Wow, what a full day. I’m ready to curl up with a book and go to bed early.
I sort of slept in, which means later than 8:00. I had plans to meet friends at the mall at 11. Before that I got in breakfast and a fast paced 35 minutes on the treadmill.
Shopping was fun. I never used to say that but moving easily around the mall adds positive energy to the experience. First we spent time trying out different cosmetics at Sephora. Then these friends introduced me to Lush. Natural, lovely bath salts, oils, bubble bath and soaps. Plus creams and beauty products.
I’m hooked on these products. I bought some bath salts, a cinnamon bar good for rubbing on sore muscles, and ocean salt which is a lovely softening scrub.
When I go to product stores that have samples and testers, I’m like Alice in Wonderland consuming unknown stuff just because it says Drink Me. So when I saw the tooth tabs that said they were good for cleaning teeth and freshening breath and the had bold Try Me stickers, I did.
Right after I popped the mint wasabi sample in my mouth the staff said, “you didn’t just try one, did you? We usually don’t recommend them.”. Around the foaming, not great substance in my mouth, I said, “then why are they right at the register with a Try Me sticker?”
The staff very nicely let me rinse mouth out and spit in their sink. Oh well, the other products are great!
Lunch with even more friends followed. Then a quick trip to another store where I found a great black dress for an evening event at a bargain price!
Shopping complete, we were off to the tattoo parlor to meet Steve and get my ink.
Here’s the new tattoo. The skin is still irritated but it’s pretty and will get even more so. The design is the common meadow/wood violet which is the state flower of NJ- my home state. The notes beneath are the opening to Thunder Road.
I really like the artist and asked if he would recolor my other tattoo. It looks much better now.
A quick visit to Target for various items and I was beat. I had a great day and am now ready to end it on a good, relaxed note. One funny irony. Those great new bath salts will go unused for a little while. I can’t soak the new tattoos for two weeks!
My appointment with the hematologist turned out to be as unnecessary as I expected. He looked at my blood counts and agreed that the things that are low are consistent with thalassemia trait, which I already knew about. He said that I’m not iron deficient and that giving me an infusion would just stock more iron than I need in my liver with no way to get rid of it. He was unconcerned and, hopefully after he sends his report, my surgeon will be too.
Since I had to take off the entire day from work because the doctor’s office is 2 1/2 hours from home, I decided to stay overnight so that I could take advantage of being “off the rock” as we call it when we leave the Keys.
This arrangement meant I could spend some time with friends and also do a little shopping.
I went to Lane Bryant. The first thing I did was get a bra fitting because I was pretty sure I’d gone down a band size. I was wrong. I’ve gone down three since the last fitting! I thought the woman was nuts until I tried on the smaller bra. It fit comfortably and shaped me great!
Next I picked out a few tops, ranging from one size smaller to three sizes smaller, depending on how they were cut and sized. For example, some were sized as 20 or 22. Some had dual numbers like 18/20 or 22/24.
In the dual numbered tops, the 18/20 ones fit great! In the single number ones that had more fitted waists, I was more comfortable in the 20s but that’s down from my previous size of 24.
I wanted one neutral blazer/jacket. Since this was fitted, I picked a 22. I swam in it! I saw a 20 which fit well, but just for the heck of it, I tried the 18.
It fit! I can’t quite comfortably button it quite yet but will be able to in a couple of weeks which means I’ll get longer wear out of it before it’s too big.
A size 18! I don’t think I’ve worn an 18 in 30 years! I’m so psyched.
With this kind of shopping success I could have seriously damaged my credit card. Luckily LB was having a great sale. If you bought at least five garments, you got 50% off of everything. With those savings, I could buy a few nice new things for spring and also throw in new underwear in smaller sizes.
I don’t like seeing gray in my hair. I’ve had gray hair for years which means, of course, that I’ve colored my hair for years. Each year there are more and more of the silver strands clumping up into my dark brown hair. Blech. The most obvious areas are the roots around my face and, obviously, down the part.
