Key Ingredient #2 - Exercise!

Last weekend I came to the realization that I needed more sleep. I made a conscious effort to go to bed a little earlier each night. It was hard but I did hit the hay at least a half hour earlier each night. By last night, I was still feeling a little sleep deprived so this week I will head to bed an hour earlier. I'm already feeling anxious about that but I'll just have to deal!

In addition to more sleep, my goals for last week were eating less and exercising more. So, I rode my bike everyday for at least 30 minutes, cut out the deadly powdered creamer (that I thought I couldn't live without) and subbed lite soy milk in my coffee (the cappuccino flavor was best), tracked food consumed, and drank lots and lots of water. Bingo! I had a landslide of a week.

I'm so pleased with how the week went that I'm planning on a repeat next week. I'm still looking for my elastic bands. I know I have some here but I've been "organizing" crap and I don't know if this happens to you, but the more organized I get the more I can't find my stuff. I think I need a directory for where my things are kept. Hmmmm. Sounds good anyway.

I'm off to clean this crazy place and then get out my dvd for the fitness ball. Can't wait to bounce around for awhile. Oh, and this morning I felt thinner (ha!) so I got on the scale and I've now made it to 20 lbs gone! That's right, I've lost another 1.4 lbs! I can't tell you how great I feel today. I want this feeling to stick around so I'm listening to my body and I'm staying on track.

Have a great weekend. Eat your veggies and whole grains and don't forget to drink your water!

Oh, baby, that's what I like! (HYC Check-in)

Last week the scale said I gained 3 lbs. Ugh. I knew it I just didn't want to face it so I didn't post it here till today. Being in denial over gaining is still a problem for me. I hate to admit failure even though I know what I did to make myself fail. Last weekend I added insult to injury by consuming that challah loaf and brownie. Strange enough though, I didn't gain from eating those. I don't want to sugar cote anything either so I'm just going to say that I wasn't giving my 100% during that week.

This week however has been a horse of a different color. I've been making great choices for eating. I've been on my bike for at least 30 minutes everyday since Saturday. As a result, I lost a total this week of 5.6 lbs. I really only lost 2.6 because of the gain from last week. So to be honest I'm saying I lost 2.6. I hate to include pounds I have already lost once. (does that make sense or am I now babbling?)This weekend I'll be hunting down my weights to get started on some training to build up some muscle. I feel like a new woman. Is it the fresh air? Is it the lack of sugar? It's all that and a gang of bloggers!!

Really, I could not see myself facing this battle everyday without all you humor, support, tips, and reality-check sharing peeps out there in blogland. You make my life richer everytime I read your posts. Keep hacking at it. We are going to all be leaving the weight-loss arena together soon.

PS - I wore my red today, but forgot to bring my camera to work. I'll try to take a pic before I change for my ride tonight.

Love Poems

I just ran across this piece about a book of poems that might be just right for your Valentine.

If you read my blog then you know I love bikes. If I were to get a Valentine Day's gift I would want Bicycles (Harper Collins) by Nikki Giovanni. She wrote 65 poems to celebrate her 65 years!

I have not had a chance to see the book yet, but I will be looking for it this weekend. I went to amazon.com and read a few of her poems. They are not about bikes. They are about love and life and how a bike is all about trust and balance...and so is love.

Enjoy yourself today. Chew slowly and drink your water!

Is there such a thing as...

bike rider's high? I know when you run you get to a place where endorphins kick in and you feel really great. At least that's what I've been told. I wouldn't know, I don't run. Not like Tamzin, you go girlie!

I do, however, ride the heck out of my bike. I've been riding everyday since Saturday. When I first got back to riding in November I could hardly ride for 15 minutes without my butt feeling like it disappeared. Today I rode for 38 minutes around my neighborhood. That's a distance of 6.5 miles. My top speed was 14.2mph but that was for a quick little sprint moment when I felt like blasting off.

I used to come home everyday from work and sit at the computer or sit on the sofa and watch the news. Now I can't wait to get home so I can ride. Our neighborhood is pretty safe, not a lot of traffic but there are some folks that have no idea how to share the road with a bike. Morons. But being slightly smaller than them, I don't fight for my place on the road. I just mutter under my breath some not so nice sentiments. :)

Anyways, I know some of you are having really cold, bad weather. Stay warm, and be careful out there.

Oh, and don't forget to drink your water!

Back to Feelin' It

Over the weekend I had a slight binge attack. I say slight because it was nothing like I've done in the past. I did eat an entire loaf of challah bread. Gotta love that stuff. The nectar of the yeast gods. It was freshly baked, too. I also had a brownie. I can't believe I'm even talking about it here since I usually eat this way when no one is looking. The slight part is that I ate these foods over a two day period. In the past I might have had them in a span of a few hours.

Another difference this time was that when I finished them, I was done. I even rode my bike Saturday, Sunday, and today for 30-40 minutes each day. In the past I would have laid around like a stuffed toad. So I think I'm learning a new appreciation of self.

And today I was right back to eating according to my plan. I'm tweaking it a little because as we all know diets can get complicated what with all the planning and recipes, etc. I'm keeping it simple this week. Sometimes I have to take the focus off the food because it leads to overeating. Less on the menu gives me less anxiety.

It feels good to sit here and know that I had my fling with food this past weekend but I didn't gain from it and I'm setting my sights back on the goal. Yeah!

Breathe deep and relax, drink your water, and reflect on the best part of today!

Key Ingredient - Sleep!!

