundays. We all went out on Lasers. It was okay, but kind of cramped and not very fast. I think my sailing days are done. I spent quite a few years when I was younger sailing Hobie cats, which are really fun and fast, and then our 36 foot yawl, but it’s lost its allure.

Then we went out for margaritas and dinner for John’s birthday. That was fun and I let myself eat much more than I have for the past few months. Mostly salad bar, but that included potato and Caesar salad and cole slaw. Waaaay too much fat and mayo, but I figured I’d already burned it all off earlier. Then for dessert we had an apple crisp Sue had made, and that we’d sampled the night before. Absolutely delicious!!!! My one concession there was nonfat vanilla yogurt instead of ice cream.

So, that wraps it up. I think I’m okay on the weight this week. We’ll see on Wednesday. Back to the gym tomorrow. I need to do some treadmill to keep my pace for the C25K progress. And definitely some more bike. Gotta be ready for my next trip to Kauai and those hills.

Dancing My Butt Off

2008-07-10T06:06:00.010-10:00

My trip to Portland was everything I hoped it would be and more. Remember last week when I described what my perfect day there would be like? Well, I had more than one of those. One day I took a walk around the neighborhood where I was staying with my host’s 8 year old son. Nice paths bordering a holly farm and blackberry bushes everywhere! I really want to go pick blackberries later this summer. Maybe back to Oregon, maybe in California. Another day we took a walk at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. Mostly paved, but with some unpaved loop offshoots. I got to be amidst tall, tall, very green trees...with moss. I love moss so much from when I used to spend hours and hours out in the woods that I gave my oldest son that as a middle name. Silly, yeah?

After mornings out enjoying the natural beauty of the Portland area, and there really is a lot of that, we went to the Waterfront Blues Fest. Nothing brings an all day smile to my face like being at a music fest. So much good music – too many artists to name. But Eric Lindell and Paul Thorn were great for sure. The highlights for me were the ones I thought they would be. Rosie Ledet, billed as The Zydeco Sweetheart. And that she is. She played twice on Saturday. The band was hot, full of good time energy, and there was a dance floor where more than half the people were dancing zydeco style. There’s a Cascade Zydeco dance club in Portland that teaches zydeco. Wish we had one of them here. I so want to learn how to zydeco dance. It looks so fun. Anyways, there was plenty of room for everyone to dance, zydeco or not.

And dance I did, for hours. It makes me so happy that I can do that again. After just a few months of this getting healthy focus and I have so much more energy. It’s the best! On Sunday, the highlight for me was James Hunter, the British soul musician. I admit to having a little crush on him. His voice is just so silky, and his band is smoooooth. Two saxes, which always gets me. They did some moves that cracked me up. I highly recommend catching their show if you get a chance. Did I mention my crush?

One of the things that is always an issue for me when I go to these music fests is what to wear for shoes, since for many years I only wore slippers (flip flops) or heeled sandals for going out. Recently I added Crocs to my repertoire, and wonder of wonders! Sneaks for the gym. I like to look cutish, but comfort is a big factor since 8-10 hours of walking between stages and hard core boogieing with only occasional sit-downs can take a toll. I found some pretty comfortable and okay looking shoes before I went, so I was good until late Saturday night, after dancing on a slope for about two hours. I all of a sudden had a blister. Blisters are not good. I had also smartened up by Saturday and taped the toe that has been giving me trouble lately on the tread, because of jamming it last year. Anyway, long story short, by Sunday my feet were toast. Most of the day I went barefoot. Eewww!!!! And wore my crocs when I had to. They did shine up pretty nice with ArmorAll though. But you know what? By then I didn’t care. All I wanted to do was hear more music and dance.

I was kind of nervous about keeping to my plan in terms of eating and exercise. I think we’ve covered the exercise part fine, now on to the food. I brought a little notebook with me to write down everything I ate, since I wasn’t going to be able to log my food online. That worked out so well, kept me conscious of what I was eating. I had some fruit and a fat free yogurt each morning. Then we brought food with us – more fruit, one day steak, the other chicken, and brown rice mixed with yellow split peas and seeds, and salad. And drinks. Lots of water, and a little happy hour beverages. Each day I bought one plate of a different food to share with my friend, so I could sample some of the good looking food there. That worked out really well, too. A few bites and I was satisfied.

So, the end result of my first vacation of this Getting Healthy journey? Lots and lots of fun, and a 1.8 pound loss! My goal was just to hold steady, so I am a very happy girl. This weekend I’m off to Kauai for my friend John’s birthday and hopefully will get to spend some fun outdoor time with a SparkPeople friend, KauaiCarolanne. John teaches sailing on Sunday afternoons, so I’ll get to play bumper boats on a Laser. This oughta be good…..lucky I can swim.

Back to the Numbers

2008-07-02T09:37:00.008-10:00

Okay, so after last week’s weigh-in, I was whining about the numbers not adding up. Today I’m singing a completely different tune. Based on the scientific formula of What I eat – What it takes to keep my body alive – How frickin’ hard I’m working out = What the Scale Should Say, I should have lost 2.95 pounds. Again, it wasn’t exact, but I lost another 2.4 pounds!!!

I’m totally happy with that, because it means that I’ve lost 15 pounds and I’m ¼ of the way to my goal weight! Really, once I got serious, and smarter, about it, it hasn’t taken long. Thanks for all the tips, Michelle, you trigirl, you! And for the very useful info and trackers, SparkPeople! Also, I was trying to hit 185 by the time I went to Portland, so since it has 185 in it, I’ll take it.

I also measured myself today, because I decided I’d do that on my first weigh-in of each month. And, you won’t believe this, because I couldn’t, and I’m living in this body, I trimmed 11.5 inches off my body! In one month!!!!! And that includes a .5 gain in my thigh measurement. I’m not sure what that’s about, but can only guess it is pure muscle underneath that outer fat layer, and when I measured before I was more squishy, so maybe the tape kind of sunk in a little? But, 11.5 Inches!!!! Which brings me to a little dilemma.

Clothes. That fit. I’ve been noticing that my pants are all loose. In fact, most of them I can take off without unzipping them. Yep, they slide right off my hips. But, most of my next size skinnier clothes are still too tight. Except my favorite shorts. Those fit again!!!! I don’t want to go out and buy a bunch of new clothes I’ll only wear for a month or so, but I wanted to look good in Portland. So, after much mind debate I decided to buy one new pair of shorts, a few tops, and just let the rest hang where they may.

So, one more really cool thing this week. I’ve really been eyeing the weight machines while I pedal away on the bikes at the gym, trying to see how people adjust things. When I’m on the treadmill I can’t think of anything except what I’m doing. Oh! Another cool thing! I’m up to a Walk 3.0/Jog 3.9 pace on the tread, so hopefully I’ll be able to move on to Week 3 of my 5K running plan soon.

Anyway, back to the strength training. After my cardio the other day, I saw there was a weight training class in session so I was watching that, and turned to an employee that was nearby and asked him about the class. I told him I was wanting to add some strength training to my program, but didn’t know how to use the machines. He turned out to be the Fitness Manager of the club, and asked hadn’t I been given a complimentary orientation when I joined. I told him I had, but was told we didn’t have time to try any machines during it. Remember the TFH??? I didn’t offer it, but he asked, so I did tell him her name. Anyways…..he scheduled another orientation for me for next week. Yeah!!!! I’m going to be doing some strength training!!! I’m so excited. I thought it was better to wait till after my trip in case I get really sore. That, plus I think I’m going to try that weight training class soon. This how they described it; "24LIFT™:
One of our most popular classes, this highly efficient, full-body 24 Hour Fitness signature workout utilizes barbells and hand weights to strengthen and sculpt all muscle groups. " Sounds good to me.

Over and out. Time to make my smoothie, make banana bread to take with me, pack, and get to the gym. And then tomorrow I'm off to boogie with that cutie, James Hunter, and that hot cajun mama, Rosie Ledet. Woo Hoo! Update: A little change in plans due to puter not liking BlogSpot all of a sudden. Already made the banana bread, and I'm going to the beach instead. Looks like there might be some waves.

Changes are Happening... Fast!

2008-06-28T16:04:00.004-10:00

Well, here it is. My new do. I’m not completely happy with it, but I don’t hate it either. And it for sure looks a million million times better than what I had before. Part of not taking care of myself was letting my hair just grow and grow, and then wearing it up and back all the time. So I looked like I was bald, or like an Easter egg. Hair around one’s face is flattering, especially when you have a few wrinkles.
I’ve got to get used to the bangs, though. Haven’t had any of them since I was about 13, I think. I’m curious what it will be like taking care of it, how much work it will take. I’m pretty much a wash and wear kind of girl, so I hope it isn’t too hard. And the ponytail the stylist cut off is long enough (10 inches) to send to Locks of Love. I'm happy about that.

Now, here is another amazing change for me. My appointment was at 10 this morning, and I knew I wasn’t going to want to go to the gym right after and get my new do all sweaty, so I went before! Now this is incredible because not too long ago I would have used it as an excuse to not exercise today. But, I wanted to go. I figured I could fit in 30 minutes of cardio and still make it to my appointment after showering and having a smoothie.

And…..drum roll……guess what I did for that 30 minutes? I took a spinning class! Well, part of a spinning class, anyways. I was standing there looking at them. Are they called spinners? Anyways, I was standing there looking at them because usually the light is turned off in their special little room. This girl walked up to me and asked me if I was going to join the class that was just starting. I told her I only had 30 minutes and my knee was feeling kind of weird this morning. She told me, “No Problem” and said she always wears a knee brace herself. She also said she burns way more calories in spinning class than on regular stationary bikes. The way she put it was, “Oh those! They’re nothing. Pfft….These are much more like road bikes.” So I thought, “What the heck.” Training for real biking is what I’m doing after all.

It was kind of fun because everybody is doing it together and some people were chatting and laughing and there’s music. The leader adjusted my spinner bike (correct terminology. I looked it up) and away we went. I liked that there was a range of people there – from overweight like me, to really thin and fit, from in their 20s to well into their 60s, male, female, it was easy to fit in.