My hair grows fast so I go every four or five weeks for a color and shaping. Since late last fall-early winter, I’ve embraced a completely different look for me. For a few years I was going with a very straight hair look, including keratin protein treatments which reallllly straightened it out. I have coarse, thick hair and it tends to frizz in the Florida humidity. Now I’m embracing my natural waves and curls. Actually, I’m doing stuff that enhances the curliness. Much to my surprise, I’m loving it and so is pretty much everybody else. I’ve had people ask me if I had a perm. That’s how curly my hair can get. A bonus to this style is that it is so easy to maintain.
When I straightened my hair I had to blow it dry whenever I washed it and then reinforce the straightening with a flat iron. That all adds up to too much time. I don’t love fussing with my hair at all. With this style, I wash my hair, towel dry it, brush it and then scrunch in some foam meant for curls. I can scrunch it as little or as much as I want to encourage the curls and waves. Whatever the case, five minutes and I’m done. I l-o-v-e the efficiency and results.
Tonight I had an appointment with my stylist She applied the gray-covering color and, because the hairs around my temples are particularly stubborn, pressed rectangles of foil on top to strengthen the dye’s power. For good measure, she sat me under heat lamps too. I looked at myself in the mirror and burst out laughing. My hair stuck out like Einstein’s, then I had the foil stuck on me and the heat lamps behind me made it look like antennae were growing from my head. I looked like an alien.
Oh hell. I have no pride. Here. See for yourself.
Seriously, is there no end to how ridiculous we’ll allow ourselves to look in the name of vanity as we hike our way down the path to pretty? I don’t know how anyone keeps a straight face, let alone carries on a conversation with someone when they look like they’re auditioning for the remake of My Favorite Martian. After the color processing and washing, Angelina, aka stylist extraordinaire, assessed the state of my style. She snipped a little here and there, texturized a few areas and then worked in the styling foam. A little bit of blowdrying and, voila, my ‘do was done. We relocated to the waxing chair for some brow shaping, etc. before I left. I can tell you that nothing makes me feel prettier than when I leave the salon after a hair appointment or my monthly mani-pedi indulgence. One of these times, I should make plans to go out afterward instead of just heading home. I was feeling particularly sassy and, at the same time, couldn’t stop laughing every time I thought about the “before” picture. I honestly didn’t intend to post the picture on the blog. Seriously, how many women want to put up a photo where they look ridiculous? 🙂 Just goes to show how comfortable I am with all of you. In fairness to myself, however, once I decided to put up that picture, I thought I owed it to myself to also post an “after” picture. Unfortunately, I just took it. This means that it’s not only after the hair cut, but also after I’ve removed my contact lenses and my makeup. Oh well. At least my hair looks cute and curly, sans alien antennae.
Isn’t it odd how some days we feel like we can take on the world and other days like we have to focus all our power on just putting one foot in front of the other?
Tonight at Zumba, I was fully charged with energy. I brought my knees up higher, tried some of the more jumpy or twisty moves and really pushed myself on pace to maximize the aerobic benefit. The hour sped by and class was over before we knew it.
Earlier today I got the dogs out for a short walk and also practiced Tai Chi with a friend for 15 or so minutes.
I felt strong and energized all day. It was terrific!
Tomorrow I might have a power sucking day or another just like today. I’ll deal either way.
I work tomorrow and then have an appointment with a hematologist on Friday. My iron counts are low. This doesn’t alarm me because I have thalassemia trait. My surgeon wants me to see the specialist to make sure that the thalassemia is the cause. I guess it’s possible that the big change in diet could be the cause. The surgeon wants a blood expert to decide if I need supplements or a transfusion.
Filling out the new patient paperwork on line took 40 minutes. No, electronic program, I don’t remember the date or operating doctor of my childhood appendectomy.
I’m having dinner with friends and, if all goes right with planning, will get a new tattoo before I return home. I sent off some research photos and an explanation to the artist tonight via email. It was a lot more fun to gather images than it was to fill out that aforementioned patient paperwork!
How’s everybody doing? Activity challenge, participants, I’m rooting for you!
I’m more tired than usual tonight. So much so that I’m too lazy to turn on my computer.
It’s been a good day. I fulfilled my activity commitment beginning with a brisk walk with the dogs, practicing Tai Chi at work with a co-worker, and ending with a full hour class.
