arewethereyet

Honestly I thought that having a late Italian dinner would completely derail my diet. I strategized ways to minimize the damage and I followed them. But you know what? I did really well. Tim (that’s his name - you should probably remember it because I think we’ll be spending more time together) and I met up at 8pm. We talked like crazy - very easy, very fun. And the food was DELICIOUS too. I had a salad (Tim’s in fact), very politically incorrect veal (OMG, but it was soooooooo good), and instead of pasta or french fries I chose the sauteed spinach. Which was also sooo good. I had a glass of chianti - not quite the whole glass. And I tabulated the calories as best I could in the food journal and I feel like I did a good job. And I didn’t feel weird - why isn’t she eating? - I ate. I ate almost everything in front of me. And I didn’t feel deprived - I enjoyed with moderation and made good choices. And I also exercised like a fiend yesterday (7 miles on the treadmill at a pretty good clip for me and up and down hills - 1000+ calories burned) to pay it forward as it were.

Today I plan on working on my paper for a bit and then taking a nice long walk outside. It’s a gorgeous fall day. I really want to enjoy it while I can. I’m also going to cook today - I picked up some nice chicken at TJs today and I think it’s going to be a chicken veggie stir fry kind of day for me here. I love making stir fry at home because I LOVE asian food and this allows me to enjoy it without getting all those extra calories!

Enjoy your Sunday everyone and I will check in with you later. Ellen

Please join me in a happy dance - my first official Saturday weigh-in (date changed because of my new team… the Hot Rods!) was a good one. I’m down 3 pounds - actually I guess it’s technically 3.5 now that I think about it! So what does this mean? (1) I lost all my Wisconsin ‘baggage’ and then some (2) I hit my first mini goal (3) I got a red star - woo hoo!! and (4) My rules work for me! So happy happy - joy joy!! Let’s dance.

And after all that dancing, I am taking tonight off my rules. Pretty much all of them I think. My big date is tonight and he has to work today and won’t get home until 6:30 ish so we are having a late supper, at an Italian restaurant where there’s bound to be gluten and casein in spades. So what’s my plan of attack? (1) Walk 6 miles today. (2) Eat bulky light calories (big salads, etc) and no grains at all during the day. (3) Get through the gallon of water before the date and drink lots of it on the date. (4) At the restaurant, choose a a strong protein meal and start with a salad to fill up. No dessert, no pasta dish, no pizza! Anyway, I deserve a night off so I’m taking it. But don’t worry - I know I don’t deserve all day off, and I don’t deserve tomorrow off so know that I will be very much on track before and afterward. I just want to have a really good time tonight. I’m really excited for this date - more than I’ve been in a long while. I already know that I think he’s cute, and he’s easy to talk to, and he laughs easily… so hopefully there will be some real magic to report tomorrow.

Allrighty kiddoes I realize this is a short post for me, particularly when I haven’t blogged all wee, but I clearly have a lot to do before tonight! Including 6 miles. And figuring out what I’m going to wear! Yikes!

Have a wonderful Saturday my beautiful buddies. I wish you happiness and joy all day long. Hugs! Ellen

I took the weekend off. No walking for me. I’ve been fighting a horrible headcold since Friday - running a fever and everything - and I decided it wasn’t worth it to do the walking this weekend. So I will officially miss my weekly walking goal of 25 miles - and I’d like to just add, I’m perfectly okay with that.

That said, yesterday was eventful. First off, I went to the Coldwater Creek Spa with 2 of the 3 people I went to Wisconsin with (Cheryl and Paulette). It was Paulette’s birthday - an important notation here. And friends, if you have a Coldwater Creek Spa anywhere near you, please make an appointment today for the world’s best pedicure. They wash your feet by hand, cover you in blankets, and put a warm wrap around your neck. Then, get this, they tip chair back so you’re laying down, and they put a lavendar scented flax pillow over your eyes, and proceed to pamper you for 45 minutes or so. Just delicious. I’ll leave out the part of the warm booties they put you in after lotioning up your feet. (OH MY!) Coldwater Creek. Yes like the store. Run, don’t walk. I swear I don’t get kickbacks. LOL

So after the amazing pedicure we proceeded to go shopping downstairs, at of course Coldwater Creek. This was an exciting 200 dollar shopping trip (I know - and here I was saying just 2 days ago that I couldn’t go shopping). But honestly I could have spent more. And the best part was this: I bought all Ladies (not Women’s) clothing! An XL wine-colored sweater, an XL tan suede jacket (I have no jackets that fit!), and size 16 black slacks. Now, I will confess that their stuff tends to run a bit big but still I was very happy. And 200 bucks later I have an entire outfit that can also be mixed and matched with other things in my dwindling wardrobe. Fabulous!