There was also a range of spinning fitness there, from the couple in their 60s, dressed in their bike clothes, racing away with what looked like perfect form and no fat to be seen, to a few who only stood up twice. I tried to stand when the leader said to, but could only last a few seconds, maybe 15, before sitting down again. Plus, there’s a whole art to transitioning from sitting to standing while you’re riding. At least I didn’t fall off, but I was wondering how many people do when they are beginners. It also took me a bit to figure out how to increase the tension on the bike, but I eventually did.

I’ll probably go back for another class soon, just to mix things up a bit. I’ve been reading how it’s good to change exercise patterns to kind of fool your body into working harder. I’m all for that. Whatever it takes to get the most out of the effort I’m putting in. I think I’ll stay put for the rest of the day, let my hair enjoy itself. Tomorrow I’ll go to the beach or the gym again.

Traveling to the Blues

2008-06-27T12:11:00.006-10:00

I’m getting really excited! I’m going to the Portland Waterfront Blues Fest for the Fourth of July weekend. Lots of good music, including zydeco, which is just plain feel good, sexy, get up and dance, music. Since I didn’t go to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest this year, I’ll be able to get my hit of zydeco in Portland. How weird but wonderful is that!?

I’ve looked at the schedule of performancess and mostly the ones I want to hear start in the afternoons, so hopefully I’ll be able to do a little exploring of Portland and surrounds in the mornings. In my vision of the perfect day there I’ll get up, have a smoothie, go for a hike or bike ride for a few hours, shower and get ready for the fest, go there, listen, dance, laugh, smile, meet new folks, and generally have a blast, then go back to where I’m staying, take a nice long shower, have a healthy dinner with some interesting conversation, maybe a glass of wine or two, then fall into bed for a good sleep. Then wake up and do it all again the next two days.

Now, here’s where I’m a bit worried. Other than my usual nervousness about being around new people, I mean, but I’m just ignoring those pesky thoughts. I am. So, this is the first time I’ll be traveling since I started this getting healthy trip. I don’t know how to estimate calories or WW points well enough yet to feel confident about staying within the limits. Anybody have any suggestions of ways to keep eating healthy while traveling and eating at strange places? I know when I quit smoking preparation was the key to traveling successfully without blowing my quit.

I’ve decided I’m going to get my hair cut before I go. Kind of a risky move right before a trip, but I figure I can’t look much worse than I do now, since I always wear my hair up because it is so long. I’m hoping it's long enough that I can send it to Locks of Love, an organization for making hairpieces for kids with illnesses that cause baldness. I just colored it myself last week, but the stylist is going to see if she can maybe color it a little darker.

I used a virtual haircut site where you can upload your own pic to play around with styles and colors. It was fun, but since the choices were all celebrity cuts, they were mostly a little young for me. Some of them looked absolutely hilarious on me. I found a Jessica Alba cut I liked, with some sweepy bangs which I've never had and surprisingly, a light auburn shade looked really good on me. So, we’ll see. I might even get brave and post a pic of me after it’s done. If it looks good enough. Well, it looks like Charlize has beat me to the salon with the idea, but just so you have a general idea of what I'm thinking. I'll probably go just a little bit longer, though, so we don't look like twins.

Oh! Great news on my C25K progress!!!! I promised myself that I’d stay at the same walk and jog paces (2.9/3.8) until my heart rate stayed where it’s supposed to. Well, guess what? Today it only went over my limit twice, and both times went right back down within 20-30 seconds without my reducing the pace. Yippee!!!! So, this weekend I’m going to try 3/3.9 and see what happens. I think I already mentioned that I’m not going to increase the jogging time until I can sustain a 3/4 pace. Slow but steady progress. I keep eyeing the weight machines and think when I get back from Portland I’m going to start with a few of those.

Well, time to start trying on clothes for the trip. Kind of in an in between size. Most of my clothes are getting loose, but my skinnier ones don't fit yet. Lucky it's only for a few days.

When Two Plus Two Doesn't Equal Four

2008-06-25T10:51:00.004-10:00

Well, after my oh so enthusiastic I’m in love with numbers post earlier this week, I am not so enamored of them right now. I was loving them so much that I created a whole Excel spreadsheet to track all the factors that contribute (or not) to losing weight. On it I’ve got current weight, daily calories eaten, base metabolic rate, calories burned, and weekly estimated weight loss based on those numbers. Then I’ve got actual weight loss, weight watcher points, and BMI.

I know this sounds geeky, but please understand that this endeavor really is new to me. Besides after having babies, I’ve never consciously tried to lose weight and have never been on a real diet in my life. And, given that in the first three weeks I only lost one pound, I think it is understandable that I have gone a little overboard in making this a Big Project, bringing in Science to help. Anyone who knows me personally knows that when I put my mind to something, I tend to go all the way with it. I want to be successful at this!

Well, I tried to add my xcel psreadsheet but can't figure it out. Oh well, just trust me it is complicated and very thorough.

So, guess why I’m not seeing the beauty of numbers so clearly this week? This week the numbers don’t add up, and I only lost 1.2 pounds. Okay, the main reason is the 1.2 loss rather than the 3 pounds of the past few weeks, but really, it’s not what it’s supposed to be! I know that this is within normal and safe loss range. But by my lengthy and detailed calculations, my estimated weight loss was 3.02.

I could see it coming because throughout the week when I weighed myself (obsessively, as I do) most of the time I wasn’t dipping below 189. So, really I’m surprised that the scale showed 188 this morning. Now, here’s where I have to listen to those wiser and more experienced in this little thing called losing weight. MauiShopGirl on SparkPeople, who is a Weight Watcher lifetime member, advised me earlier this week,
“Long term, non water weight loss doesn't usually happen at more than 1 lb per week so don't feel discouraged if you don't have a 3lber each week. Celebrate those weeks that are 0.5 lb, 1 lb or maintain.”

My initial response to even the anticipated smaller loss was to start slipping into that dark place of soothing my disappointment by eating. One of the major changes I’ve made in my eating I haven’t talked about at all up until now. That is eating in the middle of the night. When I’m alone, i.e., nobody’s in bed with me, I almost always have been eating something either before going to sleep and/or if I wake up in the middle of the night. I liken it to a baby with a bottle or breast.

Eat something so I can go to sleep. It’s soothing. And what is more soothing than carbs and cheese?

Remember, my cheese is your chocolate. So, for quite a while that was more often than not a tortilla and cheese or a sandwich. Mind you I usually added something healthy in there like tomatoes and/or lettuce, but don’t forget the mayo. Sometimes it was “a little leftovers”, translated: another mini dinner. And those of you who count calories or WW points know those attempts at soothing myself probably added up to 300-500 calories or 3-5 WW points. Right when I wasn’t going to burn them off. Remember, nobody in my bed. So, I have really cut that out. I mean, other than an occasional LCLW or a bowl of berries and yogurt, I’ve stopped eating in bed. And when I do eat those things, they do count. I meticulously add them the next morning to my previous day’s totals.

Well, last night when I woke up in the middle of the night I weighed myself sometime during those few hours, and I was still 189. So, what did I do? I made myself a LCLW and tomato corn tortilla quesadilla. Not as bad as what I would have eaten in the past, but still not a regular stop I want to make on this journey. So, then the dilemma was where to add the calories and points – to yesterday’s totals or today’s? Technically it was already today, but since I went back to sleep, it was also last night. I was going to add it to today’s, but while writing this, I decided to add it to yesterday’s since I hadn’t done my official Wednesday Weigh-in yet.

So, the revised estimated weight loss was 2.97, and since I forgot that last week I was 189.6, not 189 like I had in my head, my actual loss was 1.6 pounds. Now, that doesn’t sound so bad. The numbers still don’t add up, but I like that extra almost half pound. See how I'm already beginning to accept that every week isn't going to be a 3 pounder, even if the numbers say they should?

Still, I have to watch that “emotional eating” component now and in the future, and take the lesson my friend Michelle (who just finished her first tri! Yay, Michelle!) has demonstrated so well. If I keep doing what I know will contribute to a healthier lifestyle and weight loss, the pounds will come off. A setback or a small loss does not mean it's all over, the goal is to change my lifestyle and maintain that. That doesn’t mean, however, that I won’t keep tracking numbers, because I really do love them, those silly little predictable units.

It's Not Rocket Science

2008-06-22T19:00:00.008-10:00

No, it’s not, but it is science. I remember when I first started this and found out that it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose one pound. I was a bit dismayed since at that point I was only burning about 100 calories during each playtime at the gym, and wasn’t even close to meeting my 1200-1550 calorie per day eating goal. At the rate I was going it was going to take about a month to lose one single pound!

There are so many different diets and weight loss products out there, all promising that if you follow their particular way of doing things, you will lose massive amounts of weight. But, other than the Hoodia pills I bought and immediately felt sick from, I just haven’t believed that there is some magic answer to it. I’ve figured that each weight loss miracle promise is just like each messianic religious leader; just trying to gather as many followers into their fold as possible. There were some smart folks, and I’d really like to know who they were, who figured out the calculations for real weight loss. Calories In – Calories Out – Base Metabolic Rate (more about this later) = Weight Gain or Loss.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve figured out how to make this particular scientific factoid work for me. Btw, I started writing this entry last week after another 3 pound loss, but it got deleted somehow, not even saved to drafts, and I have better things to do with my time than try to remember what I was rambling about.
So, anyways…I have adjusted so many of my food thingies downward in terms of calories and fat. I am a label-reading fool, and I am sure some store managers suspect me of trying to enjoy their air conditioning for free during these summer months, when actually I am just trying to make myself buy an ice cream treat. But damn, I just have not been able to make myself keep a dessert in my cart that has 2 grams of fat, no matter how good it looks like it’s going to taste. But, I think I might have to rethink that pretty soon. Just not yet.

I’ve also been slowly increasing both length and intensity of my cardio workouts. I think I mentioned that I’m doing the C25K program and have been walking 3/jogging 1 for 2 weeks now. Finally my heart rate is staying where it should, and soon I hope to get up to a 3 minute walking/4 minute jogging pace. I’m almost there. Once I hit that, then I’ll go to Week 2 of the plan. Plus doing the Random Hill biking, which I love, at level 10.

