Seems no one is around today - hmmm. Very quiet around all the boards/blogs that I visit. Figures since I'm bored out of my gazoo today!

Did my terrible three last night and saw some great improvements from 3 weeks ago.

Wall Sit - went from 2:30 to 4:00 minutes
Plank - went from 2:00 to 3:00 minutes
Push-ups went from 25 (angled against a picnic table) to 40 girly push-ups. Then later on (after I'd worked out for a while) I tried "real" push-ups and did 6 - though I think I could do better than that if I tried them before I got tired. Next time I'll just start with the real ones as it would seem I've mastered the girly ones.

Did the activity challenge last night of exercising through commercials. Did it through a 1/2 hour show earlier on in the afternoon, then through the entire 2 hours of Biggest Loser. WOW - that's alot of commercial time. It was actually kind of fun - even if the kids did think I was a bit nuts. Certainly didn't need to keep the fire stoked last night :)

I'm bound and determined to see a loss tomorrow. The last 2 days in a row have showed a gain though so I'm quite apprehensive. At this rate I don't know how I'll be under 155 for my birthday in just over 2 weeks. And I wanted under 150 by the new year. Wonder if there's a limb I could have removed - hahhahaha. It has to be water retention, though I can't feel or see it. I started doing some reading again on the South Beach Diet today. I tried it a couple years ago and couldn't really stick to it, but even what I did do I lost some, and I wasn't in the frame of mind that I am now. I "think" my diet is OK, but maybe that's the problem and I need to try something new. Always such a guessing game. I personally know a couple people who have done it and had amazing results, long term too. There's just a few things I don't completely agree with and struggle with. Seems that certain foods (like potatoes) are completely forbidden and I know that I wouldn't give them up. But maybe if I just did the 2 week Phase 1 to give myself a little boot ... I don't know .....

I hate the scale - hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it!!! GRRRRRRR!!!! Did I mention that I hate it? It's evil & nasty. They should install one in every prison cell just to drive the inmates crazy. ERGH!

I KNOW that daily weighing results in fluctuations, I'm OK with that. It does NOT derail me. But sometimes they just plain don't make sense.

Yesterday I ran in the morning outside, did some strength moves in the afternoon during commercial breaks, then in the evening I did a Bodysculpt class, lifted some weights and ran again. I drank lots of water. I ate very cleanly. And what do I wake up to this morning ... a 2.4 gain from the day before. ARGH - I just want to bang my head against the wall. How on earth can that be? I just know it better be gone - and soon - because I just won't stand for this!!! :)

I did however pull out the measuring tape today because I thought if I'm doing all this work and not seeing any change on the scale I darn well better be seeing some on the tape. At least I have a teensy bit of good news there as I did see 1/2" off my waist, 1" from under my bust and 1 1/2" over my bust. Though zippo from my belly, hips or thighs - which is where I'd really prefer to lose it. Hopefully that will come next. This is over the last 3 weeks so I guess I should be happy.

They say muscle weighs more than fat and that when you're putting on muscle your weight may not change - but they also say you only really put on a couple pounds of muscle. If that's the case then I must not be losing much fat and just putting on muscle - which also doesn't make sense to me.

All this said ... I'm not going to stop doing what I'm doing. I love exercising. I love the way it makes me feel. I know that I'm getting so many benefits from it - better skin, better immunity, more energy, more positive attitude about life and all that other good stuff. Same with my diet, I know it's healthy and I can feel the benefits from the changes I've adopted and I love that. So quitting is NOT in my agenda, even if the scale never budges. That doesn't mean I can't get frustrated from time to time though.

WOW, it's been a week since I've posted. Guess I've been too busy exercising! I had a great week and am feeling great. Done alot more strength training than I have in a long time and it really does tighten everything up.

Had a great dinner tonight of teriyaki chicken (my own yummy homemade sauce), rice & oriental cabbage salad (again, a homemade dressing). Mmmmm. After my workout I'm having a glass of milk and that will complete another great OP day!

This weekend I'm finally going to get to that salmon recipe I mentioned a couple weeks ago too.