My right knee’s complaining a bit so I’m treating it to some ice.
I can’t decide whether to treat myself by taking a hot bath or by going to bed early. Decisions decisions.
I well remember nights when I’d come home from a day at work that was more physically strenuous than usual. My entire body ached, twinged, and downright hurt. I’d swallow 800mgs of Motrin, flop in my recliner and whine.
At least now when I ache it’s because I exercised and, ultimately, did some good for my body. I’m careful not to push myself to the point where I damage my joints.
Previously, I was in pain just from trying to keep up with the requirements of my job. That’s not a good or happy way to live.
As much as I can’t stand that the contestants on the Biggest Loser can lose five pounds in a week and cry because it isn’t enough – Oh the pressure! – I still tune in the show most Monday nights. There really isn’t anything else on at the same time that I feel like watching and I at least like hearing contestants talk about the positive changes they’ve learned to make. I also like following the stories of the three kids they’re working with this season. I was those overweight kids. They aren’t being yelled at by trainers, they’re receiving great information and encouraging guidance. I wish I’d had that when I was their age and was the fattest kid in class, if not the whole school.
Tonight the remaining five losers went to their hometowns for two weeks to see their families, have makeovers and to lead their towns in public workouts. This season the Biggest Loser has promoted Challenging America to lose weight and be more active. I’ve watched these same contestants temporarily give up on their workouts or be so unfit and incapable that, as they pushed harder and harder they vomited from the exertion. So, to see them now be able to jog, do pushups and jumping jacks, and encourage groups of others to do the same was truly inspiring. One woman, a 47 year old who has not been the easiest personality on the B.L. ranch, gave a wonderful pep talk to a young man who now weighs over 400 pounds. She said that if all you can do is walk, then you walk. If you can’t do half an hour at a time yet, do 15 minutes. The message was pretty clear that he shouldn’t let the little he could do keep him from doing the little he can do.
There was a commercial break around this time, disguised as a story about a group of people who have come together to walk, weigh in, and do other fitness stuff. In their honor, Walgreens gave them all pedometers so they can see how many steps they do a day. Yes, it was really a couple of minutes of advertising for Walgreens, but there was still value in some of the message.
I’ve heard a lot about the popular idea that we should all strive to walk 10,000 steps a day. As it happens, I took Nat and Pyxi out for a walk after work. I have pedometer app on my smart phone. I don’t always set it, but tonight I did, so I had fresh data. I divided, then multiplied, carried the two, moved a decimal, blah blah arithmetic-isn’t-my-strong-suit, and finally came up with the approximate figures that I have to walk 4.23 miles a day to reach 10,000 steps.
I have no idea how many steps I walk in the course of a day that aren’t part of my concentrated work out efforts whether they come in a short or long walk, Tai Chi practice or Zumba. Now I want to know. I might have to go to Walgreens and get one of those pedometers. (The phone app sucks power from the battery at an alarming rate.)
This got me thinking about how much exercise someone should really shoot for in a week. I did some quick Internet surfing and checked out some reputable sources such as the Mayo Clinic. It seems that most experts agree that 150 minutes of moderately vigorous aerobic activity a week plus some strength training twice a week are good goals with increased intensity of you’re trying to lose weight.
150 minutes breaks down to 30 minutes a day, five days a week or about 21 1/2 minutes a day if you do it every day.
If I keep crunching numbers, figuring in the 60 minutes of Zumba and the two Tai Chi classes, I’ll make myself crazy, so instead I’ll cut to the bottom line. Can I do at least 30 minutes of walking or other “moderately vigorous” aerobic exercise every day that I don’t do Zumba or a Tai Chi class? The easy answer is of course I can. I don’t even have to do it all in one chunk. The experts also say that the time can be broken down into smaller segments like three sessions of ten minutes or two of fifteen – like the woman from Biggest Loser advised that young man.
The real question is, will I? Well, that’s the plan. I’ve decided to challenge myself. Now, if I really wanted to be a hard ass to myself, I’d require it every single day, even when I do my other activities, but I think this sounds like a much more reasonable goal while still being a worthy challenge.
