Give me strength

I've had three successful diet days that are now behind me. I tell myself to eat like the person you want to become... having small portions or next to nothing. I've walked the last two days. Not a long walk, but at least a mile or more. With the amounts that I'm eating, I don't need to walk much. I'm not doing anything that's unhealthy, but you do have to be a little hungry at times or it's not a diet. This is the part of my life that I hate, hate, hate.

I hope that what I saw during this morning's step on the scale moment is enough incentive to keep me going. The weekend is coming up and this really worries me. It's hard when Ray and the kids are home during the day and my schedule is not as structured as the weekdays. Plus, tomorrow is Hayden's birthday and we will be going out to eat. I'll have to be careful.

If I can make it through the weekend successfully, then next week will surely be exciting.

My walk

We finally got our beautiful weather. It was so pretty this morning, mild with nary a breeze. So what does one do when they experience this? Go for a walk.

I was so happy to be outside getting some exercise and feeling the sun on my face. It was one of those "pinch me, I must be dreaming" moments. I reminded myself over and over again throughout my walk of how nice this was and how happy I was to be outdoors.

But as my luck would have it, it was short-lived. And to make matters worse, once I had gotten to the farthest point in my walk, the farthest distance from my house, it hit. Without any warning whatsoever the angriest wind showed up out of nowhere. And it didn't start out as a breeze lapping at my skin or tiptoeing through my hair. This was a no warning, full force, better brace yourself, knock you off your feet and off your path kind of wind. The kind where the roar was so loud that you couldn't resist looking to see what was blowing toward you and barely getting your eyes closed in time before having grains of dirt blasted into your eyes. I had a huge plastic trash container that rolled out right in front of me that must have been trying to impede my progress of getting home. And when I did return home, I was out of breath and my ears were hurting from the coldness of that wind.

What started out to be me taking a walk on one of the most beautiful mornings we have had in awhile, was the morning where I was assaulted by a very evil wind hiding in the trees.

Exercise for Life, right?

I've started exercising at the Claremore Rec Center after putting it off for months now. I wasn't sure I would ever talk myself into and after the weather turned cold, the thought of getting out in the cold just to go walk made my procrastination that much more to deal with. But I've started and if I can just keep going, I'll at least feel more energized and not so lazy.

I'm getting ready to go to Florida. I've forgotten, what does warm feel like and what should I wear while I'm there?

No carbs whatsoever... not so easy

I made an attempt at trying the Atkins diet today but everything went out the window when I returned home from Cody's soccer game and spotted Tex-Mex pizza on the stove top. I was prepared to follow it strictly to the tee, for at least a week, just to see how it goes. I might make another attempt tomorrow. Maybe it's something that I need to ease into slowly.

Running is like walking except for the part where I die.

I've been trying to run a mile in place of walking a mile lately. And yes, I'm pretty proud of myself because I've never run a day in my life except for the times when I snuck out of my parents' house and had to run to where I was going because it was miles away and there was no time to waste. The thing that stands out to me, about running back then, is that it took no effort whatsoever. I could have ran forever without having one thought that I was about to die like I do now. But don't ever ask me how fast I can run a mile because it's embarrassing and I don't expect it to ever get any faster. So there!!

Things done and things to do

I got up early this morning and started scrubbing the kitchen floor. I didn't have to "scrub" much because of this spray product that I was using that is just short of a miracle when it comes to getting dirt out of crevices. I swear Krud Kutter literally makes dirt float to the top of the liquid. It's an environment friendly product and the only place I know of that you can find it is Home Depot. I had a heavy duty scrub brush that I swirled around the tiles just to work up the extra stubborn dirt but that's just about it. I'm going to try it on my shower door along with the Mr. Clean sponge. Someone told me that the Mr. Clean sponge was great for shower doors... soap scum is wiped away easily.

We are going to Texas this weekend and after I get back I'm going to make a strong effort to start eating a low cholesterol /part vegetarian diet. That means mostly plant foods and fat free items. I've got to get my cholesterol lowered before something horrible happens. I want to cut out all meats which means I'll need to get my protein from skim dairy products. I'm pretty sure that nuts are protein so that's another option, except they are higher in fat. I'm trying to come up with some ideas for different types of lettuce wraps. I say this now, but I'll see how far I get with it. I've always toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian. I've done some research and I'm quite sure that I'll have to have the vegan diet that includes skim dairy products because I'm a woman and we do need our dairy!

Hip Hop Abs

Yep, I bought it, I tried it, and I love it. It is the funnest workout I've ever done in my life. The workout is hip hop dancing while tightening your abs and it's fun and funky, but simple. Not to mention, Shaun T. is easy on the eyes. I love the way it feels like I'm actually dancing, not just doing workout moves. I can't wait until next time. Now, don't expect to see results because I have the ability to offset any workout with the consumption of food. But maybe I'll get motivated with this new workout.

I've almost made it...

...through this week of work. Only one more day left. It's been pretty grueling because, thanks to Spring Break, I haven't had the excuse to leave work to pick up my kids from school which helped to make the afternoon go by faster. Yea for Wednesday. It's my favorite work day.

I have laundry to do and things to straighten around the house, but I think Cody and I will go for a walk instead. He keeps me company. He'll grow out of wanting to do this one day so I better grab him and hold on while I can.

I need Spring to get here

I’m needing to lose a few pounds (A few, yeah.. right) so I’m cutting my food intake when I can. It’s hard, especially in the evenings when the family is having popcorn and other things that have an aroma that fills the house from corner to corner. I don’t do diets. They just don’t work for me and they leave me filling dissatisfied which in turn makes me want to eat. I cut back on the things I eat normally. I had a fairly good day yesterday which means that I kept my food intake fairly low. But only because I skipped breakfast, which I know is not healthy, and I was away from the house all evening. So far today, no breakfast again. I’m having pizza for lunch and hopefully I don’t overdo. I don’t want to bore you with this, so enough about this issue.

Hayden had "In-house" yesterday at school which is what they call detention. It was only in the afternoon and was handed out for allowing a fellow student to cheat off one of his worksheets that was done in class. He read a World War II book and actually enjoyed that part of it.

Dylan had to go to school at about 6:30 this morning to start the soccer team’s two-a-days. So stupid. Why can’t they just stay longer after school?
I talked to Tanya last night about some questions that I had concerning his enrollment into college. That was very helpful... thank you. Hopefully this won’t feel so overwhelming when Caitlin gets to this point.

Looking forward to going to Phoenix for President’s Day weekend. It’s a soccer tournament in a warmer part of the country. Which makes me fantasize about Spring and how it feels when that first warm breeze comes in and you feel re-energized. Please let Spring come early.

Starting my resolutions

I walked 2 miles yesterday and could easily have done more. That's what having a partner to walk with does for you. Time goes by quickly and its enjoyable. And luckily this morning, no soreness. Ok, it was only 2 miles, but when you haven't seriously walked in a long time, you wonder about the after effects. The only after effects that I want is for weight to come off my body.

If I could just give up food entirely, it would be easy to diet. But, it's not like quitting smoking or drinking where you can go cold turkey and still be able to survive. Food is something you battle everyday, several times daily and for the rest of your life. How many dieters would like to be able to go cold turkey when dieting? I'm not obese but I've been overweight to my standards several times. I've always said that dieting is the most difficult thing I've ever accomplished. I completely understand the struggles some have with it.

So, walking is the easy part of it all and I look forward to the next time.