I'm happy that I had a loss this week, but it was more a few days ago - so fingers are crossed and determination is in place to have an even better loss next week. I really want to be under 150 by the end of this year. And I certainly want to be under 155 for my birthday which is in just over 3 weeks. So 3.4+ lbs in 22 days - should be doable but I have to stay focused, determined & active!

Should have used the duct tape yesterday because after I got home from class my mouth lost control :(. And .. I didn't get in the extra minutes I needed so I ended up 30 min short for my weekly goal of 350 minutes.

So ...... today I had a wonderful OP day and felt really good. I think I was being too restrictive yesterday and it left me feeling unsatisfied. Tonight I had a wonderful dinner with Herb & Lime Sole Fillet, Brown Rice & Chinese Cabbage Salad with red peppers. Mmmm, mmmm, good! On top of that I made a HUGE batch of cookies (I have a certain extended relative who is nagging me to come through on a promise to send him cookies so I need to stockpile - haha) and my son made a batch of cookies and I only had ONE! YEAH - that's one of my goals to limit treats to once a day.

Also, I decided that my first 30 min of exercise from this week gets added on to last weeks minutes and I still have to do 350 for this week - so total 380 this week. I've got 30 down and plan to get lots in this weekend.

I've set up my activity challenge for this week which is creating the following strength routine:

♥ 3 sets x 12 squats with bicep curls, pulse between sets
♥ Push-ups - first set to fatigue, stretch then 2 sets x 10
♥ Wall Sit - 1 set to fatigue
♥ 3 sets x 12 front & lateral raises combined
♥ 2 sets x 15 Calf Raises - rotating foot position between sets
♥ Plank - first one to fatigue, stretch then do 1 more minute
♥ 5 min abs of various crunches

Though I know myself and once I get started on this I'll probably add some more - like tricep moves, inner/outer thigh, etc. But this is my bare minimum and I will do it at least 3 times this week.

This day hasn't been the greatest so far, though I suppose it is far, far from the worst - so for that I will be greateful. I sure am glad this is a short week though. And DH came home last night after being away for a week so I'm happy about that too.

Did some shopping yesterday and got a couple little things for Christmas. Also cleared out the Halloween decorations, and just like Wal-mart, put up a couple Christmas ones - haha. Just a couple, I swear! Though I think it may be fun to take out a couple every day until the end of the month.

DD has her final volleyball tournament today. She's very glad that it's over. Was fun at first, but it's not her thing other than the fun of hanging with friends.

I'm determined to reach my weekly goal of 350 minutes of exercise per week so that means I have to put in a little extra this evening to get there. The rain is holding off and it's just windy right now so I wouldn't mind getting out for a good 'ol power walk.

Been OP so far today and going to stay that way if I have to duct tape my mouth shut to get there! There really is no excuse for not being OP. I just have to make it happen.

After the run today we did weights and I made sure to test my fitness level with push-ups. I was able to do 25 on an angle against the picnic table. I'll be sure to test them the same way at the end of this challenge.

I'm thinking the rest of the day will be pretty lazy - other than some housework. Came home from the run, soaked to the bone, and had a nice long bath. Now I'm about to watch a movie, relaxing on the couch in front of the fire with a cup of peppermint tea. Ahhhh....... Maybe I'll even get a nap out of the deal. :)

Just got home from dinner out with some friends to celebrate a birthday. It went pretty good. I did have some of an appetizer that I didn't plan on having, but I paid attention to have a reasonable portion and not just gobble it up. Then ... and this I'm REALLY proud of .... I cut my meal directly in half and only ate half. Had the rest boxed up which I brought home and gave to my MIL. It was a spicy breaded chicken burger and fries, so not healthy, but I had it in an OK portion. I'm actually glad that my MIL ate the rest because I was already satisfied and really didn't need the leftovers. And I actually feel very full still (a couple hours after eating). I'm so glad I didn't eat more or I would have felt horrible right now.

Also did the wall sit today and got 2 min 30 sec. I really wanted to do a bit more but I'll work on that over this challenge and I WILL improve. For some people this would be a really good time, but I know I have pretty strong legs, and probably even stronger will & determination. I'm quite competitive with myself that way. Didn't help that I did it with socks on and my feet were slipping away from me. But to be honest I don't think that made too much of a difference really.

