The one about choices

So Dear Readers (apparently I am Miss Manners, or Dear Abby now...) I have to address a thing. It is not a great big thing, but a thing I need to address in any case.

I have to be happy being me and I have to be happy with what I do and how I do it. I am making healthful strides (YAY! 10lbs down!) and am very happy about it. I am exercising and am very happy about that, too. What I have to be careful of is being too radical, being too structured, and not being me.

Here is what I mean:

If I want a burger, I am gonna eat a burger. With bacon & cheese, if I want. Just not every day.

If I want a piece of cheesecake same rules apply.

I am a foodie. I love food, good food, especially, but sometimes I just want some tater tots (preferably from Sonic, and preferably with mustard).

Here is my realization... my "diets" in the past have failed because I was "trying" too hard. I was so wrapped up in WHAT I was eating (or not as the case usually is) that eating was not enjoyable, not pleasurable, was a task, a horrible chore that had to be done just so or I was a horrible, big, fat, failure.

I am talking about this tonight because I realized that I have a few food related hang-ups, and no, not the fact that I don't like raw tomatoes, or that I think all raw mushrooms taste like dirt (THEY DO!!), I realized I was feeling shame because I enjoyed a really good hamburger (with bacon and cheese) and some Cajun-seasoned fries with my husband tonight. I felt like a big failure because "how am I supposed to lose weight if this is what I am doing to myself" kept running through my head.

And I realized... NO! STOP!

I enjoyed my dinner. I had a wonderful, tasty meal with my husband. And a nice, relaxing, & fun time, too. Will I eat like that tomorrow, probably not. Am I aware of the food choices I make? Yes. Is it the end of the world? No. Will I still lose weight despite this one meal? All signs point to yes.

I am allowed to eat what I want. I have the wisdom (which is getting honed daily)to make good/better choices. I am not going to feel shame because I had a burger with my man. It is an interesting thing, I never feel particularly proud when I eat a plain chicken breast with steamed veggies.... NO MORE FOOD GUILT!

I kinda feel free already.

And for those of you who say I am making an excuse for bad eating behaviors, I kindly agree to disagree with you. This post is not about food but about the feelings of shame derived from food being labeled as "good" or "bad."

That's all.

DING DING DING DA DING DING DING

10lb down. FINALLY!!!

I don't even know how this happened! I have been eating kinda poorly since I got home. I have slipped back into old habits, haven't gone to exercise, etc. I think this is the Universe's way of saying "GET BACK TO WORK!!" :D

I am excited to weigh 265.0 (you can only be excited about that if you were once way over that!). So, now I have regained some motivation and have to catch up with Shelli & Jeanne who have set some pretty high standards! Shelli has lost 41lb and Jeanne was over 25lb down, so I have to get shakin' (literally AND figuratively!).

And to celebrate it's Fork In The Garbage Disposal Time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef6_9Wclh7Q&feature=related

Back home and ready to get back on track!

Hello from my desk in Texas! I am officially the Worst Travel Blogger EVER! I didn't post a single thing here while away. Ah well, I do have good excuses. Would you like to hear them?

1. While in London I was busy at the Royal Geographical Society & The British Library researching and did not feel like doing more reading/writing when I got back to the hotel each night.
2. When I got to Holland the battery for my laptop died and my charger was not working (come to find out it was just a faulty adapter plug - whew!). So no internet for me.
3. Once in Paris there were internet cafe's a-plenty, and cheap, too, but they were hot, crowded and I was in Paris for both work & pleasure, so was not in the mood to sit & blog in a sweaty internet cafe the size of a mid-size sedan. I think you'll forgive me.

So, I have decided to do a series of post-travel reports/blogs starting either later today or tomorrow. I have to get my week sorted out and get on with all the work I need to do as well.

I am glad to be back and am happy to report that I gained no weight while abroad. This largely due to the fact that I walked EVERYWHERE! It was greatness. I wish we had public transportation here.

More soon. I promise!! But here is a little touristy pic to tide you over until I truly do a travel-post.

Busy, busy bee

Hi folks!

I am still working on my fit quest but have been swamped with end of session grading etc. I am still going to yoga 3-4x/week and added both swimming & water aerobics to the mix so I am exercising 6-days a week!!

Watch this blog as it transfers over the next few weeks to be my Euro-trip blog! That's right the Fit-by-40 will be (hopefully) posting daily blogs from three European capitols: London, The Hague, and Paris.

My itinerary is as follows:

• June 21-26 London.
  
• June 27 - Eurostar train (via Brussels) to The Hague where I'll stay until July 1st.
  
• July 1st - train to Paris where I'll remain until my flight back to TX on July 6th!

I am going to London & The Hague to do research for my dissertation at the Royal Geographical Society, the British Library, and the Dutch National Archives. In Paris I am attending a workshop on the 19th century cartography of Africa (a portion of my dissertation covers 19th C Nile River exploration) put on by the International Cartography Association's Commission on the History of Cartography (say that 3 times fast).

I am beyond excited about my trip and have been lining up things I need from the Archives, people I need to meet, and places I must see. I am hoping to get to some of the famous museums in London after my day's work and may take a touristy double-decker bus tour to see the city in its entirety on Sat. or Sun.

One thing I want to do in the UK is go to Stonehenge. We never went when we lived in England and I really want to go. So we'll see.

