New Job, Long Commute, Day 2

Getting up at 5 a.m. is not as bad as I might have thought. I am engaged and interested in the work I'm doing, and I'm not sleepy when I get there. I sometimes forget that a) I am a morning person and b) there is a point in my REM cycle that allows me to get about 7 hours of sleep and feel refreshed. I seem to be hitting that just right so far. The puppies and I have done a 2 mile loop at 5 a.m. two mornings in a row. Yesterday, I ran about half of it, broken up randomly into "I feel like running" segments and "I don't feel like running segments." This morning, due to my lack of activity lately, I was a bit stiff, so we just walked. But, to make up for the difference in caloric depletion, I'm walking again tonight. I have company, though, so that will make it a little more palatable to be doing a two-a-day with the second part in the almost 100 degree heat.

Packing food for three meals has also worked out pretty well. I got hummus and tabouleh at Sam's, and they're not nearly as good as when I make them, so I won't do that again. (They're also much heavier on the oil). Lots of fruit (watermelon, blueberries, and cherries) and some veggies - carrots and spinach salad (although forgot to eat salad yesterday and abandoned it under my desk accidentally. Protein in the form of peel and eat shrimp and a boiled egg (supposed to go in the salad). Altogether much better than how I've eaten lately. Probably need to actually sit down and count the calories to see where I end up. Servings of all of those things are in the small-ish range, and I've been grazing on them throughout the day...so maybe that's helpful to the metabolism.

So far, in other words, so good. Inspired to keep it up.

Almost a month later

In the past month, I have gained weight, not lost it. My new clothes are a bit snug.

But I am entering a new phase of life - switching jobs (start the new one on Monday), entering a time when if I'm not organized and disciplined, my life may fall apart entirely.

So, today, I am cleaning my house and doing my laundry. I am making a grocery list. I am blocking out an exercise plan. Because if I have to plan for long days away from home anyway, that's the perfet opportunity to kick-start this next phase of working on being healthier, stronger, fitter.

The triathlon I was going to do in September conflicts with Jaybo's graduation from flight training, in which the USAF is teaching him how to fly airplanes. Since I won't miss that graduation, I found another triathlon - closer to home - in early October. So, that gives me a little more time to train. I'm just a little sad that the swim isn't open water. So, it's October 4, 2009 that I'm aiming for.

For the next few weeks, I'll be commuting an hour a day on the Trinity Railway Express, which has internet access...so I'll try to post more frequently. For honesty's sake, though, I'll say that I weighed 199.2 this morning...dangerously close to 200...so I really need to get a handle on this weight loss thing again.

Weight Watchers Again...but just this once

Well, it took until Saturday to make it to a meeting, but I did go. And I am not sure about it this time. The scale said 195...but I refuse to update the header of this blog. Instead, I need to just recommit to losing the little bit of weight that's crept back on. There was something missing for me in the meeting though, and my debit card number changed, so I have to make an actual decision about whether to re-up. And I think for now, I am going to refocus in a different way.

If I'd found the meeting interesting or inspiring, I'd be up for paying. I've certainly found great support and information there before. But not this time.

So this morning, I had strawberries for breakfast and a little cheese on toast. It's almost summer. Soon my garden will be yielding some veggies. Fruit is all tasting more delicious by the day. I think it's time to just shift back to more real, more raw, more healthy food.

Including switching back to Jamba Juice instead of fast food. Adios, ye ol' Taco Bueno. And triathlon training begins in earnest as the pool opens soon. What do you think, readers lurking out there? Is it crazy to bail on WW after just one meeting? Most of the weight I've lost this time has not been on WW...and I did lose forty pounds that way once...but I just am not feeling it this time. Interested for feedback.

In Need of Structure: Weight Watchers Take #453

I've been working to get in a rhythm with working out, and I think I am finding it (with lots of fits and starts...so maybe we should call it a synchopated rhythm). But I am flailing a bit with food choices. So, I think this week, I will venture back to Weight Watchers and try to incorporate the healthier choices I am consistent with into the comfortable and failsafe structure of the point system. I think it will bring better balance to my off days, and it certainly won't hurt on the days I'm making good choices.

Tomorrow at lunch, I think. 12:15.

Struggle

No pounds lost lately. But a friend fixed my bike tires and I rode seven miles yesterday. And then I emailed Amanda to figure out how to handle "big" hills with my gears. I had to stop a couple of times, but I think it was due to being in the wrong gear more than not being able to finish the ride otherwise. And I am working on running too - a mile at a time. This week, I'll add a quarter mile to the running part of my run/walk. And hopefully, I'll get into a pool.

I keep reminding myself that it's a marathon, not a sprint, this journey of losing weight. And really, it's not even a marathon because it's a never ending process...trying to be healthier, trying to be more active, trying to make good choices.

And remembering that there are things that matter far more. Things like these:

At the end of a long day

Tonight, after a long day, I changed into some shorts and a tank top, hooked the puppies to their leashes and set out on a brisk walk. When we got to the junior high track by my house, I let them loose and took off jogging around the track. I thought I would do half a mile since it's been a while since I jogged (a long while). But after two laps, it wasn't so bad...so I did another two. A mile jog...and a two mile brisk walk. And it felt good.

I really want to be ready for the sprint distance for this triathlon, and since it's not May yet, I think I have a good chance. This week, I need to get my bike serviced again and then see what my starting point is on distance. I think I'll aim for five miles and have another two ready to go just in case. The one part I'm not too concerned about is the swim. I love to swim - just waiting for the outdoor pool to be open at the Y! Nothing like early morning outdoor lap swimming in all the world. It always reminds me of my best childhood athletic memories - diving into the pool for swim practice.

I'll run a mile four days this week. And I'll get the bike ready to go. Something feels like it's shifting back into gear, and I'm glad of it. So are the puppies, I think.

Looking ahead

This morning the scale said 192.4 - another drop following a long week. This week, I head back to my law school reunion, so it's nice to have a drop in the scale to fit. When I met my friends in law school, I had lost over 40 pounds on Weight Watchers. I was in good shape - walking over an hour a day, and I was eating really well. That was eight years ago. It doesn't seem like nearly that long. By the time I graduated, I had gained back a good chunk of what I'd lost. And then more beyond that.

This week, I'm trying to focus on all I've learned since then, on the progress I've made and the choices I want to continue to make. It's such a temptation to spend time dwelling on the past when you're getting ready for a reunion, and really that doesn't get anyone anywhere.