Also attempted to do the push-ups but my dog and one of MILs decided I looked like I was having too much fun without them and so they started to run around and roll underneath me. I got to 12 but had to keep pausing to wait until they ran out from under me and then they started licking my face and I couldn't stop laughing. So I abandoned that for now and will do it another time when I don't have little rodents underfoot. Figured under the current circumstances there was no use trying the plank either. :)

So here's the pics of before and after my haircut today. I swear I didn't mean to look as miserable as I do in my before pic. Just a matter of timing. And the camera moved just before it went off so it was sideways and my editing program isn't working. You can't really tell how long my hair was in the before pic but we cut quite a bit off, especially in the bang areas. Now the trick will be to see if I can style it on my own. :)


....... ............

Day 1 of the challenge was a success! (hey gotta celebrate every little success, right??!!) I did slightly break one of my rules by having 2 sweet treats yesterday, but I stopped myself before I went any further. And I followed all the other rules. Plus I got all my OP elements in.

Got a bunch of stuff to do today and with all the rain I don't even want to face 1/2 of them. UGH! If I could stay in the entire day today I would :). Well except getting my haircut - that I really want done - even if I have no idea how I want it cut. I just want a bunch off, sick of it hanging in my face. It's gotten way too long.

I recently read some things in that Kathy Smith book I've been reading. With everything I went through last month with ending that friendship I had, this really struck home:

"Our friendships are, in many ways, mirrors of who we are. The people we choose to surround ourselves with for fun and recreation, for companionship and company, reflect our values and interests."

"...you have the power to improve your life by changing your relationship to health and fitness - one step at a time. Let your feet lead the way. It doesn't matter what diets or programs you've failed at in the past. We'll leave them there, where they belong. Forget about any therapies or self-help groups you may have tried and abandoned for lack of success. Put aside your skepticism. All the evidence you need is right in front of you: Changing nearly every aspect of your life - becoming who you'd like to be - is as easy as making a choice. That's all. You can do it! You have the powed!"

"Achieving good healt and an optimum weight is not a concrete goal that can be reached as easily as multiplying two times two, because factors change constantly in our lives; we have to understand that the process is ongoing; it never ends. We're always fine-tuning and adjusting for circumstances."

"Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Follow the program and good things will happen."

I love how she often refers to "one step at a time" which is what I've named my blog - hahha. But I really do believe in that. And I've really come to believe what she says about friendships being mirrors of who we are. I'm coming to understand that my weight management IS a life long process. There was a time when I wished/hoped/thought that I just needed to lose the weight and all would be fixed. I've often wished that I would just change and never have to think about it again. But history will tell me that it couldn't be any clearer that that isn't realistic. I will ALWAYS have to be aware, always have to stay active and pay attention to my weight and my health habits. That's just a fact of life and I may as well learn to enjoy it along the way, which I am doing.

New day, new challenge and I'm ready to GO, GO, GO!!! This weeks challenge involved identify what our nutritional challenge is and brainstorming 5 ideas to cope with it. After much thought I came up with this ....

Nutritional Challenge

Challenge: Limit foods that offer no nutritional benefit

1) Allow no more than one "special" coffee per week, plan for it and enjoy. This also includes the use of sweetened creams which I tend to abuse.

2) Allow no more than two servings of an alcoholic beverage (as in - 1 single serving bottle, 1 normal size glass wine) per week and can only be consumed on one day. Must count points!

3) No purchasing unhealthy foods, or foods that are a challenge for me, from the bulk bins. (i.e. swedish berries, pretzels, chocolate covered almonds, dried pineapple …. )

4) Limit servings of sweet treats to maximum one per day. They will be there another day to enjoy.

5) Lots of baking planned for Christmas (gifts, etc.). Always chew gum while baking and package as soon as possible and put away. Refer to item #4 for limits to consumption.

