Ack. I gained. Bleh. This is so freaking tiresome.
But moving on...positive things: I survived two very, very stressful weeks. (I blame the stress hormone, cortisol, for the weight gain...I'm probably also retaining water...)
I have begun to work into my yoga practice on a more regular basis.
That's all I have today...it's been a really long week for me and I'm very tired. I've been working all day and night and not sleeping very well at all. I am hopeful that things will lighten up after the big meeting next week and that I will find some breathing room.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pardon My Dust...
Just give me a day or two and I'll have it cleaned up around here. Just thought it might be time for a little change!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Week 6: Non Dairy Coffee Creamer?
I love my coffee and have 2-3 cups every morning. First thing I do is shuffle down the stairs into the kitchen and start my morning ritual of making coffee. Back in the day, I sweetened my coffee with fake sugar and poured gallons of vanilla fat free international foods coffee creamer in it. Then, a few years ago, I gave up fake sugar. It took a little while longer for me to make the switch from fake creamer to organic half and half.
Now I want to make a switch again...because, yesterday, I read something about milk that grossed me the hell out. Seriously. I don't know that I can ever drink milk again. I'm not going to tell you what I read because you may not want to give up milk. :D
However, if you're interested, pick up a copy of The World Peace Diet and check out the section about the milk mustache. You'll see what I mean.
So this book...it arrived at my doorstep yesterday. I ordered it because I've decided to take a yoga class (World Peace Yoga) on Mondays (followed by The World Peace Diet Study Group). This goes back to my post, the other day, about finding balance. Instead of working ridiculous hours every day of the week, I'm going to, at least, take one night off and do something for myself. So the book arrived and I started flipping through it. One of the sections that caught my eye was the one about the milk mustache, I read it and...wow. So now I'm wary. The thing is I don't really want to be vegan. I thought I had already figured out how I felt about this after I read Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot I don't eat: pig, duck and veal. (And, as a side note - when you give up eating pork, you really see how much America loves their bacon...it's in EVERYTHING).
I am not really interested in giving up eating chicken, fish, and beef. Yes, I know I am a hypocrite. I know, I know, but I have justified this by saying I do what I can. I've made my choices and that's how I feel. I thought that I could read this book and go to this class and just be vegan one day of the week. Is that naive? I guess so. I mean, I didn't think that I'd read this book and be so grossed out that it would change my thinking. I just thought it would be all, "animals are awesome and we shouldn't be eating them because we are cruel bitches!"
I don't mind the milk thing so much because almond milk and rice milk can be great substitutes. I found a non-dairy coffee creamer last night that I have high hopes for.
BUT, I didn't consider the dairy products that are staples in my life...that I really love to eat...cheese and butter. How can I walk away from cheese? One of my all time favorite meals is bread and cheese. Oh yeah, I know there's vegan cheese but that stuff doesn't even come close to the artisan cheeses that make up the cheese plates I enjoy. (Not to mention, I don't want to switch everything I eat to soy. I don't believe that soy is good for the environment or women).
I guess I'll leave that dilemma for another day.
I will try to remain open to this study group but it's possible that I will chicken out and just take the yoga class!
Now I want to make a switch again...because, yesterday, I read something about milk that grossed me the hell out. Seriously. I don't know that I can ever drink milk again. I'm not going to tell you what I read because you may not want to give up milk. :D
However, if you're interested, pick up a copy of The World Peace Diet and check out the section about the milk mustache. You'll see what I mean.
So this book...it arrived at my doorstep yesterday. I ordered it because I've decided to take a yoga class (World Peace Yoga) on Mondays (followed by The World Peace Diet Study Group). This goes back to my post, the other day, about finding balance. Instead of working ridiculous hours every day of the week, I'm going to, at least, take one night off and do something for myself. So the book arrived and I started flipping through it. One of the sections that caught my eye was the one about the milk mustache, I read it and...wow. So now I'm wary. The thing is I don't really want to be vegan. I thought I had already figured out how I felt about this after I read Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot I don't eat: pig, duck and veal. (And, as a side note - when you give up eating pork, you really see how much America loves their bacon...it's in EVERYTHING).
