APRIL CHALLENGE TOTAL: 65 min crosstrainer, 25 minutes treadmill, 20 weight training = 100 minutes
EVENING UPDATE: Will someone please tell me how I can have 2 slices of Chicago style deep dish pan pizza and ONLY be "satisfied" and not "stuffed"???? This is what I am talking about. WHY didn't I stop after one piece????? Gosh, I drive myself nuts. I am impossible.
Exercise sure did work wonders for me today. I felt so much better after the gym today. I really pushed it on the resistance level on the elliptical crosstrainer. I did intervals of resistance 8 and 12. That 12 really kicked my butt, that's for sure. I'm going to look into doing at least 1 workout a week at a higher resistance straight through.
I received good news for my son today too. The social worker at school emailed me to say that she thought it sounded like Spring Break went well for him. THEN, I made a lot of progress with getting some assessment testing done for my son, to determine what some of his problem areas would be. Fortunately, we will not have to wait very long for this to happen. It is not uncommon to wait 3 months for this kind of testing, but they should be able to see him in early May. I just want to know how to help him get along in the world, you know?
Tonight is another busy night. The kids have martial arts and then after a quick dinner, my son has to finish up on his model for his science project. I guess I will help with the posters tomorrow. In addition to this project, though, he has his normal homework to do too. Oh my goodness, so much for a 9yr old boy to handle! (((Much less his mother....)))
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
FINAL APRIL CHALLENGE TALLY FOR TODAY: 170 minutes. Softball rocks!
I did weigh in this morning and there was no change on the scale. So this tells me that my "extra eating" is allowing me to maintain. If I cut out the extra eating, I should be losing weight. There it is, right there in front of me.
I am a ball of stress this morning. Husband is back at work (thank God!) and the kids are back in school. My son brings me a pile of papers that I should have seen 2 Fridays ago. It says his big science project is due on Thursday, April 5th. He had written on his worksheet April 15th, so we though he had all the time in the world to complete it. Now it has to be a rush job and done by Thursday. All of this after Husband had a week off on vacation.
And this wouldn't be so bad, except that Husband needs to finish painting the kids' rooms this week before we leave for Grandma's over Easter weekend. So now, instead of painting, he will be working on the science project instead.
My Husband is the world's biggest procrastinator (a symptom of his bigger problem of being chronically passive-aggressive) and instead of getting right into his projects, he waits until Friday to get started.
Then, because he's so out of shape, all I have to hear about is "Oh my back, oh I'm so tired, oh I ache." Well, DEAR, maybe your back hurts so much because you're carrying 40 extra pounds on your gut. I mean, I know what it felt like when I was 9 months pregnant with a 10lb+ baby, so I know what it feels like to have a gut. But he denies it, says I don't know what I"m talking about, blah blah blah.
How I deal with stress is a huge obstacle for me in this weight loss journey. You wonder why I eat that "extra food". Well, this is why. These people just drive me nuts!
And now I have to mentally prepare for Easter weekend at my mother's. How I *dread* going, especially coming off of all this crap with my husband and son. All that food, all this stress. Great, just great.
AFTERNOON EDIT: I felt so much better after I went to the gym. I'm going to track my exercise time now, and then I will update it after I am done with my Daughter's softball practice (assuming it won't rain on us). So far I've had 65 minutes on the elliptical, 25 min on the stair stepper, 20 minutes weight training and 30 minute bike ride outside.
APRIL CHALLENGE SUBTOTAL: 110 minutes. (Will hopefully add 60-90 minutes tonight with softball)
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
Anyway, you know how not to deal with the stress, don't you? That's a good Donkey!
Thanks for your comment, by the way! You always give me such an ego boost!
I'm so glad that your getting to the gym and using the exercise to vent some of that frustration and stress!! Great job!
Oh my goodness, has it really be 4 days since I've added an entry? Egads!
APRIL CHALLENGE: 90 minutes of painting. (Explanation below)
Well, I wish I had better news to report. While I stayed within calorie range over the weekend, I still feel that I could have done better. I don't understand it. I detest that feeling of being full, but I also can't tolerate the empty feeling that comes with hunger. And it seems for me that there is no in-between. I just can't seem to get to that happy place in between, where I am content but not too much either way.
I had fully intended to go to the gym today. I even checked the TV schedule on the TVs that are by the crosstrainers, so that I would have a decent show to watch while working out. However, my plans went out the window when I realized that Palm Sunday services went WAY too long. Damn! Then I had lunch and I must have eaten too much because my stomach felt soooo heavy.
So rather than go workout, I decided to help my husband with painting of my children's rooms (not a fun job painting over those stupid pictures the previous owner painted all over her kids' walls -- using bold colors, thick paint). But it wasn't quite the workout I had been hoping for.
I do know that Monday will be a better day, with Husband back at work and the kids at school. I plan on making tomorrow My Day at the Gym! And I'm sure after the weigh-in tomorrow morning, I will be very motivated to burn off some calories...
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
Ok, I know this is today's entry, but this will be mostly about last night.