My next question is, does anybody want to commit to the challenge with me? It doesn’t have to be walking or Zumba. It could be swimming or dancing, bike riding or elliptical machines, or anything else that you decide is doable and fun and something that you’ll sustain.
If right now 22 to 30 minutes a day are more than you can accomplish in whatever might be your current physical condition, then whatever you feel you can accomplish is fine. You don’t have to give us specifics.
Nobody is going to monitor your effort. I’m not going to be a watchdog. We’re here for support, encouragement, and cheering to whatever level you want and need. If you want to check in via the comments, just by saying that you did your exercise today, that will be great. If you don’t want to check in, you don’t have to. If you want to send me an email, that’s okay, too. It’s all up to you.
I hope some of you will join the challenge. I’m going to attempt to add a poll to this post. It will be anonymous, but at least we can see how many are participating. Every day, when I set my intention for myself, I’ll send a little energy thought out into the universe that the other challenge participants meet their intention too.
I had a nice talk on the phone with a dear cousin. She’s a couple of years older than I am and, even though we didn’t see each other often when we were kids, we were always close. A few of the most fun summers I had as a teen were when she and her sister came down and spent a few weeks with our family at the shore.
You might remember that last April another cousin of mine was killed by a motorcycle accident. That cousin was one of the younger sisters of the one I spoke with today. That tragic death affected all of us but for J, it sent her a message and gave her the motivation to stop postponing her happiness. She’s made some significant changes in her life since then, designed to reach her own happy. Along the way she reconnected with a special guy. I can hear in her voice how she lights up when she talks about him. They’re amazed that they could have known each other literally most of their lives but only now, in their 50s, have they found each other and are connected and in love.
It makes me so happy to hear her so happy. I can tell that she’s truly relishing her joy.
Our conversation went on for a while and we covered a lot of ground. In addition to not postponing happiness, we discussed faith and spirituality, with and without formal religion. We talked a lot about gratitude and how it’s important to recognize the things that we’re grateful for and to really express it, to show in our attitudes that we’re thankful for our lives with all the blessing and lessons.
My cousin also shared with me that our Great-Aunt Mary passed away last week. She was 101 or, maybe, 102. God bless her! Technically she wasn’t a blood relation. She was married to one of the brothers of our grandmother, but we don’t get hung up by the technicality. We’d known her all of our lives and she was family. This woman was a pip. I remember her as vibrant, out-going, and fun. Decades ago, my cousins and I left a family wedding reception just a bit early to go to jai alai. I’d never been before. Come to think of it, I haven’t been since. Anyway, Aunt Mary was the first of our “greats” to slip us some money with the instructions that we should “wheel the quinella”. (Google it for the explanation.) That bet sounded so sophisticated to me.
My great uncle died many years ago. Aunt Mary eventually remarried but stayed relatively close with the our family. She visited us a few times with other family members. I remember the last time, 20 some years ago. They were with us for almost a week and made a trip to the casinos every single day. Her energy level was amazing. Every night before she went to bed, she had a glass of Christian Brothers brandy. She claimed it was medicinal and that her doctor recommended it for her. Given her great age, he might have been onto something. Even after the death of her second husband, she continued to live on her own, close to her family but independently, until a year or two ago. Again, I say, God bless her. That woman knew how to live a good life.
I will never claim that my life has sucked. It hasn’t. Granted, there were a few times like the deaths of my parents, when it wasn’t its best, but I’ve been blessed for the most part. Every morning before I get out of bed, I say a simple message of gratitude for the blessing of a new day and for my life and every aspect of it.
It’s no secret that my last year has been particularly terrific as I ride the high of the weight loss and my advancement in fitness. I’m enjoying so much of it but sometimes I feel shards of regret cut through the high. I feel bad that I squandered so many years. But, you know, spending time feeling bad for what I did or didn’t do in the past simply wastes more time. It’s as much of a time thief as fearing what might happen in the future. That’s something else my cousin and I talked about today — about being afraid that something could happen tomorrow or the next day that will rob us of the happiness we have today. I told her that we shouldn’t let our happiness today or our joyful anticipation of the future be held hostage by fear.
