I feel better….

I’ve been very very busy of late. Last week was nuts here at work and with the time change I was completely thrown for a loop. I don’t adjust well to the time change in spring – takes me some time to get my act together. I was so busy at work that I didn’t make it to Hot Yoga either – absolutely no exercise at all. Blah!

I also decided last week that I was no longer going to eat Jenny Craig food (except what I have left over – not going to waste it). Although the ladies at the clinic are fantastic people, and there is nothing wrong with their coaching approach, I just disliked the food enough that it was actually stressing me out. I ate more pasta, potatoes and sodium than I have ever eaten before and I just wasn’t enjoying it. I wasn’t feeling good. I’m a protein kind of gal and eating all that stuff that is not normal for me, just made me feel yucky. And I was reading about everyone doing Paleo, High Protein/Low carb – I was jealous I couldn’t eat that way anymore. I don’t like to be stressed…. not good for my mind or my body.  So I feel better today knowing I’m letting that phase of my life go. Amazing how stressed I actually was over the whole thing.

What I did learn at JC was portion control and how much to eat at one meal. I have to admit, my eyeball measurement was way off course. Now I’ve got a better inkling of how much to eat to stay at a decent caloric load. And I’ll be back to preparing all my food for the upcoming week (on Sunday).  I did so much better when I weighed and measured, then packaged every thing in a container to grab and go for lunches at work. I do so like my food much better.

I also bought a new treadmill on Friday. I’ve got a simple treadmill at home that does not do any incline. We originally bought it for the dog, to get her exercised in the winter. I ended up using it more than she did. However it is not good enough for what I want and I went and bought this one. A Freemotion 750 – it declines (3%)  and inclines (up to 15%). I’m so excited…. I love technology and all that this treadmill has to offer.  However I’m paying a lot more than what is listed on the website I linked to. Darn Canadian versus US prices……

But regardless of that little fact, I’m excited about getting it at home and using it. I love having all the equipment I shall ever use right at home in my own little gym. Now if I could just make it look better than an unfinished basement I would be happier… but all in due time.

Isn’t this cute? Looks just like the cat I have in my other home with my Kids. He cries just like this….

 

 

 

I’ve officially completed the SCC challenge. I feel I did pretty good. I’ve lost a total of 13 lbs – could have done a lot better than that but 13 is better than none. I will be focusing on getting it done before I go to Mazatlan in June. That’s 11 weeks away and I’m going to buy a new bathing suit and pin a picture of it on the fridge. And the Treadmill. And here at work. And on the case of beer in my fridge…

Hope you are all doing FANTASTIC. I’ve got some spare time this week to catch up on all the blogs I read.

ttyl

Sandra

I didn’t know…..

Saw this re-tweeted this morning and watched it on my train ride in to work. Wanted to share it with all of you….

Kony 2012

Hope you are all having a FANTASTIC day!

S

Positive Changes–SCC Goals

After posting about my thoughts on Question #4 from Chris, I’ve been thinking a lot about it. What makes me happy?

I know that when I am successful in my diet and exercising, I am happy. I am positive and I know you guys see it too. When I am not doing so good, I’m a bit more down and rough on myself. You see it every where out there in blog land right about now… Everyone starts out the New Year with lots of positivity and as you start to fall off the wagon, and your diet/exercise plans aren’t happening as you planned, well you start to get negative and you slowly spiral downwards.

While downloading a new App to iTunes, I was reviewing some of the podcasts that I subscribe to. One is from TED – I don’t know how many of you have every seen this website or videos from it, but I find them pretty interesting. Well I watched this one this morning and I really enjoyed it. It got me thinking that this is something I want to try for the next 21 days.

So I have decided that this will be my goals for the remainder of the SCC challenge as I feel it fits right in there.

1. I am going to write down 3 things each day that I am grateful for.
2. I am going to journal one positive thing that happened that day and allow my brain to relive it.
3. I am going to exercise each day – allows my body to remember that a repeated behavior matters.
4. I am going to meditate each day to allow my brain to focus on one thing only – which is nothing….
5. And each day I am going to practice a random act of Kindness.

I really thing this is a great idea and I think everyone should do it.  I know that the more positive I am, the happier I am, the more successful I am, and I affect those around me with the positive energy I exude. I notice it and others notice it.

I started out the year positive, I kind of slipped a bit in February, and for March I am going to bring it back up again. I’m not done this weight loss thing – I’ve got lots more to go and being positive about it is going to make it all that much more enjoyable rather than a dreaded task!

I hope you are all having a fantastic day!

ttyl

Sandra

I CAN do it!!