But before I can get to London I have to pack and prepare for a weekend trip to San Antonio for an all-class High School Reunion for my Aviano Saints! Woo hoo!

Finally saw the 6!! - Part II

So the last time I "saw the 6" was back in January.. and ever since then it has been straight 7's man... bummer.

So today I got on the scale, because even though I know not to weigh myself all. the. time, I just wanted to. And you know what? It was a mood booster! 269.6! That makes me happy. It is a sign of progress and a little reward for making better choices all week.

Speaking of, here are a few things that I am proud of from the past week:

• Went to yoga thrice this week!
• Did not allow my personal pity party over being in a leg splint (for my left ankle) keep me from going for a 2mi walk on Thursday (and made good food/drink choices instead of emotional-eating the sad/stress away).
• Shared a Philly cheesesteak last night with my husband and had no fries. It was SO good and worth it.
  
• Chose lemonade over soda
• had a frozen fruit bar at the movie (THOR - so good, btw) instead of a Häagen-Dazs bar. It was sweet, cold, delicious and was a good decision after the cheesesteak.
• Drank at least 10 8-oz glasses of water each day this week! I have to thank Sarah E-B of Sarah Fitness for her often posted DRINK! reminders!
• Posted & commented on the Aviano Saints Italian Boot Camp (20 minutes of exercise a day for 28 days - until the reunion in June). It has been so great to have a community of support and encouragement from people so dear to me. Big props to Monica for getting it going!
  
• Consistently entered my food & exercises into myfitnesspal & cheered & encouraged my friends on there, too.

And so far today, even though I overslept & missed the 7:45am yoga class, I am OK with it. I obviously needed the rest. My body is still healing and my ankle is aggravated, so it needs some TLC, too. I have been kind to myself and have made good choices today, lots of water, a salad & a grilled chicken sandwich at lunch when everyone else was having chicken fried steak or a burger. Tonight we are going to a favorite local place, Eno's, and I have scoped out their menu online so I can make a good choice. I am looking forward to that glass of Tempranillo in my future! And probably a cheese plate & salad!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the extra time with your family & friends and remember that this weekend is not about mattress sales.

Love,

One pound forward.... two pounds back

So, as you may have noticed my My Fitness Pal "X pounds lost" ticker has reset to zero.... that is OK. I just regained the 1lb I had shed. Could be water weight, could be PMS-y stuff, could be the decadent spread we treated ourselves to for our 1st Anniversary... or maybe it is muscle mass!!! Ok, it is probably not the latter, but it is fun to throw in there as a possibility - and that made me smile.

So, on to better things since I refuse to be upset by a 1lb gain.

1. NO MORE PT!! I was released from Physical therapy this morning after my session.Now I will have to REALLY challenge myself to go to the gym 3x/week to keep up my exercises.

2. The Summer schedule for the MAC (Maverick Activities Center - AKA the campus gym) is up and I do believe I will be doing the following:

Water Fitness T/TH 5-5:50pm for sure. It is really fun.


I am considering Group Strength** on Thurs from 3-3:50pm


Pilates on W from 12-12:45pm - maybe


Then just some time (whenever) on the machines...

I plan on working this stuff into my week to replace the physical therapy I have been doing. The real challenge is going to be TO GO! Campus is about 20mins from my house and gas is $$$ and.. and.. and.. NO MORE ANDs! I just have to go. I will work out a schedule so that I either run errands before or after class/workouts and probably go up and work in my campus office instead of here at home. That sounds like a plan... and a doable one at that. I will still be going to yoga MWF & Sat. I do {heart} the yoga so!

I want to get up to burning about 1000 calories a day. I was advised by a HS friend who is a personal trainer that this is the sure way to lose weight! Gotta get & keep my Body Movin'

I also want to eat a wider variety of plant-based & whole-grain foods (Elisa I know you are smiling your evil Vegan grin.. mwa ha ha). I want to fill up & yet use my 1400 calories to their maximum extent... i.e. getting the most for my buck (calorie) by eating well and feeling satisfied.

Yes?

YES!

**Group Strength- A full body integrated resistance training class designed to improve functional strength, coordination and balance using free weights, barbells, CorePoles, BOSU trainers, and stability balls.

Happy anniversary to me (and to Lupe, of course)

Today is our 1st wedding anniversary. I cannot believe a year has WHOOOSHED by so fast! Where did the time go and what the heck have we been doing?!?!

We spent a lovely 24hrs at The Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, TX. It was spectacular! We had cocktails. We had massages in their spa. We had an absolutely fabulous steak dinner with a marvelous Argentinean Malbec, and ended the meal with dark chocolate souffle (for me) and carrot cake cheesecake (for him) and coffee. After that we wandered back over to the Texan Station Sports Bar to catch the end of the Mavericks- Thunder game. It was crazy on a 53' TV screen!

We went back to our room where they had done a rose petal turn-down on our bed & opened our bottle of well-chilled champagne. This morning after a nice sleep in and more champagne - we ambled down to the Riverwalk Cantina for a superb brunch buffet! IT HAD A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!!! :D

We were sad to leave the resort, but you know, you have to face reality eventually!

When we got home Lupe went to see his family & I took care of my online students. When Lupe come back he had dinner, 18 red roses, and stuff for ice cream & brownies. It has been a great weekend and I ate, drank, and was pampered.

Back to my regularly schedule life tomorrow.... PT at 7:30am and yoga tomorrow evening. YAY!