I’m going to remind myself of that lesson. I’m also going to remember it when I feel bad about a past that I can’t change. It’s over and done. All I have is today and I’m going to relish every minute of it.
Thanks again to all of you for listening to me when I wasn’t having a terrific day and for supporting me and each other in our little Weighty Matters blog community. It helps. A lot. 🙂
I stayed on track with my food plan and eating the last couple of days. You’d be so proud to see me ignore an open box of donuts at a work meeting and pick up a small yogurt and a couple of strawberries instead. Later on I turned down frozen yogurt with a colorful selection of possible toppings and enjoyed a hot cup of tea instead.
As a result, it’s like all of the systems of my body conferred and said, “Okay, enough bullshit. Let’s act right.” For two days the weight that I put on with the cruise felt like it literally melted or dissolved out of my body. It’s all gone now so I can start fresh in pursuit of my next short term goal.
I’m sure it’s no coincidence that feeling better physically also contributes to me feeling better emotionally. I didn’t resent passing up those donuts or the yogurt. I enjoyed letting myself eat a half portion of some really good popcorn as a treat. I’m enjoying the fresh fruit that I have in the house. I have several apples and, in a little while, I’m going to peel, core, quarter and bake them for my favorite home made apple sauce recipe.
It’s chillier than normal in the Keys this weekend. Chilly and damp, which is perfect soup making weather. I looked up recipes on foodnetwork.com and found a chicken soup recipe by Alex Guarneschelli, a chef that I really like watching on several shows. I hope that Chef Alex wouldn’t be insulted that I cut out the bacon. Yes, I know. What a shocker. I said no to bacon! I thought about getting it at the store but I know if I buy a pound I will make it every day. Even in small amounts, I should not eat bacon every day, no matter how much I might love it.
Currently, my home is scented by simmering thyme, chicken, pearl onions and other aromatic ingredients. This soup is going to make such a tasty, healthy, comforting dinner tonight. Yum!
You might remember that my surgeon told me at my one year surgiversary appointment that he wants me to lose an additional 80 pounds. Mentally, I’ve veered between whining about it and thinking, “Suck it up. You’ve lost almost twice that amount already.” I’ve decided to develop short goals and break down that number so it doesn’t sound so huge and overwhelming.
I only have to lose 20 pounds. Granted, I have to lose 20 pounds four times, but really, it doesn’t seem like such a mountain. In the grand scheme of things, I will get there a pound at a time, but in the meantime, I’m shooting for 20 pounds before my next appointment with the surgeon which is near the end of April. Ten pounds a month is absolutely doable, particularly now that I’ve lost the few pounds I put on. I think they were bogus pounds anyway. Mathematically I could not have physically ingested the requisite number of calories. Plus, I was burning calories just in daily living, plus the extra through exercise.
Back to my point. 20 pounds by late April. I’m on it. As long as I keep doing what I’m doing with my food plan and fitness, they will gradually melt away and I’ll be ever closer to the ultimate goal.
Jumping on to blog before work because I woke up this morning in a strange emotional place. For some undefinable reason, this morning I am tired of being on a weight loss food plan. I’m drinking my freshly made protein drink (fresh, organic strawberries, almond milk and protein powder) which tastes good, but in between sips I’m glaring at it like it’s some noxious medicine.
Considering my options for lunch, I stood in front of the open refrigerator regarding all of the options with disdain. Just for today, hell, just for right now at this moment, I feel like I don’t want to be on a “diet” any more. My motivation switch is in the Off position. I’ve been on this effort now for well over a year and most of that time have ridden an incredible high. Even at the end of the cruise when I tasted pretty much whatever I wanted, I still had the motivation to be physically active and get back on track when I got home. Today I feel like I’ve tumbled down from that high big time. I know that I still have more than 70 pounds to go. I’ve lost more than twice that amount, for pity’s sake. It’s not an unsurmountable target. It just feels that way today.
I guess this is normal. Ebb and flow, high and low. It happens. That doesn’t mean I have to like it. This is not a comfortable state of being. It’s also unacceptable.
I’m not done yet. I don’t want to be finished, content with my current weight when I’m still carrying 70 more pounds than I should. The weight loss and fitness have triggered so much wonderfulness and I want to to continue enjoying every bit of it.