Since I’m going to the gym 5-6 days per week and burning over 500 calories each time, and also going bodyboarding a couple times a week, not to mention yard work, I am easily burning 3500 calories just with exercise. Then there are the calories eaten. I’ve been staying within the 1200-1550 goal (and 23 WW points) each day for about 2 weeks now. Since my Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) is over 2300 calories per day, that means that just being alive I’m burning more calories than I’m eating, to the tune of about 800 – 1100 per day, or 5600-7700 per week.

In fact my total calorie deficit for last week when was 12, 571 calories. That’s a lot of frigging calories, don’t ya think????? If you divide them by 3,500, you get 3.59 projected pounds lost. And you know what? I lost 3.2 pounds. Pretty darn close. Not rocket science, but close enough for me. I’m trying to stay on my program: eat smart, move a lot and intensely, and the weight will drop. My stomach is still gross, I’m still wearing fat clothes, but I keep reminding myself I am moving in the right direction. I can move so much easier, I’m feeling more energized, and all the numbers are declining. Think I might treat myself to a skinny cow ice cream treat this week or next. Sometimes it works just to think about it.

Consistency Counts

2008-06-15T20:17:00.010-10:00

I'm definitely learning about the power of consistency. I've always thought that as long as one stays active in some way each day that it is the same in terms of staying in shape. I am definitely rethinking that. I'm beginning to understand that the specific type of activity one does contributes to different kinds of fitness.

For instance..... yesterday I worked HARD outside, spraying weedkiller on a 90 degree hillside, shoveling composted debris out of a drainage canal, and trimming out of control rhododendrons. Those are just two of the leaves.

Then I went to the beach and had a blast boogieboarding for the last hour of the day. These are both activities I enjoy for different reasons. The yard work gives me a sense of accomplishment, although it is never done for long. The boogieboarding is one of my passions - it just makes me happy. So I burned about 800 calories I think. It's hard to find the right activities on my fitness tracker that match what I'm actually doing. The day before I did some weedeating and then boogieboarding. So, I figured "No problem" that I didn't do any gym cardio for two days.

Wrong, oh New to the Gym Girl! Last week I and my heart rate were cruising right along on the treadmill, walk 3, jog 1 for 30 minutes. Then biking for another 20-30 minutes. Well, I couldn't believe what a difference a few days break made. My heart rate was going nuts again after the first three jogging intervals. So, I was a good girl and took the walking down a notch each time till my heart rate settled down, and then after the fourth interval, called it quits on the jogging. I was really disappointed, because I was hoping to up the pace this week. But, I was proud of myself for finishing not only the treadmill, but biking too. Again, I couldn't keep it up at the level 10 pace I had last week because of my heart rate, but I did for most of the tme. And burned over 500 calories! So, I just need to remind myself that as long as I am moving, it is a vast improvement over just six weeks ago. But, if I'm going to do any of us this seriously, like run a 5K ever, I need to keep on it.

On a good note in the consistency department, I'm continuing to eat within my calorie range and meeting my WW points total every day. I'm wondering if it's a bad thing to not use my 30 extra flex points, though, because I woke up really really hungry this morning. I'm also wondering if that had anything to do with how hard the gym workout was today. I guess I'll figure that out as I go along.

Having My Cheese and Spreading It Too

2008-06-11T14:17:00.003-10:00

I have just discovered one of the wonders of the known world! My LCLWs are spreadable and LESS calories and fat than a Tbsp of Lite mayo!!!! (35/2 vs 50/4) How can this be????? I can now not only eat those little triangles of creamy delight as a snack, I can use them on sandwiches too! This is just too good to be true!!!

I mean, my cheese is another person's chocolate. Sometimes, well, alright, most nights, I just have to have some cheese before i go to bed. Now that I've found, and purchased, four beautiful rounds of LCLWs, I am such a happy camper. The other night I went on a little Laughing Cow binge. First I ate one, then I was craving another and thought, "Maybe if I have one with something else it will satisfy me," so I spread one on a piece of rye toast with a thin layer of deli turkey. Then, when that still wasn't quite enough, I had one more wedge. And you know what? It still added up to less calories and fat than one tiny little slice of regular cheese! I am in heaven!

And, it's working. I'd identified this cheese habit and cocktails as the cause of my going over my target calorie and WW point range every day. So, I altered the mix I'm having with my drinks and limiting the number of them, and I got rid of (okay, ate) all of the regular cheese in the house and bought LCLWs. Since I made those two changes I've stayed on the low side of my calorie range and kept within my WW points range. Which has led to a very happy state of affairs for what will be hereon known as my Wednesday Weigh-In. 192.4 pounds! yes indeedy, a 3.2 loss this past week!

My cardio is also continuing along well. I took a day off Monday and just did a little gardening, but I went six days straight before that and went yesterday and today. I'm continuing with the 30 minute 3 min walk/1 min jog at the current levels 2.9/3.7 until my heart rate and body tells me it's time to increase them. Hopefully by the end of this week or early next week. And doing the bike at a level 10, with occasional dips down to 8 for the steep hills. So, according to SparkPeople calculators I am buring around 550 calories each time (the machines at the gym estimate 350-375, but I like SP's estimates better). Yippee!!

2008-06-09T15:24:00.000-10:00

I found the Little Laughing Cow Lite Wedges(LCLWs)!!! I usually breeze through Costco in about 20 minutes cause I know what I'm getting and that is that. But, when I went yesterday it was with the idea that I would read the label of anything I was considering buying. I must have been in there for over an hour, and the only samples I sampled were of some kind of vitamin water (0 calories) and a little piece of a granola bar (maybe 14 calories, because a whole one was 140).

Granola bars were on my mental list of things to buy, because I figured there might be times when I didn't have time to eat something healthy or I wanted a snack. But they all had at least 140 calories and I think 3-5 grams of fat. Since I am not much of a snacker, except at night before going to bed, and i already had my mind set on the LCLWs, I passed on the granola bars. I did get Special K with strawberries tho. I'm not much of a cereal person, but I remembered I liked them before, and a serving only has 100 calories and no fat, so I thought they might come in handy sometime. I think the milk is extra, but since I'm doing the lowfat soy milk thing I think that will be okay.Let's see.

What else new did I get? Oh yeah, a case of Crystal Light drinks - raspberry, orange, and lemonade (5 calories for 12 oz and no fat of course)... to go with my vodka. I think it might have been a mistake, tho, because they're really sweet. I guess if I mix it with sparkling water it will be fine. And that case oughta last me at least till Christmas..lol I did get one 2 pack of cran-raspberry juice to go with the last of my pink grapefruit juice.

Then a lot of the old standbys - broccoli crowns, a big bag of spinach, 6 pack of colored peppers, a rotisserie chicken, salmon burgers and marinated salmon fillets (I know there is a ton of fat in salmon, but they say it is "Good fat", if there is such a thing, and I haven't been cooking with ANY oil lately, so I figured it was okay), and deli sliced baked turkey breast (60 c and .5 g fat for 2 oz). I looked for pita bread but couldn't find it, so got more rye bread. No Tortillas!!!! That is a major step for me. I did look at them, and the whole wheat wraps, and maybe next time I'll get the wraps. We'll see.

I'd read an article on SparkPeople about flaxseed and decided I needed some of that too. So, first I picked up a giant jar of ground flaxseed, but then I found flaxseed oil caps, and decided on them insead. I know myself, and that jar of powdery stuff would have gathered a lot of dust, and not much would have made it inside me. Even though I am sure it is really really good for me. I'm just not much of a sprinkler of that kind of stuff, although at one point in my life I added wheat germ to just about everything.

I saved looking for the LCLWs till last, because I knew how disappointed I would be if they didn't have any. But they did! I am just so happy about that, I can't tell you. I was getting really hungry even before I went, but I passed on all their food court stuff because everything except their berry smoothies has 700+ calories and a bunch of fat, but as soon as I got home I had one of those LCLWs. And, man are they good! Just like I remembered them. All creamy and cheesy. I think I have found the answer to my cheese addiction while getting healthy again. That and the jarlsberg lite cheese for sandwiches, although that just doesn't have the right texture to satisfy my cheese cravings, especially at night.

Oh sheesh, I know this manini (Hawaiian slang for little, acknowledging of it being inconsequential) examination of my food and exercise is more than anyone wants to hear about, but I am really working hard at this -trying to change things up so I get where I want to be. I guess nobody has to read it if they are too bored, and I am sure there are plenty of people who are. For some reason a lot of my sense of humor has disappeared as I get more serious about this. Duh! Serious = lack of humor in some circles. It will come back, I know it will. Anways...on to exercise.....

I've alternated the 3 minutes walk/1minute jog the past two days, and have been playing around with the pace. Keeping them both up as high as I can, but being mindful of my heart rate. Whenever it goes over the 85% of THR I slow it down, and as I go along during each 30 minutes I have to slow it down a little more. So, until I can keep it under the whole time I am going to TRY to not keep upping the pace. It's hard, though, let me tell you. Especially when I'm perfectly happy walking/jogging along at my slow pace and some little skinny girl gets on the machine next to me and stretches her foot up on the side bar and then starts jogging along like she's being chased by an angry fat woman, then starts jogging sideways, backwards, and I'm sure if she could, uspide down. Patience, Kristy, patience. So, my cardios have all been 55-65 minutes for at least a week now, because after I do the treadmill I go on the bike. I can't wait to ride a real bike again. I've always loved that.

Good news! I went to the doctor's today and my blood pressure decreased from 142/90 on May 21 to 136/80 today, and my weight went from 199.5 that day to 195.9 today. Now, my morning before I eat and with no clothes on scale says I am actually 194, but at least it is all going in the right direction.

Who Cut the Cheese?