I am not really interested in giving up eating chicken, fish, and beef. Yes, I know I am a hypocrite. I know, I know, but I have justified this by saying I do what I can. I've made my choices and that's how I feel. I thought that I could read this book and go to this class and just be vegan one day of the week. Is that naive? I guess so. I mean, I didn't think that I'd read this book and be so grossed out that it would change my thinking. I just thought it would be all, "animals are awesome and we shouldn't be eating them because we are cruel bitches!"
I don't mind the milk thing so much because almond milk and rice milk can be great substitutes. I found a non-dairy coffee creamer last night that I have high hopes for.
BUT, I didn't consider the dairy products that are staples in my life...that I really love to eat...cheese and butter. How can I walk away from cheese? One of my all time favorite meals is bread and cheese. Oh yeah, I know there's vegan cheese but that stuff doesn't even come close to the artisan cheeses that make up the cheese plates I enjoy. (Not to mention, I don't want to switch everything I eat to soy. I don't believe that soy is good for the environment or women).
I guess I'll leave that dilemma for another day.
I will try to remain open to this study group but it's possible that I will chicken out and just take the yoga class!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Week 6: Finding Balance
I have felt out of balance since the beginning of the year. I have been giving everything I've got to my job and have found little leftover for me, my partner, or anything else.
It's about to get crazier. And, I gotta say, I'm sick of it. I like change as much as anyone. Truly, I would get bored if it was the same old, same old all the time but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Nothing at my job is predictable. (Except for the morons who get on my nerves consistently...don't even get me started down that path. There's this one chick who barely knows MS Office, couldn't write herself out of a paper bag, who thinks she could do my job and frequently tells her superiors that she does. Grrrrl please. Be careful what you wish for!).
At any rate, I was having a conversation with my boss (a lovely lady who has really taken me under her wing and has worked to mentor me on this path) last week and one thing she talked to me about was balance. She said that I need to find more balance and not to work such crazy hours. Yeah, a lot of what I do, I do because I am driven. I feel that I have a lot to prove (especially when I've got stupid biznatches, like I mentioned above, constantly snapping at my heels). And with all the changes that are constantly thrown at me, I really have to be flawless all the time. And, that takes time. More than 8 hours a day, that's for sure.
So, in an effort to find so balance, I'm going to set some some boundaries for myself. From now on, Mondays at 5pm is quitting time. There's a yoga class I want to take on Monday nights and to get there in time, I need to leave the office at 5pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm leaving the office no later than 5:30, because there's another yoga class I want to take. And, no more waking up at 5:30 in the morning and starting to work (usually the first thing I do is make coffee and open MS Outlook and start answering emails and working on open projects). No, I need to fit in my treadmill workout at that time.
I don't mind working hard...I'm just tired of killing myself for a job where I make $20k less than the market average and where I can't count on anyone or anything. I need to start looking at the big picture of my career. I need to consider that there's more out there for me. I don't want to wake up on my 47th birthday still feeling stressed out all the time, still 50 pounds overweight, and still exhausted.
It's about to get crazier. And, I gotta say, I'm sick of it. I like change as much as anyone. Truly, I would get bored if it was the same old, same old all the time but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Nothing at my job is predictable. (Except for the morons who get on my nerves consistently...don't even get me started down that path. There's this one chick who barely knows MS Office, couldn't write herself out of a paper bag, who thinks she could do my job and frequently tells her superiors that she does. Grrrrl please. Be careful what you wish for!).
At any rate, I was having a conversation with my boss (a lovely lady who has really taken me under her wing and has worked to mentor me on this path) last week and one thing she talked to me about was balance. She said that I need to find more balance and not to work such crazy hours. Yeah, a lot of what I do, I do because I am driven. I feel that I have a lot to prove (especially when I've got stupid biznatches, like I mentioned above, constantly snapping at my heels). And with all the changes that are constantly thrown at me, I really have to be flawless all the time. And, that takes time. More than 8 hours a day, that's for sure.