So then I went shopping at Wild Oats so I could pick up a few things to bring to the party I was invited to - yes, the one where I would be meeting the potential guy. You’ll have to keep reading to find out…  and I bought some goat cheese and some rice crackers and a gluten-free pie so I could have dessert if I wanted it. All I did with the goat cheese btw was put it on a plate and let it soften a bit, then dump some cherry salsa over the top of it, and then arrange the crackers around it. So easy, so yummy, it was a hit.

Then I got dressed. Decided on the faded jeans and a tunic-y top with some sparkles in it. (Paulette is a big fan of the sparkles at it was here bday party of sorts.) And I got to the party about 6:30pm. I did really well on my food. It’s a big Italian family doing this, so dinner was baked ziti and garlic bread. Well I did have literally 6 ziti noodles, but I purposefully filled up on my appetizer and the celery that was on the veggie platter nearby so I wasn’t hungry. And I wasn’t drinking, not only because I was sick but also hello? I promised you I wouldn’t!

Sometime during the first hour or so, the 13-year old matchmaker came up to me all excited and said, “OMG that’s him he’s here! What do you think??” I told her to chill out. He ended up coming over and sitting at the table that I was at with about 6 other women - most of the men were watching sports and hanging out elsewhere. And we were introduced. No big deal. Then I got up a little while later to refill my water/ice and guess who follows me? That’s right - Tim. (He has a name.) And we proceeded to talk in the kitchen for an hour. Maybe more. During which time he asked me to go to a concert with him on December 1st and I agreed, and we exchanged phone numbers. (Woo hoo!) Fast forward to the end of the evening… when I’m leaving I give his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek and thank her for her hospitality, he says “hey I’ll call you” and I say “great! and preferably well before the concert.” And I head out, pretty contented. I’m definitely interested but playing it pretty cool… as at least one certain buddy has constantly drilled into me lo these many months. Ahem.

So fast forward again to early this afternoon… ring ring ring. Guess who called? He told me a buddy chastised him for not walking me to the car (I was in the driveway… no big deal) and that the partygoers gave him the 3rd degree immediately after I walked out. Anyway, we talked for about 20 minutes and we set a first date for next weekend. We’re doing dinner and maybe music. So how fun is that? I’m very happy about this… it’s the first time I’ve met someone like this in a long time. I realize there’s a lot to know before I know if I like him like him or just like him, but at first glance he seems like a good guy. Attractive, age-appropriate, good family values, bright, funny, loves Tivo just like me, has traveled some but wants to do more, didn’t freak out about my gluten-free living and even tasted the pie (which we both agreed was not good at all). All the way around, a good fit. Oh and here’s the amazing kicker… I FEEL TINY AROUND HIM. He’s a wall of a human being. He’s got to be 6′2″ and he’s very broad. I’m a TINY girl around him. If that doesn’t make him a keeper I don’t know what does?

So anyway, despite my yukky cold which thankfully didn’t interfere too terribly much I done snagged me a date! Set-up successful so far… we’ll see how it goes. Of course, they were planning our wedding in Wisconsin when they realized we were both available. I haven’t started looking at china patterns yet. I think I’ll wait til our first totally on-our-own dinner. Ha!

More soon. I’m going to make some tea and honey per an old Russian grandmother’s recipe and hunker down for the night.  Air kisses to all - don’t want to get you guys sick!

Ellen

And honestly I’m doing quite well with it. I’m kinda proud of myself. I’ve been within my calories and thanks to the food journal I know it. I’ve done very well on making good food choices and I know this because my pie chart looks pretty darn good! I’m choosing ‘medicinal’ foods for my blood type and not just neutrals and that’s also helping I think quite a bit.