2008-06-06T17:09:00.000-10:00

I did..... and the sour cream, and the 2% milk, and the mayo. I've been tracking my food for the past few weeks now on http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition.asp Boy, that's a lot of work to begin with! Now that I have a bunch of foods listed in my favorites it's not so bad, but I don't see how someone who is working full time could possibly have time to track all their food, go to the gym, and spend time reading labels at the supermarket. I just spent an hour there and came home with 3 frozen dinners (because I was sick of my usual fare), some frozen juice bars, and a tub of nonfat cottage cheese. I was a label-reading maniac. Did you know that some "healthy" or "diet" frozen dinners have almost 400 calories and 9 grams of fat???? Most had at least 7 grams of fat, and 350 calories. I found a few with less than 300 calories and only 5 grams of fat. Those are the ones I got.

So, back to cutting the cheese....I love cheese - cheddar, jack, swiss, cottage, cream, feta, you name it, I love it. What I was noticing was that I've been doing pretty good staying within my recommended calorie and fat range every day, except for two things. Cheese and Cocktails. I've been staying wihin the recommended fat grams per day, so that hasn't been much of a problem. But, one teeny tiny slice of cheese is anywhere from 114 to 150 calories, and somewhere between 7 and 10 grams of fat! So, I'll be going along just fine all day - smoothie for breakfast. More on that in a bit. Lunch varies, but I usually keep it within 250-350 calories and not too many grams of fat, Dinner, same thing. So, at the end of the "Meal Day", I am around 1000 calories, give or take 100 or so.

Now, here's where things go downhill. I have a favorite cocktail - vodka mixed with cran-raspberry and pink grapefruit juices. I've altered them so that now instead of just vodka and juice I'm making them with orange-flavored sparkling water with just a splash of juice. So each one is now only about 70-75 calories instead of 120-125. I'm proud I thought of that little change. But, if I drink, say 3-5 of those babies that is 210-375 extra calories. So, I could still be in range for the day. Or I could have 2 slices of cheese either on corn tortillas (230+150=380) or a slice of bread (230+90=310) for the high end of the same amount of calories, with a whole lot more fat. The problem is, I've been doing both! And even sneak in an extra slice here or there.

So, I've decided I'm going to limit my drinks to 3-4, and get rid of all regular cheese in the house. That's meant I've been eating more cheese than I should, because I just couldn't bring myself to throw away the delicious Cheddar with Horseradish I bought last time i was at Costco, even though I knew it was going to be a problem. But, I'm excited about going to Costco this weekend and hopefully finding some lower cal/fat alternatives. I already have their Jarlsberg Lite, but I'm really hoping they have Laughing Cow Lite wedges or better yet, Bites. Those sweet little things are only 35 calories and 2 grams of fat and so so creamy.

Okay, so that's it on the food. Oh, no it isn't. Morning smoothies. I switched from 2% milk to organic unsweetened soy milk. That's 130c/5g fat to 80c/4g fat per cup. Lots of times I don't use a whole cup. I'm also using nonfat plain yogurt. I've gotten the calorie count down from 340-370 to 250-280. Also switched to lowfat sour cream. All these little steps will hopefully lead to fewer and fewer calories and fat. And you know what that means, right? A weight loss. Because I do care how much I weigh. I so hate lugging around these 2 big bags of rice everywhere I go!

How's the gym, you ask? You mean my new playground where I spend about an hour almost every day? Where all week I walked for 3 minutes, jogged for 30 seconds for a half hour? Where yesterday I walked for 3 minutes, jogged for one, for those 30 minutes? And then where I rode the bike on my random hill course for 20 minutes, most of the time at a level 10? And never even came close to reaching my max heart rate? Oh, it's just fine and dandy. How am I feeling, you ask? Like I can breathe better, like my heart is getting stronger, and like there really are some muscles hiding under the fat, thanks for asking. Yeah, me!

I cut the limbs off a tree in my yard today, because I was sick of trimming it while reaching over a fence, and it doesn't produce anything to eat or smell good. I carted all of the limbs up the stairs with no problem at all. A few months ago I would have had to stop and rest and would have been breathing really heavily. I would have cut the whole thing down, but the chain saw was out of bar oil, and then when I got back I was too scared to play with it. Power tools that can maim really scare me. Not sure what I'm going to do about it. Maybe ask a neighbor if they will supervise me. But all that limb-lopping has to count for some strength-training, right?

Okay, that's it for me. No more weight lost this week, which is a little bit of a disappointment, but hopefully once I have cut the cheese for good, things will start moving in the right direction again. If you want to find me this weekend, I'll either be reading labels at Costco, at the gym, or playing in the ocean. Hope everyone has a fun, healthy weekend too!

So Many Questions

2008-06-01T13:05:00.000-10:00

Like, how do I make pictures smaller on here? Nobody really needs to see that buttery spray that big. I mean, what if it WAS that big? You'd burn calories just getting it out of the fridge and spraying it on anything. It'd be like a fire hose. One spray and you could knock the pan off the stove, or your plate off the table. And that smoothie would last you days. Or you could make a party out of it. Invite your friends, give them pretty straws and all slurp away together. Of course some of your shorter friends might need a stepladder to get their fair share.

Another question that came up yesterday for me was how do I set the treadmill for C25K intervals? I DID figure out today how to alternate running and walking on the thing. Yesterday I just kept it at the same pace (2.6) and jogged slowly every three minutes. That just didn't seem right, so today I walked at 2.8 and then every three minutes I set it up to 3.6 for 30 seconds. That seemed more like what it was supposed to feel like. But, what do I know since I haven't run for about 4 years?

And what does 2.6, 2.8, and 3.6 stand for? Are they measuring something? I'm sure they are, I just can't figure out what. Steps per minute? That can't be right. Miles per hour? Maybe. For some reason I can't convert things. Let's say I set it at 4 and that meant that I was moving at 4 miles per hour. How high would I have to set it to be running a 4 minute mile? 15? Not that I'm ever going to reach that level, but I've always thought of the four minute mile as such a great thing.

Anyway, these are things I think of as I walk along on the treadmill. Better than thinking about the great body the girl on the elliptical in front of me had today and how I will never look like that, or move like that either. Okay, enough of THOSE thoughts. Better to think about the fact that I jogged yesterday and today. Every three minutes. And my heart rate only once reached a dangerous level, and that was because I pushed the level up to 3.8 or 4 and jogged for a minute. So, hearing Laurel's voice in my head, I decided to keep it toned down. I am so impatient! I want to do it all NOW! I want to all of a sudden weigh 50 pounds less, not the 5 pounds I've finally reached. I want to run for hours not seconds. All in good time. I don't know whose voice that is, but it's what I have to remember. Just keep doing what I'm doing and my body and ability to move will improve.

Okay, another question. How often should I be doing these cardio workouts? Some things I've read say you should do some form of cardio 5-6 days a week, but others say you should take days off in between. So, I'm confused. I know I said I was going to hire a trainer soon so I could do some strength training, but yesterday I had a weird thing happen so I'm not sure if I'm ready for the machines. I did some crunches, first on this machine that you sit on and lean forward with, then on one of the benches. When I got in my car, as soon as I twisted sideways to sit down I had the most unbelievable pain in my upper stomach, like right below my bra line.

This is the third time it's happened. The first was when the TFH had me doing those leg things and when it hurt too much, I rolled over and got on my knees really quickly. The second time was a few weeks ago when I was going to the beach. I had felt something kind of cramp or tighten weirdly about 10 minutes before when I was putting on my bathing suit. Then all of a sudden it started hurting really really bad, like heart attack bad. And then yesterday. I think it is a muscle spasm because yesterday, during the third time I got out of my car to stand up because it hurt too much to sit, I felt a big bulge right there. Okay, I know TMI, but this is why I think maybe I'm not ready for strength training and those machines. Maybe I should get in a little better shape first? Does that make sense? Getting in shape to do strength training? Can women get hernias?

Anyways...I burned 270 calories between the treadmill and bike, and with cool downs, went 55 minutes. Big improvement over a month ago. THAT is the thing to remember. And I jogged. Did I mention that?

Still Moving in the Right Direction, if Just in Baby Steps

2008-05-30T20:41:00.000-10:00

Haven't had much to say here for the past week. Part of it is the frustration of not being able to use the features successfully to make this more interesting, with pics in the right places and right sizes, and links to cool other stuff looking like they should. I feel like a dork when I can't do this stuff. But I will keep trying. Like now, here is a pic of my usual morning smoothie

I think I've talked about these before, but I'm still excited about them. I keep changing them so they get healthier. Lately I've been adding AltaDena fat free yogurt to them and not so much milk. I'm still trying to finish my 2% milk so I can give soy milk a try. And, in the meantime, I have actually been measuring my morning milk. That is a very new thing for me. I have one cup total for my coffee and smoothie. Once I switch to soy milk for the smoothies I'm planning on getting fat free coffee creamer of some sort too. Okay, so this is why I haven't been writing here much either. I feel like reporting all the minutiae of my efforts is probably not that interesting to anyone except me.

But, I do want to say that the two other little changes that I hope will add up to some weight changes are my change to "light" mayo, which has 45 calories and 4g of fat per Tbsp, as opposed to the 90 cal and 10 g of fat of regular mayo, and the light stuff comes out in this cute ribbon, and I've measured, I am usually using only 1/2 Tbsp. So, that is a very very good change. As is my use of "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray.
Now, I have read some big brouhahas about the false claim that there is no fat and no calories, because that is true with just 1.25 sprays of the stuff. But for my money, any product I can use that tastes like butter and contains only 10 cals and 1 g of fat per 12.5 sprays (plenty for a baked potato or piece of toast) is a miracle in my book. Especially compared to regular butter which has 100 cal and 11 g of fat in 1/2 T, which is NOT enough for a baked potato for sure. Now, there might come a day when 10 cals and 1 g of fat will seem like a very big deal to me, but I don't think that will be any time soon. Probably right about the time I start rolling on those foam things for my lateral fasciati thing.

I'm also still gonna talk about how the "getting active" part of this journey is going. Now, I could just sum it up by saying, "Pretty darn good!", but for those of you who know me, that would be too too easy. I have to write a paragraph or two instead. I can't say I'm a ball of energy yet, or that I keep moving all day, but I have been doing something active for at least 45 minutes every day. A few days this past week it was moving furniture and cleaning, a few days it was walking for 30-60 minutes while my vehicles were getting serviced (note to self: always wear tennies when this is happening), a few days it was playing in the water, riding waves and keeping moving as I was waiting for waves for 60-90 minutes, and a few days it was the gym for cardio.