I was doing really well until I came home from the parents' meeting with my daughter's softball team. First thing my Husband starts yelling at me because the computer I use (a laptop) is "all messed up". Well, HE"S the Computer Guy. I don't do anything on the computer that I don't either understand or can manage myself. So he's accusing me of deleting programs and blah blah blah. Why, I would NEVER do ANYTHING like that.
3 hours later, he finally gets the laptop started up again (thank goodness! because I would be lost without you all!), and everything's updated. And here's where it gets ugly --- I made myself TWO big bowls of popcorn. And I ate it ALL!
Now in defense of myself, yes, I was hungry, even though according to my calorie tracker, I had sufficient calories previous to the popcorn attack (around 1700). And at least it was air-popped, plain, so no oil or fat. But TWO huge bowls of popcorn???
Well, I guess if I gotta have a binge, that's probably the healthiest way to do it (if there is such a thing). But geez! Where's my self-control???
I don't know, what do you all think? Am I being too hard on myself?
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
Despite Monday's weigh-in, I've had an awesome week at the gym so far. Just this morning, I was looking at my arms and realizing that the muscles in the upper part seem larger to me. I love the sculpted look of lean, strong arms. That will be me, soon enough!
Yesterday, I actually went for a bike ride outside in my new neighborhood. This neighborhood is wonderful because they have a LOT of bike trails. My old neighborhood seemed almost hostile to anything not in a car. The sidewalks were falling apart, the roads were not bike-friendly, nothing. But here, everything is built to entice people to get outside. I often see people walking, jogging, and bike riding when the weather is nice. Today it is not so nice outside.
So I am enjoying a more active lifestyle. My Husband STILL has YET to set foot in the gym that we joined. (((It's a good thing we didn't sign up for the Fancy Gym membership or I would be so ****ed.))) I'm not putting him down, though, because I know how hard it can be to take that first step. Every day, I tell him what the crowd looked like (I've NEVER had to wait for a machine), the men/women ratio, any new machines I've tried, etc. I also make it a point to tell him if I see newbies getting their orientation tours. All I can do is hope that it rubs off on him, and that he'll want to get into shape like Justine6Robert3's husband has recently.
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
Good luck with your husband getting on board, he may come around in his own time once he see's how good your feeling! I have been packing Kirt's lunches this week with lots of healthy food and snacks. He event went to the grocery store on his own and bought all kinds of fruits and veggies for himself to snack on!!! I'm loving this, I do hope he sticks with it.
Second week in a row where I'm reporting a weight GAIN rather than a loss. This is so frustrating. I know what did me in too, thank you PMS for those sweet cravings on Saturday night.
I only have myself to blame.
Progress as of today: -1.5 lbs lost so far, only 15 lbs to go!
Today I went to the gym and I *finally* worked up the nerve to try the weight machines that work the upper body. AWESOME! Yay! Now I feel that I am ready to start a basic weight training program.
The ironic thing is that I went to the weight machines (that I was afraid to use) because I was too afraid to use the stair stepper machine because some younger guy was using it (there are only two). I get really sweaty, which I already was from using the elliptical, and I really didn't want to be near any man, much less a young, good looking man, drenched in sweat.
I was encouraged to see a woman at the gym that reminded me very much of a friend of mine who has moved to New York, except that this lady was totally into working out and weight training (unlike my friend).
I'm looking forward to my weigh-in tomorrow (Monday morning), even though I had a PMS moment last night and indulged in some chocolate. Way overdid it (unfortunately), but I'm still looking forward to my moment of truth.
Progress as of today: -0.5 lbs lost so far, only 14 lbs to go!
I'm sorry that your son is struggling, I'm sure that's very stressful for you. My sister's middle child has always had many behavoural problems that were apparent as soon as she started kindergarten. She will be 12 yrs old in April. She no longer "acts out", but instead she is extremely shy, she hardly talks to anybody at school, including her teachers. She is very chatty when she is amoungst her family though. They have labelled her as having "selective mutism" which basicly means she is severly shy to the point of it being crippling for her. I hope you are able to get him the help he needs.
I'm glad that your enjoying your gym and getting comfortable there. Good luck on your weigh in tomorrow!!!
Have a great day!!
Yesterday was so hard. I can only hope that today is better.
Husband and I had to go to my son's school and take him home early because he was having behavior issues, and the school social worker thought it best that he not return to the classroom. My son is having such a hard time. And my Husband isn't helping matters much, as I think he's been living in a semi-state of denial about our son's struggles.
So of course, what do we have for dinner but pizza. I was doing very well calorie-wise until dinner. Then I had 4 slices of pepperoni pizza and that was 1000 calories right there. So I had to try *very hard* not to have dessert. Which was probably a good idea anyway, because feeling as bad and stressed and sad as I was feeling, getting started on any kind of sweet probably wouldn't have been a good idea.
Hopefully my son will have a better day today. We talked over some things, gave him some coping mechanisms and he seemed to understand the importance of normal behavior, of what is expected of him. I hope that he does not become SO overwhelmed or anxious that he resorts back to his old behaviors today.
Progress as of today: -0.5 lbs lost so far, only 14 lbs to go!
I've been going to the gym every day this week. Now my Husband has a week and a half off, so my whole routine will be thrown off. I can only hope that he will come to the gym with me.
