In a rut

Oh gosh, I did not intent to be away from this space for so long.

I was (maybe still am) in a funk. Work is really not very fun. In a fit of madness, I am attempting to find a good life/work balance. Unfortunately it is putting me further behind at work. 😦 I am not an anxious person, but I hate having things hanging over my head. Couple that with a list of 5 things to do at the start of the day and most of those same five things are untouched EVERY day, I have run out of F@#%s to give. Gonna get a t-shirt made with that on it!!

I broke down and went in to work today after leaving mostly on time for the past few weeks. The work never ends and the morale is worse now than before. My manager locked herself in her office crying last week as she was going on vacation and was feeling incredibly guilty. It was very disturbing.

So instead of blogging I have been job searching. Which is not as productive as I would like it to be. No nibbles yet but that is not deterring me.

On a quick catch-up note, I went to DC for a self-made long weekend to celebrate my cousin’s 40th birthday and had a blast. It was really nice to get away (we will not talk about the 330 emails that were in my inbox waiting for me when I returned).

My cousin rubs elbows with the wealthy and wealthier. It was a very interesting trip. We went to the “rich people” spa. I say this because when the charge showed up on my credit card it was more that four times what I hesitantly pay in town for a massage … FOUR TIMES!?! It would have hurt even if we were still on par with the USD. But I don’t do this ever so I just shut my eyes and was grateful that I have the money to pay the bill.

Speaking of the massage … it was the BEST one I have ever had. I was ready to offer the RMT a house in Toronto if she moved here with me and just gave me daily massages. Given the price of homes in the T.O. and the price of the massage, I will really have to do math to see where the break even point would be. Recently a townhouse, in a great neighbourhood but still a townhouse, sold for $1 million over asking. Where the $%#@ do I live???

Ok, I’ve veered off topic. Other than my trip away, I believe it is my daily workouts, which have not gotten any easier, that have been keeping me sane.

Tomorrow I start my Spring cleanse. 12 days of so much not fun eating. I gave up meat and wheat for Lent and it was a challenge some days. I am debating if I could give up gluten and dairy for the month of May. I think it would definitely help with the weight loss.

Speaking of weight loss … I have lost exactly 1 lb since Jan 2 when I started this daily workout routine.

I have no words so I’m going to stop here. I have “cussed” enough in one post.

Have a wonderful day.

A Great Day

Today was a great day. It started with a little lot of Bob.

 

This video came highly recommended by one of my cousins.  I am ashamed to say that I had previously borrowed it from the library and returned it unopened as the workout is 1 hour-long.  But since she said it was a good I figured it was worth a shot.

For me to do a long workout, I have to schedule it on the weekend. I am just not there yet with the desire or energy to do this during the week.

This video had me shaking and sweating.  I found him much gentler in personality that Jillian but still very challenging.  I can see this being a Sunday video on a regular basis and might consider purchasing it.

I have another Bob video to try but it too is a lengthy one so it will have to wait until Saturday.

I tried a new recipe that got rave reviews from my very skeptical children. Costco had tortillas on sale so I bought a package then wondered what I would do with them.  Enter Mexican lasagne from Fannetastic Food. It was delicious.  I can’t wait for lunch time tomorrow when I will be having leftovers. 🙂

The icing on the cake was the 1.5 lbs less that showed up on the scale when I stepped on it.  Yes I know the numbers mean nothing don’t tell the whole story but it still does make my day when there is less of them.

January recap & February goals

On Monday I got the dreaded you have reached 100% of your monthly usage allowance. 😦  In an attempt to reduce our overage I banned everyone from using the internet unless it was school related.  When I checked this morning we were 6 GBs over our limit.  This will be an additional $12 on the next bill.  I would love to know what had changed this past billing cycle as we haven’t gone over our 60 GB limit in a long time and usually sit at less than 45 GBs each month.

Oh well, on to business.

January Goals

1. Fiscal fast for the first 8 days of January, with the exception of a lunch on Jan 7 – Done
2. No-Low Spend Challenge
   
   • Come in on or under my reduced budget – I was over by 4% if you don’t count my tickets to The Lion King, 18.5% if you do
   • No eating out (except for the lunch I have on the 7th) – Nope, my cousin invited me out and I also paid for the meal my BFF “treated” me to as she has not paid me back yet and I don’t intend to ask for repayment as she frequently takes me out to eat.
   • 15 “no spend” days – I had 22
   • Continue to track my spending – I did this and for the first time ever my spending only took up 32 lines on my spreadsheet. (It’s usually in the 50’s)
   • Shop my freezer – Mostly, but I still stocked up on some pizzas towards the end of the month
3. Exercise 20 times – I tracked 27 workouts
4. Read 2 books – I only read The Time Traveler’s Wife
5. Give the blanket to my BFF  – Done!
6. Pick up one of the unfinished crochet projects I have – Nope, I have not looked in the bin yet

Not bad.  I’m starting to think that multi-tasking is not my forte.  But I worked out and tried to keep my spending under control, which were the important goals to me.