I hadn't been to the gym for I think almost a week, but made myself go tonight. I wanted to see if I could do the treadmill, because I'm getting interested in doing the C25K plan. And OMG! What an amazing surprise!!!!! I did 30 minutes-easily! I'm not kidding. I didn't even hold on to the handles most of the time. 20 minutes was at level 3, the last 10 at level 4. A very slow pace, but my heart rate was in the high teens, low 120s the entire time. Perfect! And 98.6 calories burned. Now, this accomplishment may seem like nothing, but a month ago there is no way I could have even done 10 minutes, maybe not even 5. Last time I was on the treadmill I was hanging on for dear life. So, for me this is major progress.

Then I switched over to the bike for 20 minutes. 15 minutes at level 7, and my hr stayed in the 120s, the last 5, with the biggest hills at level 9. Only once did my hr get up to 139, and no pausing at all! Another 116 calories burned. Not pleased with the calories burned, but I am very very pleased in the progress I'm making with my heart rate and perceived effort. I also tried an ab crunch machine before I left. I think I'll schedule an appt with a trainer soon to learn how to adjust the machines and set up a little training program. I guarantee it will not be with the TFH of fasciata fame.
Okay, all caught up. Not sure what I'm going to do for the rest of the weekend in terms of exercise, but it will be something. That I can guarantee.

Follows Instructions Well

2008-05-21T13:30:00.000-10:00

Okay, I'm over my scare, and I think something weird is happening. I actually look forward to going to the gym now and miss it when I don't go. Is this the same woman who had a million reasons NOT to go to the gym just a month ago????

So, I followed Laurel's advice and very carefully watched my heart rate today. A few people have told me that the machines' readouts are probably not that accurate, but I'm just not ready to go out and buy another piece of techno-jewelry. So, I'm going to stick with the machines' opinions on what I'm doing for right now.

I was planning on trying the treadmill again to start with, but they were all full. Oh darn! So, I did 33 minutes on the bike. At first I set the level down to 5, but my heart rate stayed around 115 or less so I upped it to 7. Then it ranged from 115 to the mid 120s (avg=117 overall). The funny thing was I burnt 134 calories, pretty close to what I was burning when I had the level up at 10, in the same amount of time. Since that was so easy I didn't feel like I'd really worked out, so I went over to the ellipticals. I set the levels at 1 and watched my heart rate immediately start going up. It pretty much stayed in the 135-139 range the whole 13 minutes, but it occasionally went into the 140s. When it did that I slowed down and waited, impatiently I might add, for it to go back to 139. I hate being a wuss! But, I'd rather be a live wuss than a dead warrior. That's just how I am. I burned another 100 calories there.

So, 234 calories burned today with 46 minutes of safe cardio workout. That sounds pretty much like I'm on track, right? Well, let me tell you, I wasn't done with the "keep moving" portion of my day yet, no sirree Bob. Once I stopped sweating, Sheez I hate that, I changed and did some errands and went to the beach for about 45 minutes. Enough to catch some little waves and do some isometric exercises with my friend, my boogieboard, while kicking around in the water. I was hoping the waves were going to be a little bigger, as forecast, but it doesn't really matter, because any day I'm in the water is a good day.

Scary with a Capital S

2008-05-20T11:45:00.000-10:00

So, I was talking with my friend Laurel on our online scrabble site. I mentioned that yesterday at the gym I got my heart rate up in the 190s. Laurel is an emergency flight nurse, and she got very concerned when I said this. Told me I could cause myself to have an MI, which is a kind of heart attack. Said that they often have had to use a defibrilator on people whose heart rate goes that high. Scared the you know what outta me!!! I want to get in shape, not kill myself!

She sent me this formula:
If you are 57, take 220-57=163 (max HR)

Low intensity cardio (start with ) 163x.65=106

Mid intensity (in a few weeks for 30 minutes) 163x.75=122

High intensity 163x.85=138

And recommended,

Never, never go over 163 for you. You are stressing your heart way too much and may precipitate a MI.

Sooooo, I'm rethinking my whole approach at the gym. Here I've been thinking that the more the better. This may be true in terms of length of cardio workout, but it definitely is not true in terms of intensity. So, in direct opposition to Emeril's standard advice, I'm going to

take it down a notch

..or maybe a bunch of notches. I was so scared, that today I didn't go to the gym. Instead I went to the beach and swam around for about a half hour.

I'm going to try to go to the gym tomorrow and really pay attention to my heart rate. Like Goldilocks, Not too fast, not too slow, I'm going to be shooting for Just Right. And maybe start looking around at some of those weight resistance machines, whatever they're called.

Moving Up, Down, and Forward

2008-05-19T10:58:00.000-10:00

Yesterday I went to the beach with my daughter and just played around. No waves except a tiny shore break. Lots of families, including a couple of dads giving their cute little sons pushes on their surfboards. I wish I'd brought my camera because those little guys were riding those waves and having the time of their lives. I just paddled around for about 45 minutes. I figured it was better than sitting around my house, playing on the computer. It was movement.

Today I woke up early, before 6 a.m. Even without the dog across the street barking. Did I mention that the information I sent them must have worked, because since I have been back from Kona he has hardly barked at all, and when he does he stops really quickly? I'm wondering if they are using the spray bottle technique. Whatever they are doing, I am grateful.

So, despite my sore legs, I had a smoothie and went to the gym. This is the moving up part. That torture machine that I thought is an elliptical machine? Now I'm not so sure. While I was on it today, I looked to my left, and there was a row of similar machines, but the arm things on those moved too. My arm bar thingies didn't move. I checked. So now I'm thinking I have just been using a stairmaster maybe. I mean the feet things are the same, big trays that move all weird - up, down, kind of sliding back and forth, it is the arm bar thingies that are different. Don't laugh!!! I had never set foot in a gym until less than a month ago! But, if anyone could tell me what I have been using to torture myself, I would really appreciate it. Anyway, I increased the time by one minute today...one very long minute I might add...up to eight minutes. And still only 59 calories burned. Maybe I slowed down when I noticed the REAL Elliptical machines?

Then I moved on to the bike. Since 20 minutes + cool down went so well Saturday, I upped it to 30 minutes + cool down today. Again, on the highest hills it paused twice, even though I was pedaling as hard as I could. I think that may be a good thing though, because at times my heart rate was up in the 190s. I was thinking maybe I should "downshift" it to a lower level for those hills, but my pride just won't let me do it - yet. If I can't make it up the hills at level 10 in another week, I will try that. Oh shoots! I forgot how many calories I burned, but I know it was 131 at about 14 minutes, so I would guess it was over 200 by the time I was done.

I've been making small adjustments to my food. This is the moving down part. I bought some lowfat mayo, I checked carefully for the lowest calorie/fat when I bought bread. Did I mention that rye bread had fewer calories and fat than all of the other whole grain breads I looked at? I was surprised at that. I bought some of that spray on buttery stuff. I occasionally calculate http://www.weight-watcher-recipe.com/latest/weight-watchers-point-calculator.html weight watcher points. My morning smoothies are 6 points, about 380 calories, so I think that is about right to start the day. I'll try to post a pic of one soon because they are so pretty. The result of all this is I have lost 4 pounds!!!! Most of it during the last week. So I guess it is true that muscles burn more calories than fat. Not that I am all toned or anything, but this exercising on a consistent basis is beginning to work. That's the moving forward part.

Double the Time, Double the Calories Burned, and A Little More Fun

2008-05-17T17:13:00.000-10:00

So, it took me until Friday to go to the gym again. I found all kinds of ways to avoid it; catching up with stuff around the house, gardening, etc, etc. But, yesterday I woke up and just wanted to go. That is a new feeling for me. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to do even the little I had been able to do the week before. But, lo and behold!!!! I not only did as much, I did more than last week. I started on the torture machine. I swear I forgot the name of it until about an hour ago. I keep wanting to call it The Equalizer for some reason. The Elliptical, that's it. Anyways, did six minutes yesterday. Mind you, I was sweating away, hanging on to those bar thingies for dear life, but I made it through and burned 54 calories. Then, on to my favorite..the bike. I set it for random hills again, and did 15 minutes plus a 2 minute cool down for 113 calories. That is a total of 21 minutes and 167 calories! More than the week before!

Well, today I went again, because I just can't quite convince myself 100% that gardening counts as one of the 3-5 times of exercise for the week. On the way there I almost started crying, I'm not sure why exactly, but I know it has to do with shame and feeling like I didn't want anyone to look at me, that I am too fat and people will be thinking all kinds of bad things about me. I almost pulled over and called Michelle http://diaryofanaspiringloser.blogspot.com/ to get a pep talk, but I made it there on my own. And lo and behold again!!! I actually exercised for 30 minutes today!! 7 on the Torturer, 27 on the bike. Let me say that again. I EXERCISED FOR OVER 30 MINUTES STRAIGHT TODAY!!!!!!!! That is twice the length of time I could do just a few weeks ago. Progress!!! AND!!! I burned 212 calories. DOUBLE what I was burning at first.

This was so so motivating for me. And, another good thing is that I set the random hill bike level at 10 and it only paused once because I got below 40 rpms on the highest hill. I was working really really hard at climbing those hills, and I don't know if everyone's gym is like this, but people at my gym do not make any sounds like they are exerting themselves, so when I let out a few good "whews" I felt very conspicuous. I tried to be "vewwy vewwy quiet" after that. The other thing that has me kind of self conscious is that I tend to sweat a lot, I mean more than most people. I of course have a towel with me, and usually wear a t-shirt rather than a tank top, but it is kind of embarassing when sweat is rolling down my face. I just keep reminding myself it doesn't matter what anyone thinks, I am doing this to get healthier. I just don't make much eye contact, and that seems to help. Bringing a book also helps, but today I was finding that I had to really concentrate on the hills, and wasn't able to read much.

