The long and winding road to fitness, day 118

Image by cjzurcher via Flickr

Ay yi yi..what an exhausting day.  Well, maybe the day wouldn’t have been so exhausting had it not started with me already tired from lack of sleep.  I ended up with just a little over two hours of sleep last night.  Finally dozed off just a little while before the alarm went off.  Had to be at work at 5 this morning.  Big truck at 6!  We had a good crew working today though and managed to get a lot done.

Eating?  Oh, it was just okay today.  I ate too much of the wrong foods and not enough of the healthy foods.  I did read a suggestion about adding pumpkin puree to chili that I think I’m going to try tomorrow.  I can get another serving or so of veggies that way…and supposedly you can’t really taste it.  I’ll let you know how that turns out.

My only exercise for the day was what I got in at work.  It took us an hour and a half to unload the truck, so that involved a lot of walking and lifting.  And then just a lot of walking for the rest of the day.  I couldn’t force myself to do anything extra when I got home this evening.  All I wanted to do was go to bed…haven’t done that yet…got to get in my Monday night dose of Dancing With The Stars!

I have tomorrow off work…woohoo!!  I have some errands I need to do in the morning then I want to get a little housework done and cook a batch of chili (you know, with the pumpkin puree).  It’ll just be nice to be able to wake up without that alarm blaring in my ear.

So, was this a manic Monday for you?

 

 

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The long and winding road to fitness,day 113

Image by Chris Blakeley via Flickr

Oh my word, I am so tired…but I just can’t go to sleep right now.  I am watching Dancing With The Stars, of course.  Yes, I admit, I’m addicted to this show.  Some of the guys at work were talking about watching Monday night football, one of them asked if I watched it.  I looked at him like he was crazy (and I do like football, don’t get me wrong) and told him I watched DWTS.  I don’t think he had a clue what I was talking about.

It was a long, crazy, hectic day at work.  I don’t know why I plan what I’ll be doing over the course of the day.  It never works out that way.  This happens, something else goes wrong, etc, etc…But I have the day off tomorrow so I’m done worrying about work, at least until Thursday.

I had a decent day of exercise.  I did core exercises, range of motion exercises for that sorry old shoulder, and walked for half an hour.  And got in a lot of walking and ladder climbing  and heavy lifting at work today.  I told you I had a fun day!!

My eating was okay.  I ended up not eating my minestrone for dinner tonight.  I don’t know why, it just didn’t sound all that good tonight.  I did drink a glass of oj this evening though.  So a bit of nutrients there.

As I was finishing my daily writing earlier this evening, I realized that tomorrow will put me over 100,000 words…granted not all of them are publishable, but 100,000 words…not too shabby!

Are you sometimes surprised by the accomplishments that seem to sneak up on you?

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Dancing like a star

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As I’m watching Dancing With The Stars (yes, Chris, instead of the Cowboys), it brings back some feel good memories of how good dancing makes me feel.  I’ve been struggling with my weight loss efforts and I just realized I need to do something that brings joy to my life, a smile to my face and a little more grace to my step.  Dancing fits the bill.

I’m going to get some dancing in at least three days a week, work on getting in better shape, and then start taking some dance classes after the first of the year.  Now, before you all start in with me, wondering why I don’t just start the dance lessons right now…time, work, time…this isn’t the time of year for me to be starting anything that’s going to require a big time committment.  But getting involved in some dance classes is stepping out of my comfort zone…and I need that! So…New Year’s resolution #1:  dance lessons…

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 75

What a really nice day this turned out to be.  It was so pretty this morning.  Of course, it warmed right up quickly and got up in the 90s again. I am so ready for fall…please, please come soon.  I’m done with the heat and humidity.

I did finally make it to the grocery store.  I don’t usually buy lunch meat, but today I bought turkey breast to take to work on whole wheat sub rolls.  The one for tomorrow has some of my pickled peppers and a tomato on it.  Then I’ll have cole slaw on the side…using my all time favorite Hendrickson’s dressing…it kind of reminds me of this sweet and sour cole slaw my grandma made, but I’m sure mine is a lot easier.  Let’s see, I didn’t shred the cabbage and carrots (thank you, Dole) and I didn’t make up my own dressing…sorry, Grandma.

Then I read Nikianne’s blog about how she doesn’t like cottage cheese and that made me think about taking cottage cheese instead of yogurt for a few days.  So I bought some low-fat cottage cheese and a cantaloupe…I really like that combo!  Then I’m taking popcorn for my afternoon snack.  I’ve got everything prepared, ready to toss in my lunch bag in the morning.

I walked for 30 minutes this morning and danced this afternoon (already getting excited about Dancing With The Stars, I should just watch that all the time if it’s going to get me back to dancing).  I didn’t lift weights at all today.  But an hour of cardio is pretty decent.  Then tomorrow is truck day at work, so a day full of exercise for me.

