Thursday, October 25, 2012

WW Weigh-In #42

When I woke up yesterday I honestly couldn't believe it was weigh-in day again. Where did the week go?!?! But, as always, I got on the scale Wednesday morning, even if my update is coming late - again. So here are the numbers:

Last week: 189.0 lb
This week: 188.2 lb
Total lost this week: 0.8 lb

Weight loss target: 181.8 lb (185 lb by December 31)
To reach target: 6.4lb (3.2 lb by December 31)

And they're going back in the right direction. Though I expect some up-and-down over the next few weeks as we move and get our new house set up. As much as we want to eat healthy all the time, sometimes you need to get pizza after a day of painting.

But we get the house tomorrow (TOMORROW!) and we move next Tuesday so we'll be settled in very soon. I can't believe it's already here! There's going to be a lot going on with the house so I'll be sure to post updates.

Who knows, with all the work we'll be doing, I may just lose a few pounds!

Friday, October 19, 2012

WW Weigh-In #41

Oh, hi. Sorry this post is two days late; it's been a bit of a hectic week. I also had to work on Wednesday, but I'm off today in lieu, so it all works out. And who doesn't love a three-day weekend?

However, my hectic schedule has wreaked havoc on my eating and exercise habits:

Last week: 188.4 lb
This week: 189.0 lb
Total gained this week: 0.6 lb

Weight loss target: 181.8 lb
To reach target: 7.2

I don't enjoy that the scale is slowly creeping upwards and  I like it even less that I'm only a pound away from 190 lb. I still want to hit my weight loss target but I've reassessed (again) my goal for this year.

I would like to be at 185 lb and maintain that weight for a few weeks (or even lose a bit - but at least maintain) by December 31.

Sure, it's not where I was hoping to be, but if I can do that, it will mean I have lost and kept off 17 pounds this year. And that is something to be proud of. I'm also only 4 pounds away from that target, so if I can stick to my walking plan and be wary of what I eat, I'm sure I can do it.

And once I'm there, I can figure out my next plan of attack.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WW Weigh-In #40

So the scale went up a little this week:

Last week: 187.8 lb
This week: 188.4 lb
Total gained this week: 0.6 lb

Weight loss target: 181.8 lb
To reach target: 6.6

On the one hand, that's not too bad considering we just had Thanksgiving weekend and I had three (THREE!) huge dinners as well as ample breakfasts, sweets and wine. Going up just over half a pound is not too bad.

On the other hand, though, I'm still not getting to where I need to be. And that is completely my fault and my laziness and I make excuses every week for that and then don't seem to be able to do enough about it.

But I mentioned last week I had a new exercise plan in mind so I figured I'll share it now. I've done it a couple of times and I definitely feel it so now that I've got a straight stretch between now and Christmas, it's the perfect time to get back on a regular workout schedule.

My plan:
Daily: 30-40 minutes of walking, either outside or on a treadmill.
Every other day: three sets of 5 pushups; 10 squats; 20 bicycle sit-ups; and 10 lunges.

I've also been noticing that my breathing is getting better so I'm hoping to start running again and to replace two weekly walks with two weekly runs. But definitely the walking.  Even though I like how my body responds to running, walking is something I can do anywhere, at any time, with nothing more than comfy shoes and proper outdoor gear (if needed). And I keep reading weight loss success stories where walking played a huge part. I guess I dismissed it because it's not as "glamourous" as running, but it's still so good for me and when I ramp it up to 4 mph on the treadmill (and make sure I do that when outside) I feel like it's a good place to pick up exercising again,

And it's a lot harder to make excuses not to do it. After all, I have been walking since I was around a year old.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Good News/Bad News

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend full of family, food and fun. I know I sure did - which made it all the harder to come back to work today.

It's been a day of highs and lows, that's for sure. Finishing an issue after a long weekend is always a bit stressful; it's always painfully obvious how much is accomplished on Mondays when Monday is taken away from you. But we got everything done on time (so far). Too bad I've felt like a punching bag all day.

Tensions have been a bit high at work lately as personalities and work styles have been clashing. And it just so happens that my job puts me right in the middle of it all and, in my efforts to keep things on schedule, I inevitably rub someone the wrong way when asking about the timing of something and end up on the receiving end of some snark. And, for some reason, today it's been incredibly hard to not take it personally. Everyone is under pressure and I'm also in that obnoxious position where I just tell people what needs doing and by when but I don't actually do anything (like write, design, or photograph). We're also incredibly busy at work right now and people are venting, which led me to feeling like a punching bag this afternoon. I even teared up a bit (and I DON'T cry at work).

So it's been a day.