I don’t even particularly want to take a break. The more that I stick to the program, day by day by day, the sooner that weight will be off and I can truly transition to maintenance. Plus I’m going to a convention in two months where I will spend most of a week hanging out with friends — many of whom I haven’t seen since last April. I’d love to be even 20 pounds closer to goal by the time that I leave.
My motivation hasn’t died. It’s just hibernating this morning. I need to wake it back up, focus on the long range goal but remember that I can only get there in the future if I take care of business today. The good news is that I chose to come here and blog about it instead of making inappropriate food choices. I could have taken a bagel out of the freezer and fixed that for breakfast. Instead, as I have morning after morning after morning, I made a protein drink. I have healthy choices packed for lunch and snacks at work. I know what’s on the menu for dinner. I’ll be fine.
Even if today I don’t like following the food plan, I’m going to follow it anyway. In the end, even though I’m weary of the effort, I still want to meet my goal more than I want to stop. That’s all that matters.
I had to stop at the supermarket on my way home from work to pick up a few things. I’ve gotten much better about making lists and following them when I shop. Before I would wander around the store picking up anything that caught my eye or sparked a “yummm” response.
I’ve heard it suggested that we should shop the perimeter of a grocery store first because that’s where the freshest, healthiest products are displayed. The inner aisles are where the processed foods are stocked, apparently. I think there’s a lot to this theory, but it isn’t 100% true. For example, when I enter the better of the two local supermarkets, I instinctively turn right. This leads me right into tables of baked goods. One needs to navigate around cookies, cupcakes, cakes, danish rings and other sugary, buttery things.
I’ve gotten pretty good at looking beyond this section and heading into the appetizer/deli area. That’s where I can find some good hummus and the treat of good quality cheeses. (Okay, it also brings me by the shelves of wine. I like to keep a sauvignon blanc chilling in the house for when friends come over.)
After that, I’m in the healthy zone of produce. I gravitate to the organic selections first for whatever vegetables and fruit I might need. I didn’t have to get anything today because my co-workers and I belong to an organics buying club that delivers our orders every two weeks. So yesterday I got a delivery of strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, kale and sweet potatoes.
Still following the perimeter, produce is followed by dairy. This section is a mix of the good and the bad, don’t you think? Sure there’s yogurt, milk and healthier substitutes for butter. (Confession time: On this food plan, I use very little butter so I refuse to switch to a substitute. The little bit that I eat is not going to harm me and I justify it by thinking of the better flavor.)
However, mixed in with that essential dairy stuff is the entire refrigerated dough products display. Cookie dough, the makings of breakfast buns, tubes of chocolate brownies and so on. I can remember a time when I’d buy them to bake at home and end up only baking half because I’d eaten a bunch of the dough raw. I like my sweets as much as the next person, but I think from now on, if I’m going to eat this stuff and give myself treat on rare occasions, I want it to be really delicious and not made out of overprocessed goo. In my store, I need to dodge this display in order to get to the Greek yogurt. That doesn’t seem to jive with the “the perimeter is the realm of the healthy theory”, does it?
Milk, eggs, cheese, and “fresh” pasta come next. Then, all of sudden, you’re in seafood land and heading for the meat department. Not too bad. Everybody needs their protein and I’m definitely a carnivore. After adding some selections to my cart, I took a left at the end and found myself in the second aisle of frozen foods — the one that has shelf after shelf of ice cream, frozen pies, cakes, and so on and so on and so on.
When all is said and done, there might be healthy nutritious food stocked on the perimeter, but there’s a helluva lot of temptation in the form of the things that I shouldn’t be eating. In years past, my cart would fill with those things because, well, I had little resistance in the face of that temptation, not to mention the thousands of other things shelved in the interior aisles.
Nowadays I think of the supermarket as an obstacle course. It’s a challenge that I need to get through without shoving food that I don’t want and shouldn’t eat into my cart. Absolutely, keeping that list is the most helpful tool. Not shopping when I’m really hungry is another. When all is said and done, the food doesn’t leap into my cart by itself. As with all other choices, these are also up to me.
Weighty Matters 