Getting Fit By 40

185 Days The Reduction

whenmommashappy — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:38:49 +0000

So I went to my first Keno Ladies night last night. SOOO much fun and such a great group of women. Interestingly, aside from the fact they are neighbors, they all work out together. In fact the hostess – a drop dead gorgeous woman by the name of Kelly – was the instructor for most of the classes they take together including yoga and spin. The food was AWESOME and if I hadn’t eaten too much of it (and added the equivalent of 4 cups of juice with a splash of tequila) I probably wouldn’t have been up a pound today. There was this amazing goat cheese torte that I must get the recipe for, a really yummy spinach salad with almond slivers, marinated portabellos and other good stuff. She also made one of my favorite soups, a butternut squash bisque style soup. Aside from the fabulous company and food, I got to share my plans for a breast reduction (which the insurance company has approved – yay!) on June 28th. The general consensus was that this would change my entire appearance, make me look thinner (I should be a minimum of 4 pounds lighter) and help my overall health. Let’s hope all of this is true. It would be nice if the breast reduction was actually a springboard for the rest of this weight loss.

So today, I got back on the bandwagon and started writing everything down. I am really working on logging and blogging this week not only food but money. It should be an interesting and informative week. What I’m most excited about this week is that I actually made all my exercise goals. I worked out 4 days and even got to do 2 classes on Friday. Still totally loving Zumba. Unfortunately the stress induced starvation diet is obviously over. Not that I’m not stressed anymore (you probably could have guessed that based on the fact that I am logging my spending this week) I’m just back to being hungry and stress eating. But I have a plan. While watching my son at flag football today, during the practice portion I actually planned out my breakfasts, lunches and snacks. Now I just gotta work on dinner. I seem to have the hardest time while cooking dinner – the urge to snack gets me in trouble.

Today’s discussion question? How do you keep from snacking while preparing dinner?

190 Days (or so) left: Stress (not) eating

whenmommashappy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:49:54 +0000

So today I experienced a phenomena that to date has probably only occurred one other time. I got so stressed out I actually DIDN’T eat (much- I only skipped lunch and ate very little movie food)! As a general rule, stress (along with just about anything else) makes me crave sweets – particularly chocolate – and causes an eating binge. I finally reached a level of stress so great that it actually suppressed my appetite.

Now under normal circumstances, I would say ”That’s not a good thing. A person should never have so much stress that they move beyond their normal stress response into another more drastic response.” I mean this should be an indicator that someone is at the total end of her rope and needs to do something to fix the situation (if there’s actually something that can be done). And not eating can ultimately be counter productive as the body will go into starvation mode and hold on to the fat for dear life – literally. Unfortunately, I’m not real rational right now, and I’m kind of digging the appetite suppressing effects that this level of stress has induced. If I could just control the spontaneous eye leaking, this could really work as a weight loss strategy. We’ll have to see how it plays out. Wonder if Debbie’s Intervals class tomorrow will relieve the stress? Well I’m going either way – hopefully it won’t relieve it just enough to send me back into binge mode. Of the two, I definitely prefer having no appetite.

196 Days Left

whenmommashappy — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:22:19 +0000

Wow, that’s not far off is it? In fact I will be 39 and a half in just a few days YIKES! Alright so back on it. Made it to the gym today – interval training with Debbie Lindsay at Healthtrax. This is never an easy class for me because I always have to modify 2/3 of the interval stuff becaus of all my various injuries and issues. Mostly it’s my ankle that causes me difficulty with the cardio portion and today Debbie was using the BOSU which is a near impossibility for me. (For those who don’t know, I broke the ankle about 3 years ago and have hardware). The other issue is one I’m hoping to have resolved very soon. I found out yesterday that the insurance company has approved my breast reduction. The only thing standing between me and a size 36 C is a $1000 deductible and a $700 co-pay. The reduction should relieve a lot of my shoulder, neck and back pain along with making it easier to breathe and do exercises properly. While I currently have difficulty, I have learned how to modify and still get a great workout. Tomorrow will include my first attempt at Zumba which will require an early rise (yeesh), but I’m game.

I managed to log all my food today and stay relatively healthy. It helps to eat at home. I am strongly considering trying a ‘Shakeology Cleanse’ with my friend Teresa. Guess I should order the stuff. I need something to get me back on track and break this stinkin’ plateau.

Day number ‘I’ve lost count’

whenmommashappy — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 03:43:02 +0000

So I’m going to try to renew my promise to myself and all of you. I have seen the surgeon and it is likely that insurance will pay for my reduction YAY!! The only problem is that the 2 pound progress I had made toward the 20 pound goal has been reversed. My husband points out that since I have resumed working out things are shifting again and my waist is getting narrower even though the scale is showing an increase – PMS might play a minor role as well.