This past week has been a struggle for me. I didn't want to be a "dieter." I didn't want to exercise and when I did I felt uncoordinated and clumsy and tired out faster than usual. I felt depressed and tried to blame it on hormones. Hummph. I kept asking myself "am I really going to throw in the towel so soon?" I've only lost 15 lbs and need to lose so many more. I've had this vision of myself as a thin, active woman - am I ready to give that up already??

It's no secret that I don't like sleep. I feel like it is a major waste of time. I rarely turn out my light before 12:30 pm and have to get up at 6 am. I like resting (as most couch potatoes do) but the act of sleeping is something I have fought all my life. My mom used to beg me to go to bed when I was younger.

Well, last night I was extremely tired and began to doze while trying to watch a little TV. I fell asleep with my clothes on at 9:30 pm and woke up at 9 am today. Guess what? I felt fantastic! Alert, energized, and in a great mood. Hmmmmm, I thought to myself, how did my attitude change so quickly? What did I do different from the other nights of this week? Oh, I see...I got some sleep!!

I've heard so many reports that sleep is a vital key ingredient to our health. I just didn't want to believe something that simple could make such an impact in how we feel. I did some research (which I love to do on just about anything - love the internet for this tool) and according to this article on a website called SleepDeprivation.com losing sleep is a bad, bad thing.

Typical effects of sleep deprivation include:

• depression


• heart disease


• hypertension


• irritability


• slower reaction times


• slurred speech


• tremors

Now, if this doesn't make me wake up and smell the coffee I don't know what will. I had depression, irritability, and slower reaction times this past week! Trying to diet and exercise was really hard and not just mentally. And in the past I've had these feelings but just thought I was depressed. I knew losing sleep would catch up with me some day, but I've been in denial about just how serious it can be. Sleeping is not a "lazy" thing but in my mind I think I've thought of it that way.

Therefore, as part of my quest for health I am including getting eight hours of sleep as part of my weekly goals. I am too old now to bounce back from lack of sleep. My body just won't tolerate it anymore. So, body, I'm listening and I'm giving you what you need - zzzzzzzz's!

Whew, that was a long one. I'm sure my rant was something many of you already know. I knew it too, but just didn't want to do it. Isn't that what a lot of do with regard to getting healthier? We know what we should eat and that movement is important, we just don't always do it.

Have a great weekend, drink your water, and get some sleep!

Not Feelin' It

Yesterday felt a little off. I don't really know why. I think it might be due to hormones (sorry if there are any guys reading) as my body seems to be trying to shut that monthly event down (at last!). I tried doing my Wii Fit workout and after 20 minutes, just felt too bored. Ho-hum. It was kinda cold yesterday, too, so I didn't want to go out for a ride. I even went to bed at 9:30 pm. That is so not me.

Today I feel kinda the same. Bored. And a little bloated. I'm not craving anything in particular. I just don't want to be a dieter today. You know, that mentality of constantly aware of every morsel I put into my mouth. Gaaaahhhh. I need to snap out of it. I cannot quit. I cannot.

So today I'm not liking that my momentum is lacking. Where did it go? Who took it. Could it be the fact that when I got home yesterday my mom had made some kind of candy for her friends' birthday? Or because there was a package of chocolate chip cookies in the pantry? Or because she told me she made my son pancakes for brekkie yesterday even though they were Mizfit's Almost 'Cakes? I think I'm having a pity party.

Whatever, that's why I come to blogland. To escape the feeling that I'm the only one that wants to eat healthy. That I'm the only one who needs to lose weight. It's hard sometimes.

I need to drink my water, eat some veggies, and read some blogs!

Temptation Tuesday!

What's with the cutesy day-of-the-week post titles? Anyway, today some cupcakes were waived in front of me and I said "no, thanks." I KNOW!! And these were not your average run of the mill cupcakes. They were from a specialty bakery called Crave Cupcakes. They were so cute. Four of them in a cute little box. One had vanilla frosting with a fresh blueberry on top. Gaaaaah!

I said no. No, thanks. And I didn't even regret it. You know how you have reject-remorse? (I don't know if that is a real syndrome, but I'm claiming it.) Sometimes after you say no, you want to chase down the person offering the food, tackle them and then say "I was just kidding. I want it! Give it to me."

Enough. That's enough of that fantasy. LOL I'm glad I said no and so today I celebrate a small non-scale victory! :)

Don't forget to drink your water, have some fun, and stay away from cupcakes!

Ho-hum. Monday.

At work today I just wanted the day to hurry up and be over. There wasn't any particular reason for me wanting the day to be over, just bored with the day. I like my job, but I like life better. Of course, without job, no life. Heh! The old catch-22. Whatever.

I hate to wish my days away, but I wish it was already 65 lbs from now. Don't you wish sometimes that you could wake up one morning and you'd be there. At your goal weight or at least within spitting distance! I'm not bored with eating right or exercise, I guess I'm just anxious to get there.

I rode my bike today. The temp today was around 68-70 and a little on the humid side. I don't mind the weather here in Houston except for the humidity. And summer? It makes me sweat just thinking about it.

So that's it for me today. I've been enjoying making the blog circuit. You guys are such a blessing!

Have a great evening, rest, relax, and revive!

I Won! I Won! I Actually Won!

Last Sunday, Lyn, from Escape From Obesity, posted a give-a-way on her blog for a GelPro Anti-Fatigue Floor Mat. I entered thinking, what the heck, I'd love to have one of those and have drooled over them at the store, but never thought I'd actually win.

Well, I Won!!! I am so excited I just can't believe it. Lyn is so sweet! With all that girl has going on in her world everyday and yet she takes the time to handle a give-a-way! Love ya, Lyn!

If you haven't read her blog or haven't been reading her blog lately, you need to get on over there! She's a special treat!