My biggest challenge has been hunger after 7pm. I am genuinely hungry in the evenings. So I think it means I’m not eating quite enough during the day. Or at dinner. But I’ve done it - no snacking this week after dinner. I’ve snacked during the day of course, but that’s built in to my eating plan. I just had a yummy honey crisp apple for my pm snack and gals I gotta tell ya, it just rocked. So crunchy and delicious. I get excited when my body craves healthy food.

I’m fighting a cold. Which also means that I’m fighting to get myself to the gym. But today I went and I did a great job. 4 miles, slowly on purpose. I decided to do hills mostly to keep me from wanting to jog too much. My legs have been wanting a break but I haven’t felt like I could give them one… Thanksgiving Challenge is very very motivating for me. And so I just wanted to walk today. In the third mile I ran a few ‘wind sprints’ - I’d take the treadmill up to 5.0 and run for a minute, then I’d bring it back down to 3.5 for a few minutes. Nothing too crazy and it gets it done faster. That said, running is becoming somewhat more difficult for me. Not because I am in worse shape - far from it. It’s because my super-constricting sports bra is not as constricting as it once was. (Ergo, I bounce, which is not comfortable.) Don’t get me wrong - I’m happy about that. But these bras are not cheap and I am not employed. I may experiment with putting one of them in the dryer to see if that helps tighten things up.

Tomorrow it seems I am being set up by the people I went to Wisconsin with. I’m willing my cold to hold off so I’m able to be sparkly self. The guy is age appropriate and available; hopefully he’s fun and kind and handsome. I’ve been thinking about what to wear - I think I’m going to have to pull a dryer routine on my blue jeans to make them fit a bit more snugly. How weird is it to think about tightening things up and not about how tight things are? It’s my obsession of late. But I cannot buy new things right now. It’s just not smart financially at all. I will buy new things when I hit Onederland… so the holidays are my goal for that!

Okay time to think about dinner, which is chicken for sure. I’m supposed to want beef, according to my blood type, but today… not so much. So chicken it is. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and I will check in on you for sure.

I give what I get and I get what I give. I am surrounded by people who love and support me.

Ellen

I have my first official gain since joining BuddySlim - 1.5 pounds. I’m not happy about it, of course, but I’m keeping it in perspective. I’m sure it’s just a temporary wake-up call from the Wisconsin trip, which was as reported an exercise in portion out-of-control and snacking. Despite the fact that I kept to my gluten free plan, I know I can’t eat anything I want to and not see scale repercussions. So it is what it is… and next week it will be gone. I assure you.

For the rest of my Thanksgiving Walking Challenge, I will commit to the following:

1. No alcohol. This should be easy for me as I rarely drink, except in Wisconsin it seems.

2. Eating at the kitchen table only. I have gotten sloppy on this lately - eating at the computer while I do other things for example. I do best when I make a meal out of it and focus on it. I suspect this leads to mindless eating that by definition I am not even aware of.

3. Rededication to the Food Journal. I did that for a few weeks but I stopped. It seems to help me so I will go back to it. I will also plan my food before hand as well as report it afterwards.

4.  Finish eating for the day by 7pm, which will be a good testament to how well I am planning and executing on my food.

5. Focus on the other aspects of the Eat Right For Your Blood Type diet, beyond the gluten-free, casein-free rules.

I’m happy to have a written plan again!  It helps me so much. I wonder why I forget it so easily? It just seems to happen. I think I get lazy and I have to remember that I need to be fully engaged in this process or else I will not see the success I’m working so hard for. I work out so much, so hard, so well… but it all is for naught if I don’t work a food plan at the same time. And I mean work it, not just do it.

You are all wonderful buddies. Thank you so much for providing me a safe place to be myself and to learn from you all. I am truly blessed to have you in my life.

Ellen

Much to my surprise, the scale was kind this morning. This is not my official weigh-in day, just my “how much damage did you do this weekend” weigh-in. And there was no gain (but no loss) from my weekend in Wisconsin. I did well sticking to the no gluten routine, but had a pumpkin pie latte while I was gone so there was casein for sure. And I definitely ate some crap - chips being the most egregious violation. Luckily, it seems like for the most part, I did okay. I concentrated my meals on protein and veggies, and it appears I offset the other food choices with walking. I got in 16 miles while gone. It wasn’t even that hard to do believe it or not. The first day I hit the treadmill in the hotel for a few miles. The next day I did a 5 mile walk while everyone else was getting their respective days started. Then one day we went to a state park and I got a few miles in there as well. I wore my pedometer all around so I was able to track the miles we were walking that I wouldn’t normally even know about. All in all it was good.