I am considering trying out the Shakeology 3 day cleanse. I think I need a jump start. I’ll let you know what I decide and if it works… For now I must get back to work!

211 Days Risotto anyone?

whenmommashappy — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:08:25 +0000

Ok, so it’s been awhile… Vacation went ok. I didn’t gain any weight. I did try snowboarding and managed to stay in one piece, and I made it back home. Since I got back, I haven’t been monitoring very much, but due to financial circumstances, I HAVE been eating at home. Lo and behold, I’ve seen the numbers on the scale drop one teeny bit at a time. Hmmm, I may be on to something here! Unfortunately today was supposed to be my first day back at the gym and between jet lag, being up most of the night with sick child (yes, again) and having to take him to the doctor’s I didn’t make it. I’d like to say I am motivated enough to do a video, but well, I’m not.

On the bright side, I went to this fabulous place in Bozeman Montana called Olivelle http://www.olivelle.com/ They had the most amazing stuff there and I bought some Truffle Olive oil, wonderful seasonings, imported balsamic vinegar, and the BEST cookbook! It is a book strictly on Risotto. YUM!!! Now, I have to say I am going to have to tweak the recipes (they seem to call for lots of butter and/or duck fat – eeewww), but I tried my own version of Chicken Confit Risotto last night and it came out pretty darn good. I think I will tweak it some more before sharing it with you because I think a few more veggies in it would be good. Since Tosca Reno had a risotto dish in her Eat Clean books, I think I am ok with these recipes as long as I watch out for added fat.

Well, here’s hoping my darling son does not share his strep with me and that I can make it back to the gym this week – although with Ken having surgery on his elbow on Wednesday it might get dicey anyway. Well, off to check on the sick one!

228 Days Vacations, Waning Enthusiasm and PMS

whenmommashappy — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:57:53 +0000

Ok so I can’t seem to follow anyone’s advice this week, least of all my own. The very gracious lady at Weight Watchers suggested that I log everything I eat (what a novel idea) so that she and the leader can help me figure out where I am going wrong. This is an excellent suggestion, and one of the things I promised to do at the beginning of this blog. So why can’t I seem to make it happen? I mean at this point I don’t even want to worry about the points. I just want to get it down on paper, but can’t seem to make that happen. Any suggestions? I think it is more a motivation than a practical issue at this point, but any pointers would help. Maybe I need to watch the Biggest Loser again. Although I can’t do it the way they do, I often find the stories very motivating. How about you?

I wonder if the PMS thing has anything to do with my unwillingness to log? It certainly has to do with my food choices this week. I bribed Ken TWICE to get me a coke float (low sugar ice cream and I didn’t finish either one), and I ate lunch out – ALOT! I don’t seem to have gained anything this week. Perhaps because I was able to make it to the gym Monday and Friday and do Group Power and Group Active – Wednesday was bust because of a 2 hour snow delay. Although the number on the scale doesn’t seem to be budging, at least my clothes are fitting better!

This week’s challenge is that I’m taking the kids to Montana to visit my parents. While there, I take a 3 day jaunt to Vegas for the Pure Romance national convention. Now I don’t think I will have too much trouble at my parents with my dad eyeballing everything that goes in my mouth, but he DOES like to encourage me to have an alcoholic beverage or two…. or three. The good news there is that it’s alcohol – something I can resist most of the time (although with all three kids who knows?). If he was encouraging me to have dessert, that’d be a real problem. I also plan to give snowboarding a shot and mom has a gym membership so I should get some exercise. Vegas – well that’s another story altogether. I’ve never been, and I doubt I will have too much control over what I am served while there. Should be interesting.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress!

233 Days, the gym is your friend!

whenmommashappy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:14:16 +0000

So I made it back to the gym today! I did the Group Power class and 2/3 of Group Active. Then I had to quit because I really needed to see my chiropractor – stinkin’ hips and shoulders! Thank goodness I made it there today, all three kids in tow, and got my hips and head put back on properly. My chiropractor is awesome! His name is Brian Ransone and he works as part of the Chiropractic Partners group here in Raleigh http://www.chiropartners.com/bio_Ransone.html

The most gratifying part of today was when I went over to my friend Deanna’s house. She is helping me out by doing some alterations to the dresses I am going to wear in Vegas at the Pure Romance Convention. She is putting straps on a strapless so I can wear a bra – they don’t make strapless bras in 38G. That’s not the gratifying part, although the whole process has been pretty darn miraculous since she just happened to have fabric that matched my dress exactly, and even a pair of earrings! She is doing an amazing job of creating shoulder straps and the dress is going to be fabulous! Still not the most gratifying part. The most gratifying part was that Deanna remarked on how much weight I have lost and how fit I look in my dress! Love you Deanna!!