February Goals

1. Stop eating after 8pm.  I find myself snacking while watching the 11 pm news. 😦
2. Read 3 books
3. Pick up an afghan and work on it
4. Shop my freezer
5. Get back on track with my daily morning and evening reading
6. Continue to workout at least 5 times a week

***

On a different note, I forgot to tell you that I stepped on the scale on Saturday and pulled out the tape measure.  I am down almost 4 lbs and 4 inches.  I kinda expected it would be more as I am feeling rather lean.  I am one pound away from where My Fitness Pal thinks I am.  Blasted summer holiday weight gain that is fighting to stay with me. 😦  My cousin gave me bad news.  She said once you get closer to your goal it gets harder to lose the weight.  WTF!?! Well, I am taking that as a challenge and putting on my big girl panties. 😉

PGH – 4/29/13

It’s been a while since I have blogged about Project Get Healthy.  Mainly due to not much no change in my weight.

This morning I got happy news when I stepped on the scale.  Down 0.8 lbs for an overall weight loss of over 20 lbs!!!  Break out the ice water and celery!!! 😉

I have 9.4 lbs to go until I hit my initial goal.  I have added another goal of an additional 9 lbs to that so I can have some wiggle room.  I’d like to be in the middle of the weight range for my height.

I did not exercise at all last week.  I just tried to stay within my allotted 1330 calories for the day.

I have entered into another 30 Day Shred challenge.  My boss and another lady at work are on the weight loss journey and we have decided to do the 30 Day Shred, Monday through Friday for the next 12 weeks.

The plan is to do 30DS first thing in the morning and do something else Leslie or Callanetics 2 or 3 afternoons during the week.

I can see the end of the tunnel so I am stepping up my pace to get there sooner.

I like this new me who has more energy and whose pants are starting to fall off. 🙂

PGH – 4/9/13

The weight gain from last week is gone. 🙂  I tried to eat clean but I did not exercise as much as I should have and still the weight left me.  I am not complaining. 😉

This week my exercise game is on point.  I got a new Jillian video from the library.

 (Source)

Kickbox Fastfix, 3 20 minute workouts.  And when Jillian says 20 minutes, she is not kidding.  From start to finish the workouts are under 21 minutes.  I did level 1 on Sunday and level 2 today.  I do not feel the need to buy or renew this video.  It’s not my favourite.  There are a lot of kicks that require you to pivot and well trying to do that on my floor is not easy so I think I may be doing damage to my knees.  I will do level 3 on Thursday and return this video satisfied that I didn’t buy it.  (I love the library)

I think the trick for me is to workout on Sunday.  As it puts me in the right frame of mind.  So far this week I have worked out every day.  Tomorrow I will finally break open one of my Leslie videos (Thanks Hawaii Planner, please stop giving me dirty looks lol, your gift was not in vain).

I have been eating just enough to fulfill my calories needs.  I want to get to the next point.  I am thisclose to losing 20 lbs.  I am determined to hit it by my next weigh in.  I was so close 2 weeks ago and I let it slip through my fingers. 😦  It is within my grasp so I am going to hit it.  I am back on the wagon in a more committed way.

My boss, who is the weight watcher queen, joined myfitnesspal.com.  She resisted as she did not want to count her food twice.  I am not sure what changed her mind but it’s very interesting to see her new perspective.

PGH – 1/22/13

How did it get to be the 22nd of January already???  Time really does fly when you are having fun getting old.

Last week I managed to do something funky to my hamstrings and they were complaining loudly.  I still worked out 3 times.  Mostly in an attempt to move the pain out.  I did roll on my foam roller and it made a huge difference.  I am not sure why I don’t do this more often.

As I am a glutton for punishment, I went back to Level 1 of Ripped in 30.  I am hard-headed and figured I did something wrong last week when I did it that resulted in the pain.  I did take it easy.  Today, minimal soreness. 🙂

Leslie Sansone walking exercise routines have been suggested to me.  It is a gentle way to get in shape.  I put one of her videos on hold at the library and it is on its way to me.  So hopefully I can get it by the weekend.

On a different note I picked up a Leslie Sansone 3 DVD workout set at Costco and almost bought it then  I remembered that I am on a no/low spend challenge.

If I enjoy the DVD from the library, I hope that when I return to Costco looking for it next month 😉 there will still be copies available.

On the weight front, it is still decreasing.  I find that I am no longer driven by “the number”.  Once I write it down in myfitnesspal.com, I put it out of my mind.  So much so that when I stood on the scale yesterday morning I thought I only lost 0.2 lb.  But when I recorded my weight I was actually down 0.8 lb.  I seem to only focus on the point whatever that follows the big numbers. 😉 I actually re-weighted myself this morning because I thought I might have remembered it wrong. *smh* I didn’t. 🙂

So far I have lost almost 14 pounds.  Which is almost to the halfway mark.

Yesterday one of my co-workers asked me about my “diet” as I was walking past her eating a bag of chips.

PGH – 12/10/12

Guess who can get a massage now!?!

Come on … guess!!

This morning I was prepared for same ole same old.  I was pleasantly surprised.

The scale moved. 🙂

In the right direction!!! 🙂

I was a little shocked so I stepped off and stepped back on.

It was true, my weight loss was now over 10 pounds.

I am a third of the way to a healthier me.

I can’t stop now, I’ve been tossed a nugget of hope.

I can and will get off the next plateau I just have to keep my eyes on the prize.

Sleep. Work. Workout. Rinse. Repeat.