I plan to put this to the test this weekend as I begin my jump on Christmas baking. As well, there's a chance we may be going out for a friends birthday this weekend and I know I'll be challenged with drinks and quite possibly fried foods and lots of other unhealthy choices. So I need to make choices that are good for me. I want to take this next step and continue down the path I've been going for this past year and I'm ready to committ to moving forward.

Another part of this week's challenge is to set 3 goals for the next 3 weeks. Mine are:

1) Log at least 350 minutes of exercise each week

2) Run the "loop" twice on my Sunday run with two or less stops

3) Make a recipe using salmon which I enjoy but keep putting off


I need to push myself a little bit harder. I've been close on the exercise, but not always consistent and I need to be consistent. For the 2nd item I really wanted to set my goal to run the loop twice without stopped, but then I thought about it. The groups I run with does intervals, usually 10-15 minutes run & 1 minute walk. I could go on without them, but to be honest I wouldn't want to be too far ahead of them on the trail all by myself. Though once I'm fit enough to run the whole thing I'm pretty sure I could convince a couple of the girls to run straight through with me.

And item #3 is just something I've been wanting to do for a while. I LOVE salmon but always put off cooking it because it's a bit more expensive than other meats and the kids won't eat it. But I've been drooling over a couple recipes for a few years and really need to give it a whirl. I could probably modify these recipes, but I think I might just save up the points and have them as is and enjoy them full flavour in a reasonable portion. I'll probably be deciding between these three recipes:

Grilled Salmon with Habanero Lime Butter

Teriyaki Grilled Salmon

Spinach Stuffed Salmon Fillets

I don't think I could possibly feel more pumped this morning. Had a crappy sleep, but eventually woke to find wonderful, glorious, beautiful sun shining in the window and a light dusting of frost had touched the earth. Ahhh, so serene! Being on the "wet" coast and it being November - these days are few and far between.

Then I came into work, turned on the comp., checked the WW's site and saw that I am teamed up with an amazing group of ladies for the next challenge. I just feel revved up and ready to go!!! Some thinking to do for this weeks challenges, but I'm looking forward to them.

Tonight is another Boot Camp - woohoooo!!!!

Got a bunch of stuff done last night on a project I'm working on for Christmas. I've been planning this for some time and am actually doing it now and I think I'll really get it done in time. Hoping it turns out well.

Still working on my list of goals and will publish as soon as I think they're done.

End of the OP challenge and I'm happy to report that I ended with a loss! WOOHOO - not an amazing loss, but a loss nonetheless. It was starting to look like I might end the challenge weighing more than when I'd started so for this I am happy. Over the 9 weeks I lost a grand total of 0.6 pounds :). But hey, better down than up - right?! I refuse to see any negative in this.

Actually I feel pretty good these days. Last week was tough. I think Sat morning I was actually up to 161 and this morning I was 158.8 so that was really good. Been catching up on my sleep a bit too which probably helps.

Got a call from the local TOPS leader last night. I wanted to start this week but they're having a weigh in only meeting due to another group needing the room they use tonight. So I'll start with them next week. At least check it out and see how it makes me feel. Will have to run it by some friends to see if anyone is interested in joining in (don't want to get in heck again for not letting everyone know - haha). Anyhow, the leader sounded quite nice on the phone and gave me pretty much all the info I wanted without me having to ask so I take that as a good sign. She said alot of their members follow weight watchers because it really is a great plan. That was nice to hear as I think I'd like to stick with that because I know it does work.

I've been reading an old book by Kathy Smith - Getting Better All the Time. I've had it on the bookshelf for years but only ever read bits and pieces. But I picked it up the other day and took it in the bath and actually started at the beginning and really read it. She's got some really good stuff in there!

I'd say the most striking for me, at this moment in my life, was a part she has that addresses the different options for the make-up of your diet. Higher protein, higher carb, higher fat, lower fat, lower carb .... She shows 3 different pie charts showing different approaches you can take, and has meanu ideas for each. I've loosely been following the idea of the slightly higher protein one because with the things she had listed there it sounded like this might be a bit more ideal for me. And I've been thinking for a while that I need to incorporate a bit more protein in my life - especially with all the activity and weight training that I do. Will have to see how this goes over time, but I think it's a positive change to try.