That is definitely motivation to keep up the workouts. Now if I can just control the food and really get on top of logging what I eat!

237 Days Temptation, setbacks, and climbing back on the wagon

whenmommashappy — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:07:31 +0000

Ok, so it’s been a little crazy around here lately. I had parties all weekend and then another on Wednesday. I haven’t had time to sleep much less blog, but I did manage to squeeze in a few workouts. Would you believe that I went from not exercising at all – except for about 20 minutes of yoga a day – to doing a 2 hour workout at the gym? Me neither, and my body DID NOT thank me for it, but I definitely feel stronger and notice the difference in my ‘chicken wings’. I did the hour of Group Power and then the hour of Group Active on Friday and Monday, and I actually managed to go to and finish Debbie’s Intervals class yesterday. I’m a bit sore, but I think I can increase my weights next time.

Eating has not been over the top and I actually was down three pounds at Weight Watchers last week. The unfortunate part about that was that they were the 3 pounds I had gained so I’m back to the beginning. I am definitely finding that the goal of getting the breast reduction is working very well in helping me to mentally weigh everything I put in my mouth. This week I have thrown away 1/2 a Diana’s banana, and only had 1/2 a piece of birthday cake at Evan’s 5th birthday party today – I threw the rest out. I think my biggest problem is still that failure to plan thing. I am eating out waaayy to much. The problem with that, besides that it’s expensive is that the control over what is in the food is not totally mine. I try to remember to ask for things the way I want them, but invariably I forget about something – or eat too much bread. I know I should tell them to not bring it to the table, but I’m usually too hungry by the time I get to lunch.

Tonight there was an out to eat night for the elementary school. It was at Big Daddy’s – think Fuddrucker’s. I managed to only eat 1/2 the bun and a 1/3 pound burger no cheese, and I ordered a salad instead of fries. Unfortunately Sami decided not to eat hers, so I did – most of them anyway. I also couldn’t figure out if any of the dressings were low fat so I went for the ranch – probably a bad choice – but used just a little bit. I even was good at the ice cream counter deciding that I’d rather have the reduction than the waffle cone. Unfortunately it only held me off so long and I skimmed a little bit from the kids.

What I’m worried about now is that Evan has strep, and I feel like I might be relapsing. So here we go on the exercise derail again. I’m hopefully going to try to do a DVD at home tomorrow. Perhaps a little Shaun T? What do you like to do when you can’t get to the gym because of a sick child? How do you stay on your regime when you or a family member you have to care for gets sick?

245 Days addiction to the evil white stuff – and I’m not talking cocaine

whenmommashappy — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:58:55 +0000

Nor am I talking about heroine or any illegal evil white stuff. One of the most addictive evil white things is available right in your grocery store, and is very likely in your pantry right now. It hides in places you’d never expect – like your peanut butter, and it beckons in moments of stress, hormonal imbalance and late at night. It can make you do and offer to do things you would not otherwise consider in order to get it and once your start it is really hard to stop. Yes I’m talking about sugar, and tonight I was willing to bribe Ken to get me some.

I’m actually pretty good about not bringing into the house myself. I very rarely even buy it myself, but I am not beyond bribing someone else to get it for me, or going out with a friend so I can share a dessert (there are no calories in a shared dessert right?). PMS brings on really strong cravings, but so do stress and dinner. But particularly after checking into how many points were in Mussaman curry I ate for dinner (beef 19 for a cup – I had chicken), I waited until I knew Ken would turn me down to offer my bribe. So now I am going to head to an early bed time so that I can get myself to the gym in the morning and work on reversing the reappearance of my ‘chicken wings’.

246 Days Vegetarian entrees and picky eaters

whenmommashappy — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:22:12 +0000

So due to stressful circumstances, I hung around the house today. The good thing about that is that I didn’t go out to eat so everything was healthy. I also managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes of yoga to try and help realign my hips from the bonehead maneuver I did over the weekend. I even cooked dinner! Tonight it was a vegetarian entree recommended by my friend Lisa whose whole family loved it. Of course, my daughter and I were the only ones to eat it in my house. Here is a link to the recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1949713 the only thing I did differently was added extra garlic and used 2% 4 cheese Mexican blend. I think I may have also used a little too much lime juice ( I didn’t measure).

I am having issues getting motivated to head back to the gym. You’d think that the reappearance of chicken wings in my tricep area might be motivating enough – which it is at night – but it isn’t in the morning. How do you remotivate yourself when you’ve had to take a forced break from the gym due to illness or injury? Anybody want to be a workout buddy? Perhaps that would be enough to get me rolling again. I am considering