Here's one more positive thing to report. My feet are totally used to shoes and socks now. My toes only give the slightest wiggle when I first put the socks on, and then they relax and I don't hear a thing from them the whole rest of the time. Cross another excuse off the list.

Michelle made a list of the top ten things that have changed since she has lost 67.4 pounds. Yeah, Michelle!!!! 75% of the way to your goal!!! That got me to thinking that maybe I would make a list of goals for myself soon. Other than the amount of weight I want to lose, of course. As I started this journey a little over three weeks ago, I was afraid to actually hope and visualize where I wanted to go with this, because I was afraid I would drop out or fail. I'm beginning to believe that this journey, like my no smoking one, is going to lead me through some unforseen rough spots, but that it will end up bringing me more happiness than I imagined. For now I'm going to keep working on doubling my efforts and hopefully that will lead to doubling my fun.

Keep Moving

2008-05-14T14:09:00.000-10:00

That is the secret for me. If I just keep moving I will lose weight. Kona was beautiful and this time with snorkel gear it was even more fun. It was raining when I got there Friday, and I was worried that we might not get to go snorkeling down at Honaunau, but the weather cleared up and I snorkeled for hours on Saturday and Sunday.

My friend Bonnie and her daughter, Dawn, stayed in pretty close to shore on Saturday, but I ventured out a little farther. On Sunday my Dawn and I snorkeled out aways. She showed me where some friends had written ALOHA on the ocean floor with concrete blocks. Probably not the most ecologically friendly thing to do, but they sink all kinds of things here to make "artificial reefs" and the fish seemed to like swimming around them. We swam out to where it gets really deep, and while we were out there I mentally called to the dolphins, because for the past few years I have been wanting to swim with them. We stayed out there for about an hour, then went back to shore, which is mostly black lava, with a little sand back aways from the water.

Just as we got out of the water Bonnie said, "Look, there's dolphins out there." They were right where we had been! Dawn and I turned and went right back in and swam out towards them. They disappeared, but we hung around out there for a while until Dawn wanted to go back to land. Just as we got out again, guess what? There they were again...swimming, a few jumping and spinning. We didn't go back in, decided it wasn't our day for swimming with them, but it was still very cool. A few people who go there frequently said they'd never seen them in that close. I'm hoping one of these times they will swim with me. I really need to learn how to do this picture thing better. You can just see them if you look over the left shoulder of that woman standing there.
[Photo]

Because she knew I've been interested in this dolphin swimming/communication thing for a while, Bonnie got me this book last time I was there.

Joan Ocean goes to her church, so maybe one of these Sundays I'll meet her. While I was looking for a pic of this book, I came across her website http://www.joanocean.com/ and apparently she is looking for people to sublet her place in Kona for 2-4 week intervals this summer with reduced rent in exchange for feeding their animals. Anyone interested?

So, this week I haven't been to the gym yet, but I've done yard work two mornings. Today I went to the doctor to see what we should do about the cough that never went away after I quit smoking over a year ago. I was hoping time would take care of it, but it hasn't, so she first suggested a bunch of tests. Since my insurance only covers half of most tests, we opted for trying three different types of medications to see if any of them worked. She called it "the poor man's diagnosis". I usually don't take much medication, but since it will probably save me hundreds of dollars, three separate trips to town, and will most likely identify the problem sooner, I decided to go with it. I also had a lung x-ray to rule out emphysema or cancer. I'm really wanting my lungs to work the best they can now that I'm getting more active again, while acknowledging that I probably did some permanent damage already. And I am just plain sick and tired of coughing!

No word yet from weightwatchers/my insurance company on the reduced fees for meetings. I'm continuing to eat healthier. Fruit smoothies for breakfast made with ice, 1/2 cup lowfat milk, a banana, 1/2 papaya, and a few strawberries. Yummy! Lunch has been a salmon pattie, steamed broccoli, and kim chee. I'm still using about a tablespoon of mayo, but will get lo-cal mayo once this jar runs out. Dinner has been poke (raw fish and onions), more salmon or chicken breast, broccoli or spinach salad. My big downfall continues to be quesadillas. I do them in the microwave, and have been using corn instead of flour tortillas and have tomatoes and sometimes lettuce in them, but I just can't get away from that cheese! I have at least one a day : ( I've also been eating fruit in between as snacks. My weight first thing in the morning has ranged from 197.6 to 199.2 (199.5 at the docs this morning after breakfast) this past week, so at least I haven't gained anything, and if I average them all, maybe I have lost a pound. I keep going back and forth about joining weightwatchers, but mostly I think it would be a good idea, at least for a few months.

Tomorrow it's either the gym or bodyboarding, depending on the weather and waves, before I head into town for a meeting. Just gonna keep moving.

2008-05-08T20:52:00.001-10:00

This whole week, since coming back from Kona, I have been waging an inner war..to exercise or not. I couldn't figure out why this week I was struggling so much, when last week I was so enthusiastic. I was draggggging. My first thoughts about it were that I had gotten into it too fast too soon too much, and that for some unknown reason that would make me not want to do it this week.

Today I think I figured it out. I AM tired. And it is partly because I keep getting woken up by the dog across the street. Yes, he was probably barking last week too, but on the weekends he doesn't start so early, so I usually sleep in a bit more. I was up early every morning while i was in Kona, ready to holo holo, go see, go do. But no sleeping in. My schedule is later than most people, since I work about noon to 7 or so, so I go to bed later, and would naturally sleep later, except for the dog barking and waking me up.

So, I sent my neighbors some information on being a good neighbor by controlling their dog's barking, including some Humane society-recommended training methods. I also sent a brochure that has the guidleines for what is legally considered a nuisance in terms of barking dogs. I am really hoping they get the point and do something about it.

Anyway, I didn't go to the gym today, but I did go bodyboarding. Given the choice, I will always opt for ocean fun over gym fun. There were some trade wind generated waves, which are always fun. No Portugese man 'o wars, which sometimes accompany trade wind waves, so better yet. It was fun, had some good rides, jumped and swam and made me smile a lot, worked all kinds of groups of muscles, and didn't get tired for a half an hour. Stamina increasing. Yeah!!!

Tomorrow I am going back to Kona. Have my snorkel gear packed. Planning on going back to City of Refuge. Looks like really good snorkeling...crystal clear water, a live reef with plenty of fish.

Here's a pic of someone else bodyboarding at my beach today just to get an idea of what I'm talking about. It will probably show up at the top. One of these days I will figure out how to insert them where I want them. Hope everyone has a great weekend, doing things they love.

Ups and Downs with some Fun in Between

2008-05-06T10:46:00.001-10:00

I needed to get back on track before posting again. I had a great weekend in Kona with my friend Bonnie and her daughter, Dawn. We know each other since Dawn and my kids were in preschool together. Whenever I go there Bonnie plays tour guide. It's really fun to be driven all over, looking at places and things I haven't seen for so many years. Friday we drove up the Kohala coast and stopped here for a few minutes. Hmm...can't get the pics to post under this text and don't have time to keep messing around with it. Anyway, I wore my pedometer everywhere we went and managed to walk 1.5-2 miles every day. Not a lot, but something.

On Sunday before coming home we went down to The City of Refuge. It was so different than it was the last time I was there more than 20 years ago. Much more crowded, but still so beautiful. You just can't beat the blue Hawaiian ocean. I might go back this weekend and bring my snorkel stuff. The water was clear, the reef alive with fish. Bonnie said she's seen lots of turtles there. I would love to swim with dolphins, so maybe that will happen one of these times. Anyways, here's a pic of City of Refuge. That's lava in the foreground. The other thing i like about this "beach" is that there is shade. Gotta have shade. Oh shoots! That one posted at the top! Anyways.....

Yesterday I had planned to go to the gym..lol..almost said beach. You know that's on my mind. But, once again my sleep was all messed up. I woke up at 4 am and went back to sleep between 7 and 8, didn't get up until 11. All groggy. Couldn't get myself to go. I did do some office cleaning for about an hour, including moving furniture around, so that burned a few calories I am guessing.

Today, although I didn't want to, I made myself put those shoes on and get to the gym. BTW, my feet have totally gotten used to wearing shoes!!! Amazing!!! I thought it was going to be super hard because I hadn't gone since last week, but I did good. I added an extra minute on the elliptical (10/20 difficulty, the TFH should be happy about that, but she would probably just grin and move it up to 15). Up to 6 minutes now..lol...and burned 30 calories. Then on to the bike. I couldn't adjust the first one's difficulty level, so did 6 minutes on that one and burned 36 calories, then switched to another one. I set it for random hills and difficulty level 12/20. After a few minutes of what seemed like too easy, I increased it to 15. I was cruising right along at about 4-5 milesper hour when I hit the first hill. My pace kept slowing down until the machine would pause because my rpm's were going below 40. I kept thinking of Michelle's friend Kate's advice...just keep it slow and steady. After it paused 3-4 times, I set the difficulty level down to 12, then to 10. I was thinking that is kind of like shifting into lower gears..or higher ones..whichever makes it easier to go up hills. I managed to get through the whole rest of the course without it pausing. I rode for 17 minutes. 15 minutes then 2 minute cool down, burning another 107 calories. Grand total for the day = 173! I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's a big increase from last week. And, I'm happy I could do some hills. My heart rate varied from 120s to 150s.

I'm still waiting for the paperwork to come from my insurance company so I can get started on WeightWatchers. I'm hoping it will be in the mail today so I can go tomorrow morning.

MEMO TO SELF

2008-05-01T22:31:00.000-10:00

Go boogie-boarding more when the waves are bigger.

Because:

It's fun, fun, fun!
It's a good workout
I have to keep moving the whole time
It uses lots of groups of muscles-legs, butt, chest, arms
Time goes fast - I don't get bored
I don't have to wear shoes
My body loves being in the ocean
It 's a Be Here Now activity - I can't think of anything else when I'm doing it
The view is incredible
I smile the whole time

Baby Steps

2008-04-30T14:48:00.000-10:00

I went to another weight watcher's meeting this morning. I think I'll usually go to the Tuesday one. I met another new member there, so maybe I'll have a weight loss buddy. She looked pretty fit to me, but she said she had put on about 20 pounds recently. Anyway, I have contacted my health insurance company because I can get a discount through them. Hopefully I'll have everything from them by next week so I can join.

