Archive for April, 2008
Beauty is not a size 0
Check out this great blog entry on Kathy’s blog:
If you don’t have the time to read Kathy’s post, here’s the story in a nutshell. Chloe Marshall won the Miss Surrey pageant and is now advancing to the Miss England pageant. She’s 16 years old, 5′10″ tall, and wears a size 16 UK. (That’s a size 14 for those of us in the U.S.) She said during a recent interview with The Sun, “I wanted to go through to the Miss England finals to break the stereotype that you have to be tall and skinny to be considered beautiful.”
I say kudos to Chloe!! I think we need more role models like this to help young women (and young men these days) to realize that the world of the Abercrombie & Fitch models and the like is not “normal”. There is a LOT of retouching on the photos even of these “perfect” model bodies, so PLEASE don’t compare yourself to them or think less of yourself for not looking like them. They don’t look like them either!
I had enough body image issues growing up in the 70’s & 80’s. I can’t imagine what it must be like for young people now in today’s multimedia world. We need more beautiful young people like Chloe to stand up and remind us that beauty isn’t about being a size 0. It’s about being healthy, comfortable & confident in your own skin, and knowing who you are so that you don’t succumb to the peer pressure that is inevitable of the teenage years. Now I just need to remember that the next time I see a photo of myself or step on the scale and hate the number I see. 
Rock on, Chloe!! 
Are you f’ing kidding me?!
So, I’ve known for a while that the management company that owns my apartment complex was installing stackable washer/dryer units into the patio storage closet in all of the apartments. This has been on-going around the complex for about 6-7 months now. I repeatedly asked the manager along the way as to when they would get around to my building. I wanted to be sure I would have the closet all cleared out in time.
She finally told me on Friday that it would probably be within the next week or so and that she would give us plenty of notice in order to have time to empty the closet. I considered moving everything over the weekend, but it was just SO hot here that I decided it made more sense to wait until next weekend when it’s supposed to be cooler.
Well, I got home from work tonight around 8:20pm after working an 11 hour day and found a note tucked into my door advising me that my storage closet on my balcony had to be completely empty by 8am tomorrow (Tuesday) for the crew to start the plumbing & electrical to install my washer & dryer. Seriously? Tomorrow?! Are you fucking kidding me?! 
While I’m THRILLED to be getting the washer/dryer and not having to climb up and down 2 flights of stairs to the laundry room to wash clothes, I was NOT happy about having so little time to get everything moved, especially since it was still about 85 degrees outside when I was doing it. I was already hot, tired, and cranky. Having to spend the next hour organizing and moving everything was just the final straw to cap off a completely crappy day. As good of a workout as I’m sure all the stair climbing carrying stuff was for me (20 flights total), I was NOT happy about it and bitched about it the whole time. 
On the weight loss front, I finally got myself back on track after spending a few days wallowing in depression. I kind of waited until I was pretty sure my head was back on straight before writing about it again. So, I’ll close with my WW stats for today:
Total Points: 30.5
Exercise: 27 mins stationary bike (2 AP) & 20 flights stairs (2 AP)
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Days OP: 3
Until next time … 
Air Conditioning
Today, I am EXTREMELY grateful for it! This weather update was as of around 2:45pm, so it could even potentially go up a bit more before it starts to cool down for the day. 
Well, I was right. No sooner had I finished writing this post when I noticed this (as of 3:10pm):
That’s just CRAZY for this early in the year!
No weigh in
Well, I was a bit lazy this morning and didn’t wake up in time for my WW meeting. It’s probably just as well since I know I would have been up on the scale. Let’s just say that I made less than stellar food choices during the past few days while in my dark place. Oh well, today’s a new day and I’m back on track!
