Travel plans for the weekend.

I'm going home this weekend. I don't do that much, even though it's only an hour away. But not having a car, it may as well be 10 hours away. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing... I enjoy the family aspect, I don't enjoy the tension. Usually there's arguing or mom talking about dad or dad talking about mom and me left to mediate and I just don't want to. Then they both get mad at me when I disappear for a few hours to visit friends who are still in the home town or go to Logan to visit my brother... because "you just got here. What about family time?" Family time = watching TV, or sitting silently in the same room working on separate projects. 

But I'm moving in 3 months - across the country - and I won't see them for a while. So I may as well take advantage while it's only an hour away instead of a $300 plane ticket away. I'm going to be trying to go down every other week until I leave. 

So I've rescheduled my piano lesson for today. Having a tea date with a long lost friend, Jacob. And packing, who am I kidding... I'm taking my backpack and my dirty laundry bag. I'm also taking my debit card so i can grocery shop when I get there. Mom and dad don't usually have the greatest selection of fresh fruit and veg, or healthy cooking items. I may take an insulated lunch bag of things on the verge of spoiling from my house too. Trying not to waste the produce... sometimes it beats me to the punch. 

Since I'll be gone...  I've got to get my entire weekend to do list done today by 5 as well. 

- DO THE DISHES. 

- Sort the laundry. 

- clean the bathroom

- return library books. 

- make the menu (eh, I could do that at the parents). 

- design a couple work outs I can do at the parents. 

I won't be back to my scale until sunday evening MST around 5pm. So I'll have to do a place holder check in for E2E. Same thing with Allan's challenge. 

Big Fat Weekend Love, 

Nanette

The Real Friday!

So yesterday I was doing a lot of reading about the whole paleo thing that's happening in the diet world right now. I like a lot of what it talks about... Especially the physical activity. I mean... last challenge (Aug-Dec) I didn't lose nearly as much weight as I would have liked and I was in the gym doing cardio 3x a week, in addition to swim classes 2x a week and a dance class 2x a week. Now... doing 30 min work outs at my trainer's home (only using free weights and a coffee table) 3x a week and a swim class once or twice a week. I'm feeling so much stronger and the pounds are coming off so much quicker.

That paired with the dietary stuff, it just makes sense. I love me some terrible carbs and lately the internal dialogue has gone like this...

 "but... but... it's whole wheat." 

"No. How about you go back to spelt bread/pasta/tortillas?"

"Expensive. And plus there are only like 4 ingredients in these crackers, the fat is low, they're whole grain and a serving size is 9 crackers... NINE!" 

"They would be good with hummus." 

And wham! Put into the grocery cart. When I eat more grain, I eat fewer vegetables. Fact. It's my pattern. I don't know if that applies to any of you out there... but that's something I see in myself.

A blog I follow... The candid RD asked this... 

Question: How will you celebrate nutrition this month? How will you get your plate in "better shape"? Have you re-evaluated your nutrition-related goals this year (or your fitness or other goals)? How have you been doing?

I am celebrating nutrition by remembering my vegetables and using more of them. I bought steamer bags in efforts to encourage myself (since I hate cold food in winter). I want to give myself weekly vegetables... Like a tomato a day for a week. Broccoli every day for a week. Things like that in addition to my normal consumption. It allows me to actually eat all the veggies I buy without them going to waste. It will also allow me to get at least one more serving of veg in every day. 

Less beige. MORE GREEN. 

I'm leaning out of good habits lately (the last two weeks). But I'm ready to correct that and take control of my diet. Diet is so much harder for me than exercise. But I will commit to being better. I will commit to stop telling myself it's hard. 

MANTRA

A friend once told me...  kids accomplish amazing feats. But they don't know it's hard because no one has told them it is yet. 

So dieting and exercise aren't hard. We tell ourselves they're hard. Dieting and Exercise require focus and dedication. Just like memorizing an aria, or reading an entire book, or being a mother, or keeping track of our friend's soap opera lives. It's only hard when we tell ourselves it is... otherwise... it could actually be {gasp} FUN! 

Big Fat NOT HARD Love, 

Nanette

P.S. Still rockin' the water and calorie Allan Challenge. 

Drowning

We finally got snow!!!   I've been waiting all winter! Not that I much care for snow, but Idaho without snow is just brown. Which is all good and dandy if you like brown. I don't.

I went to the swim class this morning. We did a lot of minute long challenges there...   Biceps with bands, triceps with the bands, pull ups on the diving boxes, Ab moves, Leg moves... It was a great class. 

After swim, I went to the Instructor/Trainer/Sarah's house. We did a pyramid of reps. So 5x-10x-15x-10x-5x of the following exercises. 

- Lunges

- Kettle bell swings (25lb). 

- Bicep curl+press (10lb). 

- Competition sit ups left side. 

- Competition sit ups right side. 

I'm stinking at my 300 push up goal. I thought I'd be able to get a jump start with the training session today. But not a push up in sight. Maybe I need to make pushups my goal every time so we don't have to do them. heh. I told Sarah about the goal. She's trying to do it too... but she wants to do pull ups. Yeah...   I'm not going to try to match that... Lovely little 120lb Sarah... She can have all the pull ups in the world. I won't ask her to share until I'm down into the 100s. 

So I was a giant stupid head about 4 weeks ago. There are girl scout cookies in my house. I ordered 3 boxes. One of each of my favorite flavors; tagalongs, samoas and thin mints. I'm taking them to work tonight to see what I can pawn off on my coworkers. And I'm allowing myself ONE a day. As soon as I go over that ONE a day... I have to throw away the rest. 

Over on Allan's challenge, the rules for me are Calories: 1900 and Water: 160 oz. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY OUNCES!!!   I made it there last night. Drank the whole thing. I've never been so excited to lose some stinking weight...   Not only will there be less of me to haul around, but I can stop feeling like i'm drowning! Since the water calculation is based on half your weight in ounces.... the sooner I hit 200lbs the happier I'll be. I do well around 100oz of water. 

I consistently eat fewer than 1900 calories. So I'm hoping that's not going to be an issue. I'm a highly competitive person... I kinda REALLY WANT TO WIN. 

Big Fat Back On The Goal Wagon Love, 

Nanette

miracle drug...

Yeah... tried an allergy medication yesterday. FELT GREAT for the first time in a week. I've never had allergies before. Itchy eyes, fatigue, mucous. Makes sense. So I'm heading out to Walgreen's after work tonight to get the generic of zyrtec.

The Music Department secretary has been thinking about implementing some weight loss goals into her life. I'm kind of excited that she's thinking about it. I told her I'd love to help her...   You know, writing up menus and MUCH milder work out plans. (She's upward of 55yrs). But we're starting small... Menu/dietary changes for the first two weeks and then slowly adding small exercises. She's got sensitive knees. Any ideas? Any of you have knee issues? what work outs do you like to do?

I've been living in clouds today...  Just fuzzy...   Tonight is going to be hard to stay focused at work. Good thing that the night job usually consists of facebook and netflix.


Day one of the Allan challenge - 1900 calories a day and 150 oz of water...   Gotta get going on that water.

Big Fat Fuzzy Brain Love,
Nanette