After that I went and picked up a prospective tenant, showed her the place, and took her back to school. I literally had a fight with myself about whether I should go to the gym for another short workout or go home. If a cop had been following me I might have been pulled over for erratic driving, because first I turned towards home, then I changed lanes to go to the gym, then turned back towards home, and finally switched lanes again to go to the gym. I told myself that I was making changes and that if I want to keep on that path I should go. Changing habits - a hard deal, but can be done, I know this.

Well, my legs were still sore from Monday, plus did I mention the bruise TFH gave me on my arm when she was measuring my body fat??!! Even so, I followed her directions and did the elliptical machine first. Only 5 minutes, and still at setting 7, but I did it. 34 calories. Then on to the bike. I like the bike except for how it hurts my butt. I like setting my pace and minutes and watching the miles and calories add up. I think next week I am going to try the "random hills" setting and see what that is like. I did 15 minutes and a 2 minute "cool down" on that, and burned another 105 calories, so that is a total of 139 calories for today. Kept my heart rate around 150 for most of the time.

Baby steps, but at least they are heading in the right direction. I need to see some progress, either on the scale or in my clothes before I dare to start setting real goals. Hmm...maybe I already am setting goals, because I have been to the gym 4 times in a week, and I kind of sort of set a goal of engaging in some physical activity 3-5 times a week. The gym plus the boogieboarding Sunday, makes 5. Not ready yet to set a time goal, like 30 minutes or an hour at the gym, although I guess I will need to eventually if I want to see a real difference. Right now I am happy with 100+ calories each time and increasing amounts of time and calories burned. I am going to Kona Friday to see my friend Bonnie. She was just in the hospital with pneumonia, so I'm not sure how much activity I will get, but I want to see how I can help her. I'll be back Sunday, so I will definitely go to the gym Monday.

I Don't Want to Be an Endomorph..or an Apple

2008-04-29T13:50:00.000-10:00

Well, I went to a weight watcher's meeting today to check it out. I liked the leader, and she is apparently the leader of most of them near me. She's upbeat, respectful of the group members, and prepared. I like prepared. She was friendly and introduced herself and handed me a little booklet before the meeting started. I like friendly, and booklets, too. I'm going to go to the one tomorrow morning to check out the group members there, and will most likely join one or the other. I'm a little apprehensive about counting all those food points, but I figure once I'm shown the secret of how to do it, I ought to be able to handle it. More numbers!!! I hope I don't have to change my eating habits too much, although I am sure some things will have to change. Otherwise I wouldn't be overweight, right???

Okay, back to numbers. I joined the Sparkpeople site months ago, and they are always sending me articles. Many of them very good. One of them today talked about weight loss goals, and how to determine them, based on a number of factors. One of them is BMI. And, yes, another number. This one was 34.3, which I think is what I had calculated before, but tried to pretend it was only 33 when Trainer from Hell told me it was 42 something yesterday. So, even though this is way too high, I am sticking with it because it is easier to reach an acceptable level from there.

Another of the factors they suggested in setting goals is considering one's body type. I had forgotten that I am an Endomorph, which means that I am shaped like a fruit. Currently like an apple, although more commonly like a pear when my weight is more reasonable. Being an apple is not good at all healthwise these days, although in times of famine it could be an asset, because we endomorphs tend to hoard the fat in our bodies quite efficiently. But, it makes it more difficult to lose weight. There is a delicate balance we must find in our eating habits. Eat too little and not often enough and our endomorphically prone bodies will hold onto every last smidgeon of fat, thinking we are about to starve to death. So, slow and steady is the name of this game I guess. And it also gives some explanation as to why I lost so much weight when I basically ate oranges all day long. Nothing to turn into fat, but gave me calories to function (hmm..they mentioned food turning into either fat or glucose in one of those articles. I'll have to find it again).

Another number I ran across today was what I suppose is commonly known, and that it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose a pound. Now, I was thinking more like 1,500, which I figured meant it would take me about 10-12 days to lose a pound if I kept slowly increasing my exercise and eating the same. At 3,500 it would take me nearly a month. That's not good. I don't have enough patience for that. So, as everyone says, I'm either going to have to step it up more exercise wise, or cut the calories. But not too much, and not so much that my endomorphic body thinks it's starving. I definitely do not want to turn into a watermelon shape.

No Pain Please

2008-04-28T12:54:00.000-10:00

I took a break from machines and gadgets yesterday and went to the beach instead. I did my baby boogie-boarding for about 45 minutes. Baby boogie-boarding, for those of you who don't know, is what I call the easy kind I do these days. Not the swim out into shark-infested waters and ride waves of 6-8 feet of my younger years, but the push my board out past the little shore waves, alternate kicking around, floating, a little jumping over waves, and keeping my eyes peeled for something big enough to ride. All in water where I can stand up.

A few years ago I rediscovered the joy of riding waves and for a while I went almost every day, sometimes twice a day. In the process I lost about 35 pounds and felt great! The pic I have posted here is from those days. Also in that process I broke a rib, and then pulled the tendons in both elbows because I wouldn't give it up and was compensating with my arms because I couldn't lie flat on my board. Things went downhill from that point on. After surgery I was afraid I'd injure myself again, I was angry that I couldn't do what I loved doing, so refused to try any new form of exercise, and began packing the weight back on. Which eventually has brought me to this fat state of affairs.

But, this is about the journey towards fitness again. I have to remind myself over and over to not beat myself up over poor choices in the past, because when I do that I become paralyzed. Literally. I get stuck in that frame of mind and do nothing. Absolutely zero zilch nada nothing good for myself. Sooooooo.......yesterday I went boogie-boarding, and today I got a fitness assessment from a trainer at the gym.

I'm not sure what to think about it. She told me my weight (200.6 lbs), and my Yikes! BMI. She said it was 42, but every calculator I have used says it is 33 or so. Not sure where the difference lies, but whichever is correct, it is still in the obese category. How sad is that???!!!! She also focused a lot on the state of my joints. I'm not sure if that is because when I filled out some forms I truthfully mentioned both my past elbow injuries as well as the sometimes soreness I experience in my knees. I figured, WTH, I'm overweight, I'm getting up there in years, of course some of my joints hurt.

Well, that soreness is nothing compared to the pain she put me through! She had me lie down and rest the outer side of my leg on this hard foam tube while bending the other leg, while resting the rest of my weight on my elbow (Um, did she not hear me that my elbows are BAD??!!). Frickin' shots of red hot stabbing pain!!! and then slowly roll down a couple of inches and hold it, etc. etc. *DANGER! DANGER!!* #TOO MUCH PAIN! TOO MUCH PAIN!# *ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION!!* *NOW!! DO IT NOW!!!* And then made me do the same thing with the other leg. And each time she asked me how it felt and I said it hurt, she said "Good," in this soft little happy voice. Then I did the same thing with my inner thighs.

She gave me some story about my fascia needing to be loosened up and how I should do this every day. Yeah, right!!! When I decide to start wearing a full leather head mask, pierce both my nipples and connect them with a too short chain with little barbs on it, I will add this to my daily regimen. Okay, I found demonstrations of it here http://www.thesealquest.com/myorelease.htm and here http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=475832. Notice that the first site is for men who want to become Navy SEALs, the second is on a site called Testoterone Nation. Nuff said? I just did some looking and found this exercise that does the same thing. http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness/h_TFL_StrSt.htm Now that I might be able to handle. I like the sound of this site, "easy vigor". Easy vigor I can definitely embrace. I definitely do not, and never have, belonged to the "No Pain, No Gain" Fun Club.

The one good thing we did was she showed me how to use the elliptical machine. Of course, little sadist that she is, she had me using it at an "average" pace and resistance. Maybe she wasn't listening to me, either, when I told her I hadn't done much exercise for quite sometime. You should have seen the cute little grin she had when she said, "We'll set it at ten minutes, but of course we won't do the whole time." She said we didn't have time today to show me how to use some of the machines I was curious about, but we did have time for her to try to sell me additional sessions. I thanked her politely for her time today, declined further sessions with a promise to keep in touch, and walked out feeling nauseous.

It's two hours later now and I think I'm going to go back and get a little cardio workout in - my pace, my way, without pain, maybe just a little bit of strain, and hopefully eventually some gain.

Back again from my playground (that has a nice fun ring to it. Maybe I'll believe it one of these days. Sounds much better than torture chamber). Actually, that should have been some loss up above. That IS what I'm going for, after all. Okay, I listened to the trainer and did the elliptical machine first. Set it on 7/20 difficulty level for 5 minutes. 31 calories burned (add the 17 from earlier). Then 12 minutes on the bike, 4 min/mile, 7-10/20 difficulty level. Sheesh, some people can run faster than that! Another 78 calories burned. I'm sure after a while I will be less focused on calories than other measures, but for now it is something I can increase day by day. 128 calories burned today!

My heart rate was hanging around 150-157, a little higher than recommended on the machines (140-149), but right about what I calculated from a site Michelle sent me to. It said start at 220 and subtract your age. Originally I thought it said subtract your weight, which would have made my target heart rate 20. I thought, "Hmm, Wouldn't you have to be almost dead to have that rate??!!" But, I figured it out, and it looks like I should be aiming for around 160-165. So, I learned a few things today. 1) How to use the elliptical torturer, I mean trainer, 2) just because a trainer is little and cute doesn't mean they are nice and sweet, in fact maybe just the opposite, 3) nobody can agree on numbers, 4) how to post links here, 5) there are more ways than one to make a person scream for mercy, as well as to stretch their TFL, and, oh!, 6) what a TFL IS! That plus the 128 calories burned makes this a good day so far.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MACHINES....WELL, AND NUMBERS, TOO

2008-04-26T14:17:00.000-10:00

Today was a new day, so I didn't let yesterday's excuses lead me down the "I knew I hated the gym and wasn't going to go, what was I thinking??!!" path. Nope, I figured out how to bring my ipod, glasses so I could read my ipod, id, keys, and pedometer, without any pockets, to the gym. Yes, they have lockers, but no, I can't find any of the 23 padlocks I have around here someplace.