Today I was feeling kind of, oh I don’t know, not good enough, I guess.  I know I shouldn’t ever compare myself with anyone else.  Seriously, what good does that do?  But I caught myself doing just that while I was at the grocery store.  I saw a woman in her twenties, young, fit, cute and I imagined she was looking at me in disgust.  I’m sure it was just my imagination.  I doubt that she paid any attention to me at all.  Why do we think people are thinking negative things about us?  Hmm…because we’re thinking negative things about ourselves?  Hey, at least I did catch myself and talk myself out of feeling that way.  In the past, I would have allowed that to ruin my day.   I’m doing a pretty good job of realizing what I’m saying to myself and making myself stop it.  Now my goal is to just stop the negative talking and thinking  altogether.  That’s a tough one, but I know it’s doable.

Do you have trouble with negative thoughts?  How do you combat it?

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The long and winding road to fitness, day 74

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Wild and crazy day today.  Absolutely gorgeous weather this morning…all day, really…the sunrise was breath taking..I wish I’d taken the time to take a picture, but I didn’t.  I was kind of running behind on my way to work…same old song and dance, I’m afraid.  Stay up too late, sleep a little later, then rush around getting ready.  At least I have tomorrow off, although I’ve been considering going in for a few hours just to get some work done.  We’ll see…

I didn’t eat enough veggies today, but I did manage to get in three fruits…only three veggies for the day, should have at least two additional servings.  I finished the day with 1575 calories, so I’m not complaining.

I walked for 40 minutes and did a few core exercises.   Not quite as much exercise as I’d like, but it’s certainly better than nothing.  I feel some dancing on the agenda for tomorrow.  That reminds me, I just saw the announcement for the cast of Dancing With The Stars.  I’m not sure about this season.  Of course, I say that just about every season and then end up really liking a couple of the stars.  I’ve watched this show since the beginning, always dreaming that I was up there on the stage dancing with one of those gorgeous dancers…whew!!  I’ve really got to get back to my dancing…dancing and running have been the best exercises for me as far as weight loss goes.

So, what exercise helps you the most with weight loss/maintenance?  Do you do it because you enjoy it or because it helps you control your weight and feel better?  For me, dancing is something that I love, it always puts a smile on my face.  Running makes me feel good (well, back when I was running) I think, in part, because I’ve set a goal and worked toward it.  Why in the world do we stop doing the things that make us feel good?

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Dancing with the (not quite) stars

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I love to dance…have always loved to dance.  To watch me, you might question that, but I don’t think how well (or not) you do something necessarily has any bearing on the enjoyment you derive from an activity.  I know I’m not any great shakes on the dance floor, but it still makes me happy to have upbeat music playing and to just move to it.

I’ve watched Dancing With the Stars from season one.  I’ve always imagined myself as one of the “stars”.  You know, coming in not really knowing anything about the different dances, but working hard and improving every week until my partner (Maks…yum) and I would win that world-famous mirror ball trophy!   Of course, I would love to look like those professional dancers in those revealing outfits, but that’s not a huge part of the fantasy (okay…yes, it is..looking like that has always been part of most of my fantasies, but I would settle for just being able to dance like they dance).

I know dancing is great exercise.  When I’ve worked really hard to get in shape, dance was always a huge part of my workout routine.  Dancing improves your cardiovascular fitness, your posture, your energy level, your strength and flexibility.  And it’s a lot of fun. 

I’ve just got to dance.  I may not ever appear on Dancing With the Stars, but I can sure get my groove on  in my kitchen!

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Breakroom Ambience…really

Another crazy busy day at work…this just in from our corporate offices…we need to ambience the breakroom for Christmas!  Seriously?  We don’t even have the time to do all the work we need to get done every day and now they want us to decorate the breakroom…heck, most of us don’t even manage to make it back to the breakroom to actually take a break! I usually try to get outside for a quick walk and often end up eating my lunch at my desk while working on the computer…hmm…maybe I should try taking a real break at least once a day…could do wonders for my stress level…I think the whole ambience thing has more to do with corporate visitors being in our stores over the next couple of weeks than providing us with a relaxing place to take a break.  Hey, I’m all for relaxing…how about some recliners and a nice television…that’ll happen, you betcha!  Okay, okay…let it go…this could be fun…what do I want to see in the breakroom?  I’ll have to give this some thought.

Now on to the challenge…yep, made it thru another day without resorting to the evils of diet soda…have to admit I was tempted once, but just refilled my water bottle and kept moving on.  Tomorrow I’m going to do some real cooking…something to take to work for my lunches for the rest of the week, maybe some pumpking muffins (love, love, love anything pumpkin) and I just remembered I have some rhubarb in the freezer…what can I do with that that doesn’t involve pie?  Looks I’ll be searching for some recipes tonight while I watch my favorite show, Dancing With the Stars!

I did work out this morning before heading out the door to work.  I really do feel so much better when I sweat a little before going to work…seems to at least start my day on a high note.  It usually makes me more aware of what I’m eating, but I have to admit to eating a donut today…we had a birthday girl at work today and, instead of cake, she got donuts.  I can’t really say why I felt the need to eat a donut other than the fact that they were there…that’s one of those bad habits that I’ve got to work on again…thank goodness I never smoked!!!  As difficult as it is to kick that habit, I’d be in real trouble!  No donuts for me tomorrow…but I will be going out for a run, my first one in several days…hopefully I haven’t lost much in the way of fitness…we’ll see…