As of tomorrow, I will have 24 weeks to go until my first triathlon. I’ve decided to set myself a goal of losing 24 pounds by then. I think that’s a very safe realistic goal since it will mean basically losing 1 pound per week. Would I like to drop more by then? Sure! However, I decided it would be smarter to set a realistic goal that I have a good chance of reaching than to set a very aggressive goal and being disappointed if I don’t make it. So, I went for the SMART goal:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
I finally started feeling a bit of mojo again for my stitching. I should be working on my Hannah Beeby since this is designated week of April for it in our Hannah stitch-a-long. I just didn’t feel like tackling a large project right now though, so I’ve been working a bit on a Curtis Boehringer model for my LNS.
Well, I guess that’s it for now. Until next time …
Sad Day in the Tri World
My heart goes out to the family and training partners of Dr. Dave Martin. He was a 66 year old retired veterinarian and triathlete who was killed in a shark attack this morning during a training swim at Tide Park in Solana Beach, CA (San Diego county). Here’s a link to the full story on the local Los Angeles NBC affiliate’s website.
Triathlete Killed by Shark
Please keep his family in your thoughts and/or prayers.
Dark Place
I don’t feel like blogging or working out. 
Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made.
–Wayne Dyer
I don’t think truer words have ever been spoken.
Tuesday’s WW stats:
Total Points: 40.5 (used 10.5 WP)
Exercise:
Weekly Points balance: 21.5
Water: 64 oz
Days OP: 51
One Perfect Day
Kathy has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged those of us in the weight-loss blogging world to make today a “Perfect Day” on our food plans. I LOVE this concept and immediately tossed my hat into the ring. Today is actually day 50 of my 50 Day No Cheat Challenge, and I can’t think of a better way to end it than with a bunch of other weight loss bloggers all striving for a perfect day, too. 
As my regular readers already know, I’m using the Flex Plan from Weight Watchers for my eating plan. For me, it’s easy and doesn’t require a lot of thought. The most important part though, it works for me. I know that no one program is the right plan for everybody, but I’ve definitely had more success with WW than any of the other myriad of diet plans I’ve tried over the years. So, if it ain’t broke, don’t fit it.
In light of the Perfect Day challenge, here the “rules” of the Flex Plan.
- Stay within your points budget (daily points target, any earned Activity Points, plus a weekly points allowance of 35 points).
- Track what you eat and its points value.
- Follow the Good Health Guidelines:
- At least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits
- Whole-grain foods whenever possible
- 2-3 servings of dairy products
- 2 tsp. healthy oil (canola, olive, safflower, etc.)
- 1-2 servings of protein
- Limit added sugar and alcohol
- Drink at least 6 glasses of water
- Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement
Based on those requirements, here is my plan of action for the day:
- Reach my daily points target of 30.
- If I’m still hungry, use earned activity points or weekly points allowance as needed.
- I will journal my food for the day here on my blog.
- I will drink a minimum of 48 ounces of water.
- I will incorporate all of the Healthy Guidelines.
One Perfect Day Diary:
Breakfast:
Fat-free yogurt - 2
Coffee with 1 tbsp half-and-half - 0.5
Snack:
Banana - 2
Lunch:
Salad - 0
1 tsp. salad dressing - 0.5
Carba-Nada pasta with tomato sauce & mushrooms - 4
Gardenburger Mama Mia meatless meatballs - 2
Snack:
String cheese - 2
Z-bar - 2
Dinner:
Black Bean & Chipotle veggie burgers - 2
Salad - 0
Olive oil (2 tsp.) & balsamic vinegar dressing - 2
WW Giant Latte ice cream bar - 1
Snack:
2 cups skim milk - 3.5
Baker’s Double Chocolate Chunk cookie - 6
Total Points: 29.5
Exercise: 27 mins stationary bike - 5 miles (2 AP)
Weekly Points balance: 31.5
Water: 80 oz
Consecutive Days OP: 50
Also, as in my usual way, I will close with my WW stats from yesterday:
Total Points: 29
Exercise: 2 miles wogging - 3 APs
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Consecutive Days OP: 49
Until next time …
Sunday Wog
I got out this morning for a nice wog. It’s AMAZING how much cooler it was today compared to last Sunday when I had the 5k race. Today it was overcast and in the low-60’s. It was perfect weather for wogging.