A high point of the weekend - I bought a size Large in the regular ladies section of a boutique. Yes, it’s oversized. No question about that. But it’s still a great nsv. Another odd yet high point… as I think I told you, I was certainly the smallest person on the trip… probably not by a lot with 2 of them but I’m certainly in a lot better shape than anyone else. On Sunday night, we were going to hit the pool/hot tub for a bit. I came down in my swimsuit and  cover-up and one of the ladies said, “I want to tell you something but I don’t want you to be offended.” I was like I won’t be. She said, “Even though you’re a bigger girl, you have a very beautiful body. You’re so proportionate and so strong. And I don’t think you have any cellulite on your legs at all!” The other woman in the room agreed. I wasn’t offended - I was very flattered. It was nice to get some acknowledgment for all my hard work.

Heading outside for a nice long walk. I am at 203 miles and counting. Today is my last day for the week tally and while I’m already over my minimal goal for the week, I’d like to add at least 4 miles to it today. Hugs to all, Ellen

Woo hoo! I am down 2.5 pounds this week! (Actually that’s over the last 2 weeks because technically I never got around to weighing in last week with all the craziness around here!) That puts me at 19 pounds down since the beginning of August when I began the new eating plan and I am just thrilled to pieces with the results.

Spent another 2.5 hours at the gym today. I worked out with Claire again - and we did a god awful lot of back today. I also walked 5 miles on the treadmill at some pretty serious inclines (8-15%) and at a pretty decent clip too. So that was good too. All the way around it’s been a good day. I’m at 187 miles on the 300 mile challenge, which is also fantabulous news.

Now I am preparing for my trip to Wisconsin. I’ve got Ellen-treats and good healthy food too on the menu - so I can stay true to myself and my plan without feeling deprived the entire time. I think total denial would be worse for me in both the long and the short run. My goal is to maintain in Wisconsin; if I end up slightly lighter on Monday morning that would be golden. But if it’s the same, no worries. I will also walk a minimum of 2 miles on the treadmill each day, and whatever else we end up walking I’ll count as well with the help of a pedometer. I will focus on large muscle training - specifically Core and legs which are easy to get to with or without special equipment. And that’s the plan.

Now I have an interesting challenge… it’s time to figure out what the heck I can wear out of my fall clothes. I have no clue how these things are going to fit at all right now.  This oughta be interesting.

See you all on Sunday when I return. Please keep good thoughts and vibes coming my way and I will do the same for each of you! HUGS! Ellen

And oddly enough, that’s not me reporting my intake but my output at the gym today. Crazy, I know. I spent an hour with Claire doing crazy stuff - today was Core, shoulders, and chest primarily - and also did 5 miles on the treadmill. (2 before Claire, 3 after). I’m wiped out! BTW for all you keeping track of my 300 mile trek (to virtual Louisville!) I am now through 182 miles. I hope that I can get to 200 this week.

I know that sounds like it should be easy but it won’t be. I am worried about it because I am going away on Thursday to Wisconsin with friends. Friends who are not good food or exercise influences. And we are likely to be soooo busy that it will be hard to do. (Food I can control; it’s the exercise that concerns me.) I just emailed the Inn where we are staying in Door County to find out if they had a treadmill, and they do. So I figure in the very least I can get in a mile in the morning and a mile in the evening without even upsetting the routine. Ideally, I’ll do my requisite 4 a day. I think I will also where my pedometer all over because we will be walking… it’ll just be hard to figure out how far. Anyway, I am concerned about derailing my plan. I’m also concerned that people will tease me about my gluten-free, casein-free existence… not a popular diet in that part of the country where of course dairy is queen. As it were. Anyway, I am bringing food I can eat - even treats I can eat like gluten-free brownies - to share so people can experience my eating plan without thinking I’m a freak.