So, in an effort to find so balance, I'm going to set some some boundaries for myself. From now on, Mondays at 5pm is quitting time. There's a yoga class I want to take on Monday nights and to get there in time, I need to leave the office at 5pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm leaving the office no later than 5:30, because there's another yoga class I want to take. And, no more waking up at 5:30 in the morning and starting to work (usually the first thing I do is make coffee and open MS Outlook and start answering emails and working on open projects). No, I need to fit in my treadmill workout at that time.
I don't mind working hard...I'm just tired of killing myself for a job where I make $20k less than the market average and where I can't count on anyone or anything. I need to start looking at the big picture of my career. I need to consider that there's more out there for me. I don't want to wake up on my 47th birthday still feeling stressed out all the time, still 50 pounds overweight, and still exhausted.
 |
| Betty Calman, 83 year old yoga instructor |
Friday, July 23, 2010
Week 6: Lulumon is full of it...
I have loved all those Lulumon ads...they espouse ideas that made me think they loved women of all shapes and sizes. I cruised by their website this morning and, to my dismay, it appears that they only cater to size "14" (yeah, right, the 14 is a very small 14) and below. Boooooo, lulumon...booooo...I'm so dissappointed in you, Mon. :P
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Week 6: 188 - 43 pounds to go
Weighed in a day early...got on the scale this morning. So started Week 6 24 hours early. Good to see that I am making some progress.
This has been a super long week and I am exhausted so I will write more tomorrow but just wanted to post an update tonight.
This has been a super long week and I am exhausted so I will write more tomorrow but just wanted to post an update tonight.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Week 5 - Already Tuesday!
I have to keep this update fairly short as I need to hop in the shower in about 5 mins. These past two weeks have been crazy. Most of the time I have been working from the minute I wake up until minutes before I go to bed. But after today, two events that I'd been planning for months will be off my plate. One more set for early August and then, I hope, things will slow down a little bit. It's no wonder that I haven't been able to get to a yoga class. And no wonder that I'm having a hard time losing big numbers each week. I'm trying not to be so hard on myself and to look at the big picture.
I completely lost track of time on Friday and forgot to weigh in until it was too late (e.g. it was Saturday!) so I decided not to worry about it and to remember that I am not attached to the outcome so much as the process of getting back to and maintaining good health. I don't expect that I would have lost anything at all since I spent most of last week in a downtown hotel...
This past weekend, though, Cathy and I ate healthy and got in some good physical activity! Ripping up the carpet in the living room actually was a workout. :D
Ordered Cathy some Tai Chi DVDs from Amazon over the weekend. She is wanting to take up a form of moving meditation/stretching and thought that Tai Chi would fit the bill rather nicely. Since I am thinking that I'd like to set up a nice space in our home gym for yoga (and for Cathy to do Tai Chi) we decided to put our elliptical on Craig's List. I don't use and the treadmill really is my first choice...Cathy doesn't use it either, so though it is a nice one, it's just taking up space that we could use. Hoping that someone wants a good deal on an elliptical this week! Keep your fingers crossed.
Hoping to make it to one yoga class this week...or to get on the mat at my house...I do know that Yoga Tiffany is coming over on Sunday, so I am looking forward to that!
Hope you are having a good week...
I completely lost track of time on Friday and forgot to weigh in until it was too late (e.g. it was Saturday!) so I decided not to worry about it and to remember that I am not attached to the outcome so much as the process of getting back to and maintaining good health. I don't expect that I would have lost anything at all since I spent most of last week in a downtown hotel...
This past weekend, though, Cathy and I ate healthy and got in some good physical activity! Ripping up the carpet in the living room actually was a workout. :D
Ordered Cathy some Tai Chi DVDs from Amazon over the weekend. She is wanting to take up a form of moving meditation/stretching and thought that Tai Chi would fit the bill rather nicely. Since I am thinking that I'd like to set up a nice space in our home gym for yoga (and for Cathy to do Tai Chi) we decided to put our elliptical on Craig's List. I don't use and the treadmill really is my first choice...Cathy doesn't use it either, so though it is a nice one, it's just taking up space that we could use. Hoping that someone wants a good deal on an elliptical this week! Keep your fingers crossed.
Hoping to make it to one yoga class this week...or to get on the mat at my house...I do know that Yoga Tiffany is coming over on Sunday, so I am looking forward to that!
Hope you are having a good week...
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