So, I strolled into the gym, up the stairs, and straight back to the cardio machines, like I knew what I was doing. I stood against the wall for about 15 minutes trying to get my ipod tuned to a few of the TV stations. And one thing is clear. If I continue with this and can't get my own music to play, I certainly will catch up with the news. In terms of taking care of the boring factor, that is about a 3 out of 10. I get bored with that quickly too. Always so many unhappy events and conflicts. I sure wish someone would start The Good News Channel, with reports on kindnesses done, lives saved, cooperative ventures, those kinds of things. Maybe some funny spots, some parties, cute animals.

Okay, now to the purpose of Going to the Gym. I walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes at a 2.1 mph pace. No incline. Kept my heart rate up around 140 the entire time. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. I know it's the target cardio rate for my age, but if that slow a walk on a flat surface keeps it up there that can't be good. I hope it improves over time. I know my mom had something wrong with her heart when she was a little older than I am now that made it difficult for her to walk up hills. Since I have been a little less kind to my body over the years than she was to hers, especially with the smoking, I hope this isn't a serious, permanent condition. Anyway, I burned 44 calories in that amount of time. And, yes, it did bother me that was all when in the same time yesterday I burned 100 calories on the incline bike.

So, did I stop there? I am very proud to say, "No I didn't!" I walked right over to an upright bike, climbed on, figured out how to set a few of the features, and pedaled on. I rode for 15 minutes, a pace of around 25mph (I think), maybe a little more. I again kept my heart rate up between 140 and 145, and burned another 66 calories. So that's a total of 110 calories. Not a lot, but it has to be good for me, keeping my heart rate up there.

And was I done? Oh no, not yet. I thought I ought to try some of those machines that target specific areas of the body. So, having just given my legs a little bit of a workout, I decided to target my abs. I know they're in there somewhere, even though I haven't seen them for a while. I did 3 sets of 10 crunches (notice the easy way that gym talk slid off my tongue), and not even at the lowest weight. I tried a couple of other machines; another one for abs, and one for chest, but couldn't figure out how to work them, even after reading the directions. By then I was beginning to feel embarassed, so rather than let that get full blown, I headed for the exit. I still want to know why that girl with the sunglasses kept looking at me though.

On Monday I have my appointment with the trainer to let me know just how fat and out of shape I really am. Hopefully she will also have some recommendations for a plan, as well as be able to tell me how to use some of these machines. Thursday and Friday my pedometer seemed to be working fine. Today when I got home from the gym and checked it, it said I had walked 610 steps. Lying little piece of plastic!

My mission this afternoon is to go get some papaya starter plants from my friend Mike, and find somebody to take "before" pics of me before I get too skinny....lolol

Gadgets, Weather, and Excuses

2008-04-25T16:38:00.000-10:00

Well, I had really good intentions again today. But! I got sucked into gadget hell. I decided I needed an "FM receiver with headphones" so I could hear the TVs at the gym, instead of just seeing them. Remember Reason #3 (I think) for Not Going to a Gym-I get bored easily.

So, I went online to look for one, having no idea what it was. I figured out I wasn't going to carry a big stereo component in there, and that basically an FM receiver was just an ipod with radio reception capability. Aha! I thought I might have one of those. I found the ipod I got for Christmas a year and a half ago. And sure enough, it does have that feature, although I have never used the thing because I didn't know how. All of you! Do Not Laugh!!!! While I was looking at the directions, I decided I might as well download some music onto the thing. That's what it's for, right? So, I put Big Bad Voodoo Daddy http://www.bbvd.com/index2.html and Buckwheat Zydeco http://www.buckwheatzydeco.com/ on there, thinking that they are both pretty much "Get Moving" music.

Okay, that accomplished, easily if a little time-consuming, I unplugged it from the puter, put a battery in, put the headphones in and started pushing buttons. It started okay, I could even get FM reception and preset a smooth jazz station for practice in setting stations, but I can not get my music to play! I really need an under 40 assist here. All of that took way more than an hour.

I finally got dressed in my workout clothes, put on my pedometer, decided not to reset my pace length today, and then it started to rain - bigtime. I mean like I couldn't see 10 feet away. I looked at the weather forecast online and there was a flood warning. So, that is my excuse for not going to the gym today.

But! I did check out where there are WeightWatcher meetings close by and what my health insurance helps with. I also found out the local Parks and Rec gym has a fitness room that I'm going to check out this weekend because it's free.

I'd really like to get some pictures and a weight tracker on here, and I am sure I will eventually, but enough techno challenges for today.

Intention to Action - Forging through the Reasons to Not Join a Gym

2008-04-24T13:36:00.000-10:00

Ok, so I knew if I put it out there that I intend to lose weight, get fit, whatever, along those lines, that it would get me moving. I hate to embarass myself in front of other people. If I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it. That's probably why I never took one single puff of a cigarette once I quit.

Of course that is one of the reasons I never really joined a gym before, too. I was afraid of being the butt of people's jokes, sniggers, or at least glances. Well, that and there being crime scene tape and a bunch of cops surrounding 24 Hr Fitness last time I went to check them out. Seriously. That bought me a couple of more months.

So, today I got up, went to the farmer's market, bought some fresh tomatoes, bananas and a sunrise (red inside) papaya. Hmm, at least I think it's a sunrise. I do know it's red. I decided not to go to the beach close to there, which is my usual form of exercise, and my first reason for not joining a gym. I'm an outdoor girl and I've always said, "I don't understand why people choose to exercise in a boring gym when they could be bodyboarding, surfing, biking, hiking, or doing something fun outside." Well, after going bodyboarding maybe 10 times in the past three months, I decided I really do need to consider an alternate means of exercise, and maybe one that is intense enough to really get myself back in some kind of decent-er shape.

My mission for today was to get information about the two gyms I know of close to me. So, I went back to the Y to check out their gym again. The good news is they got TVs since I was there last. That's another reason I never joined a gym. I was afraid I would get bored. The bad news is that the gym manager basically told me that they are usually busy during the hours that I would most likely be there, so I figured I might be doing as much waiting as working out. I know me well enough to know that wouldn't fly.

Then I went home and downloaded a 7 day pass to 24 hr fitness. So funny, by the time it took me to put on my sneakers (another reason I never joined the gym - I Hate shoes, or at least my toes do) and drive the 3 miles there, Segundo was on the phone asking when I'd be in. Another reason I never joined the gym - I didn't want to be pressured into signing up for a year or more.
So, Segundo took me for a walk through, let me try out a few machines. After showing me how, that is. Really. The last stationary bike I was on was over 20 years ago, and I think the only times I've ever been on a treadmill were to take stress tests. Now that elliptical thingie - kind of like stairs, but I guess there are many ways to walk up stairs. Time will tell on that. Now Segundo never actually laughed, but his eyes did widen when I began to sweat only 2 minutes into each of them. I guess he was afraid at that point that I might die before he could make a sale.

So, he hurried me back down to his cubicle, talked me into signing a 2 month contract with no sign up fee and a free assessment with one of the trainers. I feel okay about it, because I can cancel it any time within the next week if it looks like it isn't the place for me, but I am kind of pissed at myself because he didn't give me my free week and even though I mentioned it, I didn't insist on it. As we were wrapping things up I got a call from a mainland insurance company who has not paid for my services to one of their members for 8 months, so I opted to take the call. I walked out of the facility while I was on the phone because Segundo and his co-workers were laughing loudly. I was so busy with my call I didn't have a chance to see if they were pointing at me, but it is very suspicious that they started laughing right after he walked away from me and while my back was turned. I'm going to be keeping my eye on Segundo.

Now, here is the really good part. After the phone call I walked back into the gym and actually did some exercise. Not a lot, but something. I mean, I had already accomplished my goal of the day, which was to find out information. I chose a bike because I wanted to do more than 5 minutes, which is what I was afraid was all I could do on the treadmill or elliptical. Okay, so this is so I can look back at how far I've come a few months from now. I did the bike for 16 minutes, 3.4 miles, and burned 100 calories. That sure doesn't sound like much, but it is a start.

The other thing I learned today is that spinning classes don't involve whirling dervish type dancing. And I was so looking forward to those.

I'M FINALLY GOING PUBLIC

2008-04-23T17:15:00.000-10:00

After quitting smoking a little over a year ago I've continued to gain weight...a lot of it. Now, I was on my way up already, but since I quit smoking I've reached an all time high. And not a good one. I broke the 200 lb barrier. It makes me want to cry just typing that.

I've been playing around with the idea of losing weight and getting back in shape. I've gone to a few sites, I've filled out some of the info on them, have even used a few of their calorie and activity counters. I've increased the amount of water I drink, I've changed some of my eating habits by eating more veggies, and hardly ever eating bread. But, I haven't gotten serious about it. I've asked myself time and time again what it will take for me to commit to changing my lifestyle, what I need to do to be successful at it (because I don't commit to anything unless I am determined to Do It Well. Period).

I've thought about what I did to quit smoking and how I could apply that to losing weight. What I figured out was that I set a date to quit, I prepared by getting a quit smoking aid, I found an online support site and got actively involved on it, I made up my mind that I would NEVER take another puff of a cigarette. I committed to it. All the way. I was scared, not sure I could actually follow through with it, but I made up my mind that I was going to give it a real try.

So, I decided today. I'm going to give this the best I can right now. My friend Michelle, who's lost almost 60 pounds, has reminded me that taking one step and sticking to it is sometimes the best we can do at any one time, so here is the first real step for me. I'm going public with this journey. I'm hoping that by publicly declaring my intent to lose weight, like publicly declaring I was going to stop smoking, that i will be committed to it in a way I haven't been up until now.

The name of this blog is corny to the max, but the other ones I wanted were already used, so I finally just chose this because I was afraid if I left in frustration it would take me another week or month or more to come back and announce this intention. And I wanted to get started NOW.

6:57:00 PM
by Kristy