On the flip side, we just found out that our conditionally sold condo is now unconditionally sold - WE SOLD IT! We also brought the kitty home last night, being daring and confident that the sale would go through. And the timing is just perfect: we're all back together for a couple of weeks before phase two of the move and we can relax and enjoy the cool fall weather without worrying about staging and showings and stressing over whether we'll sell.

Very much a roller coaster of a day. I may have to come into the office for a few hours tomorrow, but not until later in the day so I'll still get to sleep in, cuddle a cat, get some groceries and enjoy my day.

Even with the crappy stuff of today, just writing this has made me feel better. I've been griping about work a bit lately and I don't like it. Thanksgiving especially made me aware of how grateful I am for all the goodness in my life and all the wonderful things I get to be and do and experience. Rough patches are always tough and it can be even tougher when there isn't an end in sight and it can be far too easy to get discouraged and frustrated and want to quit (which I've threatened to do [in my head] about 17 times today). The bigger challenge for me right now is to figure out how to leave the stresses and pressures of work at the office and how to keep the joy and love of my personal life front and centre, no matter where I am.

So this will be a big challenge for me, to not carry all my stresses with me wherever I go. But it will be so much better for me if I can learn how to let go, how to leave it all behind, how to not internalize everything until I burst. The Beau has been my strongest supporter and biggest advocate, for which I am so thankful, so I need to focus on his cheerleading and believe it myself.

Because it's not that bad, at the end of the (work) day.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

WW Weigh-In #39

It's a holding pattern folks!

Last week: 187.8 lb
This week: 187.8 lb
Total lost this week: 0.0 lb

Weight loss target: 181.8 lb
To reach target: 6.0 lb

I've been thinking a lot about my exercise habits and how, well, lacking they have been of late. Ever since my allergies and asthma conspired to keep me from running, I've really slacked off on working out. So I'm working on a new plan. I have it figured out in my head and I plan to start it today.

What is it, you ask?

I'm not going to share just yet because I have this habit of making all kinds of promises and resolutions and new plans on this blog and then not following through. So I want to make sure I at least get started on my new exercise plan before I commit to anything. I just want to avoid looking too flaky, you know?

But I'll share soon, I promise.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Countdown to the new house!

I had a lovely countdown written on our calendar at home. Then we had to stage our condo and our fantastic Terry Pratchett calendar was, well, not exactly neutral. So the countdown disappeared and though I've been thinking A LOT about the new house I haven't had the number of days until closing fresh in my mind.

UNTIL NOW.

I don't know why I didn't do this before: I now have a countdown written in my desk calendar at work. (Yes, I still have a hard copy calendar on my desk. I don't care how digital the world gets, nothing will replace the usefulness and necessity that is my desk calendar.) As of today, it's only 24 more sleeps until we get the house.

24 MORE SLEEPS!

A mere two dozen days until the Beau and I, and the kitty, take possession of our wonderful family home. And we're quite an adorable little family, I must say. It is the perfect home for us and the Beau and I have even started furniture shopping; we bought matching sofas on Sunday! We've also picked out paint colours (though only online; closer to closing we'll go into a store and look at paint chips to get a better idea) and wrangled some friends into helping us paint. Between the two of us, we have pretty much all the other furniture we're going to need. There will be pieces we'll need to replace/update and we need to get a bed frame for my queen-sized bed, but that's about it.

WE'RE SO READY FOR THIS.

Sure, we have to sell the condo, but I try not to dwell on that for too long. I'd much rather focus on getting the house because that will mean we get our kitty back as well. Tansi has been such a good girl while being cat-sat but we miss her and she misses us and in 24 days (sooner if we sell the condo) we'll all be back together again.

I am ready to come home.

Monday, October 1, 2012

My staged life

You know all the media hype going on right now about the condo market slowing down? Well, it's not just hype. We aren't seeing much action at all with ours and I've got to say it's starting to wear on me.

I'm sure we'll sell it. Units in our building do sell, but often in 30-45 days and we made the mistake of going into this thinking we'd sell in a couple of weeks. So it's taking the length of time we should have thought it would take rather than the length of time we wanted it to take.

This sucks for two reasons: we're living in a soulless staged space that we're terrified to mess up (we've eaten more frozen food in the last three weeks than we have in three years of dating) and we don't have our kitty. And we miss our kitty like mad. She's staying with the Beau's sister and is perfectly comfortable there but she's much MUCH more comfortable here with us. We really want her back and it just sucks so much waiting to sell.

I also want to feel comfortable making a mess in my kitchen. And I don't want to have to make my bed every morning. And I want to be able to leave my shoes out by the door because that's what normal people do.

Though if you want to buy a condo I just might be able to hook you up.