It’s funny. On a day to day basis I am singularly unconcerned with what others think about me. I really am. But then I am put into these situations where I care and I get all worked up about it. It’s like Cyn2no was saying about social situations. For me, I can absolutely ignore what people think/notice etc when it comes to a luncheon or whatever. Hell, I can even ignore situations where I am with 25 125-pound 25-year-olds… as rare as that is. But the long-term (4 days!) total interaction with a group of people doing one thing when I need to do something else for me… it’s hard. Actually you know what makes this really hard? These people are all heavy. They all eat too much and they all don’t exercise enough. And that’s why it would be so much easier to just be one of them for a couple of days.

But I won’t. I will focus on the long-term and what is important to me. I will resist temptations. And I will reward myself (not with food!) for being true to myself because that is the most important thing.

And knowing that I will blog the truth to you my buddies will also keep me focused on the end game, not the short term indulgences.

Ellen

Actually I don’t, but that’s exactly what I get to do today… march in a parade. Oddly enough, it’s not for Columbus Day. My town celebrates “Houby Day” which is a celebration of a mushroom, and I believe an Eastern European mushroom at that. The main positive here is that I will walk to the start line and the walk the route and then home. I am getting pretty good at figuring out the mileage without driving it, but I do check myself routinely to make sure I’m right. Today I can’t do a premeasure because the entire route is shut down, but I will wear the pedometer to get a good idea of how close I am. I suspect it’s a 6 mile round trip. Actually check it out, I just mapquested it… the most expedient route is 2.75 miles, which I won’t walking of course due to the route. So I’m pretty confident I’m right on the 6 miles! Then I can do a 4 mile loop after 5 pm when hopefully the heat abates a bit. (It’s insanity here.)

Yesterday I walked my 4 miles, ate sensibly at Panera for my team meeting (they have a new Harvest Salad which was great), got mad at all of them for being stupid so I went shopping, came home and finally made my pot roast (which I only nibbled at because it takes too long to make for dinner after such a long day!), and made myself a chicken, broccoli, red pepper, and tomato stir fry. And I had a big glass of red wine and some dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Yes, comfort through food. Ah well, I got that out of my system.

Okay off to the parade. I love a parade …. that gets me a big score in the walking department.

Ellen

I’m beginning to think I have PMS. I’m definitely having a down feeling today again and I checked the calendar and it’s been about 3.5 weeks. Now the truly odd thing about me having PMS is that technically I’m post menopausal. Tests showed that my hormones dropped out on me completely 2 years ago and I haven’t had a period since February 2006. Seriously. But this could be cyclical - these down feelings - so I’m thinking about charting it. And even though you’ve only known me a month, I think you all know how much I enjoy charting things. LOL Anyway, I’m just monitoring it to see what’s what.

All that said, I can at least look back at my blogs and see that what ultimately worked for me was faking it til I make it. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to send beautiful positive energy out to the universe, find the sunny side on every street, and keep on trucking. And I expect that somewhere over the weekend the cloud will lift.

Does anyone else struggle with depression? (You can PM me if you don’t want to post about it here.) I’m just absurdly open about my struggles there and it doesn’t embarrass me at all anymore. I gave up shielding myself and others from my personal truths a long time ago, as honestly I thought that layer of protection was isolating me more and making me more depressed. I finally accepted, “Hey this is who I am and you know what, I’m pretty okay.” Even the depression I deal with now isn’t based on not liking myself… it’s just sometimes the world overwhelms me. I can’t even explain it really - it’s mostly like some days I wake up and I feel like something heavy is sitting on my shoulders and my chest. And it’s a sadness that I can’t name. I don’t sob or anything… anymore. (Better living through chemistry? You bet.) And honestly most days I’m fine. It’s just these cycles. God, I’m sick of them.

I tend to not want to do anything on these days - I finally figured out what I was willing to eat for breakfast (3 chicken/apple sausage, 1 slice of ezekiel toast with cherry spread) and now I’m gearing myself up for a big walking day. It’s been a slow walking week for me - lots of appointments - so I’ve got some catching up to do. I’m also halfway dressed now - this actually is fairly telling, isn’t it? I’ve been up for several hours and I’ve just eaten something and am fully dressed from the waist down. Still in the nightshirt so don’t worry about me sitting here writing with the girls all hangin’ out. That’s an image.

All righty, I need to get my first 4 miles in. I will read your journals and find inspiration in my day through you all. You are wonderful.

I celebrate the beauty that surrounds me.

Ellen