I FINALLY figured out how to get my Nike+ to work, so I used it for the first time today. The mileage was ever so slightly off. I have a loop around my apartment complex that is 0.26 of a mile and the Nike+ measured it at 0.27. I’m hoping to get it more accurately calibrated sometime this week. Anyway, here is the text version of my data from my wog today, excluding my warm-up and cool-down time/distance. If you want to see the graphical version, you can see it here on the Nike+ website.
Time of Day: 11:20am
Temperature: 62°F
Distance: 2.02 miles
Run Time: 32:24
Avg Pace: 16:02
Calories Burned: 395
I was pretty pleased with how my running segments went today, too. The segments in the first mile were pretty much my normal jogging type pace which, honestly, isn’t a whole lot faster than my walk pace it seems. Today however, I decided I really wanted to finish strong, so I pushed myself in the run segments during the last half mile. I had 3 running segments during that time and each were a sub 11 minute mile pace, with the fastest being a 10:23 pace. OK, so I realize it was only for 1 minute, but it felt really good to be running at a decent pace even if it didn’t last too long. 
Today’s excursion really gave me the confidence boost I needed to believe I’ll be able to meet my goal of actually running the whole portion of the tri later this year.
My 50-day no cheat challenge is also drawing to an end. Today is day 49 for me. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to give myself the day off on Tuesday or if I’ll just keep staying on my eating plan and continuing my streak. I have found myself craving fatty carbs — think french fries 
— the past couple of days, so I may splurge and have some on Tuesday. Even if I do, I could still theoretically fit those into my points budget and continue my streak. We’ll just have to see what Tuesday holds when it gets here and see how I’m feeling then.
Here are my WW stats for yesterday:
Total Points: 33.5 (used 3.5 WP)
Exercise: None
Weekly Points balance: 1.5
Water: 48 oz
Days OP: 48
In closing today, I’ll leave you with a quote I read earlier today that really struck a chord with me. My life has been a series of overcoming “circumstances” which is probably why this really hit home with me. Enjoy!
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”
–George Bernard Shaw
Until next time …
Weekly Weigh In
Well, not much to say about it this week. Even with staying 100% on program, I maintained this week. I get that’s payback for that 2.2 pound loss last week when I was taking the Prednisone.
It’s been a pretty quiet day for me thus far. I’ve been trying to do a big of spring cleaning. I have just become completely disgusted with the amount of clutter I have in my home. My goal for this spring is to do some major decluttering of my life. I have tons of old books, clothes, shoes, etc. that I just need to get rid of since I’ll never use them again. I’ve been putting together piles of things worth donating/giving away and those things that will just need to be trashed.
Part of this purging is going to be a major portion of my stitching/stamping stash. I simply have too much stuff for the amount of space I have. After going so many years when I was married of not having the money for stash, I seem to have gone overboard in the past 4+ years. I have lots of things that while I really like them, I know I’ll likely never stitch. Given that fact, there’s little need in me keeping it. So, as I sort through my stash, I’ll be creating a page with things up for sale. I hope to get that list started in the next week or two, so be sure and check back.
Here are my WW stats for yesterday:
Total Points: 28.5
Exercise: 26 mins stationary bike - 5 miles (2 AP)
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 64 oz
Days OP: 47
Until next time …
The Ed Words
For those who don’t watch The Colbert Report, you missed a really funny bit last night by John Edwards. (Yes, I’m still terribly sad that he got out of the race. 
) Don’t you worry your pretty little heads off though because in today’s wonderful world of technology, it’s available on the internets. I now bring to you the … The Ed Words.
(Note: I removed the embedded source for the video because it was causing my blog to take a really long time to load. You can still see the same thing by clicking the Ed Words link above.)
Here are my WW stats for yesterday:
Total Points: 26.5
Exercise: Rest day
Weekly Points balance: 35
Water: 80 oz
Days OP: 46
Until next time …