I had a very successful day yesterday. I went to Bikram Hot Yoga after work. The instructor is one I feel a bit of a bond with – maybe because she is around the same age as me and is a very soulful person. That is where the similarity stops as she weighs maybe 110lbs  

But she takes the time to help me out, and yesterday because the class was small, she spent some extra time helping me get into positions better (and safely). Because my hips/back are so sore, I’ve had to modify my poses – at least until I gain strength and flexibility again.  I have improved immensely in the last month but last night she helped me push a little further. I felt really good and energized after class (although my hips were sore). I am pleased with my progress yesterday.

And then I went to my JC weekly meeting - She didn’t give me heck last night – no-siree-o-bob… nope. She high fived me all round…  I lost 3.8 lbs this week – so with last weeks 1lb gain, I really lost 2.8lbs. I’m good with that and so was she. Did I eat 100% on JC program… sorry to say No I did not. I have all this week, but the weekend I ate what the family ate for dinners. This weekend will be about the same – except no family dinners – just bonding time between the Mr. and I.

Other good news is that Ms. Katie is opening her mouth more and more. She is gaining back some of her spunk and vinegar. She is back to teasing the puppy. And she is starting to gain some weight back. We went to the vet the other night  as a follow-up.

We were prescribed steroids for her and according to the prescribing Dr. we were to start weaning her off of them on Tuesday, but Dr. #2 who we saw Wednesday night (and whom I have known for quite a few years) suggested that we keep her full strength until we can confirm her mouth is fully open. If we don’t allow her body to fully heal, before we take her off the steroids, her body may start fighting back again and her relapse will be harder to recover from. This disease isn’t easily noticed until it is almost too late…. thank goodness I am a very observant person.

The picture on the right is her today, you can see the thinness in her face as her muscles behind her eyes have atrophied. Her ears hide a lot of it but you can still see it. With love and lots of chewing opportunities, she should be able to regain that muscle. And that is about all she can open her mouth right now. When we see a full fledge yawn, then we can start slowly backing off the steroids.

Oh and this is Ms, Maggie – she’s 7 months old now and is bigger than Kate. And a she devil in disguise…

 

Did you know that Bird dogs love to eat Bird seed?? I can’t keep the birds fed because the dogs keeping eating all the fallen seeds on the ground… And we have now caught the deer knocking the feeders and spilling out the seeds to the ground. I couldn’t figure out how the birds were eating so much seed overnight and now I know…. We have to get the feeder up higher in the tree but when you are 5’2, it’s not all that easy without a ladder.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

S

100D Q4

For Chris’s 100 Day Challenge we are on question 4. I have posted the answer to one of the questions I think, but the others I’ve just journaled in my book and left it there. I’m pretty open on this blog but there are just some things I don’t feel it is necessary to share with the world. Nothing personal

So this question has me a bit stumped so I’m going to just write, which means it could come out jumbled, but maybe in the end I’ll have the answer.

Her question is:

“What are you passionate about, other than food?   When you get up in the morning...what fires your engine?  Write some things down from your past that used to make you happy.”

Do you have any idea how hard this is to answer? I’m really having a tough time coming up with an answer to “what am I passionate about, what fires me, what used to make me happy??”. That’s pretty sad if you ask me …

Hmmm… what makes me happy? Other than the obvious things like loved ones, family, pets, … I have to make this more personal, more about me – I know… selfish  It is all about ME these days you know…

I love to dance. Yeah, that makes me happy. I feel really good when I dance and I don’t do enough of it. I love listening to music, could listen to it all day, I also love silence, but what I really enjoy doing is dancing, outside in the summer, with my eyes closed and just flowing with the sound. I used to do it at the old acreage (previous life, not this one) all the time. I would just dance with the dogs, dance with freedom – because no one could see or hear me.  It was very empowering. I had forgotten how good it felt.

Which makes me realize that sometimes I’ve forgotten how to have fun.

I also really enjoy walking in nature. LOVE walking in the trees along trails, fishing the streams, just sitting and gazing out at the wonders of the world. I guess that is why I love camping so much. I love just being out there. With winter here I have a bit of cabin fever and can’t wait to get back out again.

But what I’m really looking forward to is gardening. I quite honestly enjoy growing, nurturing and then eating the products of my hard work. I am going to have several raised gardens this summer with hopefully some protective coverings (not going to paint them purple like in the pic but it shows the idea). We have such a short growing season here that I’m going to try to prolong it as much as I can. Already growing tomatoes, strawberries and peppers in my indoor shelving unit. I am so going to enjoy a full summer at the acreage.

But are these the answers she is looking for? Not sure.

If it is to find something that makes me happy and is not food related, then yes, these activities would replace me stuffing my face. However, I don’t have an issue with stuffing my face with food, I have an issue with not enough exercise and empty calories. Camping, and gardening both allow me to consume empty calories…. that’s what I’ve got to deal with….

hmmm….

Can you guys answer this question easily?

Hope you are having a FANTSTIC day!

ttyl

Sandra