Yesterday was warmer outside, so I tried to put on a pair of capri pants after my shower after exercising. I could hardly snap them and my butt felt so tight in the fabric. I took a look and oh my, how saggy and droopy and flabby I looked from behind. So I am not quite ready for summer clothing yet, unless I want to go out and buy new clothes (which I don't want to do).
But all in all, I've been doing much better. See what I mean about everything falling into place with exercise? I had a conference with my son's teacher, and my son is having a lot of problems and issues that need to be addressed. He's been neglected because the school district we used to live in was AWFUL and most of the teachers were in denial. (And we could not afford to provide services for him privately. We knew we were moving, and we wanted to see how many of my son's problems were environmental (due to the school) and how many were actually his issues.) So when we moved, my son starts a new school and it's like he's waving all these "red flags" that he needs help. Poor kid! And I feel just horrible.
BUT I DID NOT RESORT TO FOOD! I did not fall back on eating to make me feel better about the situation. It was then that I realized that Life is going to throw obstacles at me all the time. And I need to learn how to cope with them other than stuffing my face at the first sign of trouble. I need to learn to live with and deal with the discomfort of anxiety and sadness. It's a part of life.
Progress as of today: -0.5 lbs lost so far, only 14 lbs to go!
It's a big step that you have taken toward real change. Keep up the good work, you inspired ME today!
That must be very frustrating for you to see your son struggling and not being able to get him the help he needs. It does seem to vary from school to school and also with their teacher. I hope his new school is more willing to give him the extra help he needs!!
I have an interview with Taylor's teacher tomorrow. She has been struggling with her reading and writing. Her teacher is really amazing with her though. She has been very hands on with Taylor. She has called me in for extra interviews so that we could get her extra help both at home and in the school. They have been having Taylor and a few other students pulled out of their regular class a couple of times a week to give them extra help in a small group setting and they have now arranged for her to meet with a "Speech-Language Pathologist to try to further figure out why she's having difficulty so they can find a way to get her the help she needs right away. Taylor has only met with the speech-language pathologist once so far (I think from now on she will see her once a week, one on one) and she loved her and can't wait to get together with her again. They make it a very non threatening environment and try to teach them through games and things that won't intimidate them.
Taylor does really well in Math, gym, drama, music etc (many of the arts!!) but she just seems to be struggling with her writing and reading. She is also almost a year younger than many of the kids in her grade because she was born in December so I think that puts her at a bit of a disadvantage also.
Good for you not resorting to food for comfort!! Keep up the great job with your exercising!!! I find it more challenging to stick with my routine on week-ends or when Kirt is off work also, good luck next week!!
Anyway, I hope that the new school provides a better environment and services for your son.
I hope you can get your son's "issues" sorted out soon! Hopefully he will get more attention in the new school.
If I could have more days like today I would have no problem getting to goal and STAYING at goal.
Today I did an hour of interval training on the crosstrainer. Then I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes during the 11a news broadcast. (I'm so glad that missing Boy Scout was rescued!) Then I tried the stair stepping machine for 10 minutes. I had the level or resistance entered in wrong, though, so I only felt like I worked for 3 minutes of the 10. The rest of it was like a really good stretch. At any rate, I now have a goal of conquering the stair stepper.
I also had enough courage today to try the lower body weight training machines. If you could see the cellulite on my thighs from this weight gain, you would understand what drove me to conquer my fear or shyness and get on those machines and work it. UGH! How could 15lb look so UGLY???
Progress as of today: -0.5 lbs lost so far, only 14 lbs to go!
So I'm glad you have tackled the machines at the gym. The stair stepper has always been the toughest for me. I wish I could have a go at the weight training machines - I love those!
Thanks for your advice on my recent lack of enthusiasm for exercise. I think I'll take it and go buy some new sports bras (can't really justify the shoes after two recent purchases turned out to be uncomfortable and are pretty much wasted)!
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LOL, I don't drink SF shakes normally - there was one left in my fridge from like October so I had it. I wanted just a little bit of food so I had a piece of whole grain toast with a little bit of peanut butter. So the bread mixed with shake equals GROSS.
greengirl on 04/03/2007:
I think that too much is expected of children these days and schools just put more pressure on them. Thats what it is like in the UK. All schools are interested in is getting good results so they are high in the education 'league tables' and heaven help any kids who make it difficult for the school!!!
I dont even notice being on my feet all day anymore, I have done it for so long!! I was always doing a lot of walking as I dont drive, but the treadmill has upped my totals!!! You cant be so far behind with all the exercise you have been doing :)
Horn_Of_Plenty on 04/03/2007:
its so interesting how kids on the east coast don't have school but your's do! ha!
WorkingIt2 on 04/03/2007:
busy busy busy! Congrats on getting your exercise in!
hollybelle on 04/04/2007:
Good news on the 110 min of exercise and the testing for your son. YEA!! I can't believe you did level 12 resistence on the ET! I do 7 and it works me good. I like to kind of have not much challenge - it makes me feel powerful LOL! How long did you do it on 12? You have made me want to go home and try a higher level today! For a few minutes, at least.