arewethereyet

By the site. I can’t seem to respond to emails - does anyone else have that problem? Takes forever to load - and often does not. I have the same trouble accepting buddies - so if you think I’m ignoring you, I’m not. I’m just a bit, um, silenced.

Except for my blog, which is a good thing as I am currently just in general annoyed. I think it has really hit me how much extra work this is going to be on me having Tim working so far from home. On the plus side (?) we have learned that this job will be 17 work days (in 3 weeks). So it’s a finite amount. Then he should move to a new facility closer to home. Same hours, same stressors but hopefully a bit more time with my husband, and a bit more ability on my part to share the burden of the homefront. I had a mini-meltdown earlier today when I texted him and said, call me as soon as you get on the road, and he called me 10 minutes later to tell me he had been on the road 45 minutes. I had just gotten to the gym for some me time and I just felt put upon, particularly since this was actually a day off for me. But I got in my workout - just 30 minutes on the ellyptical machine (which by the way I handled with aplomb, compared to my first day back at the gym.) Got a nice sweat up and got my heart rate raised. Did some minor interval training - kept it at a steady 5.0 - 5.5 mph but when I wanted to get it going big time I did 30 or 60 second intervals at 8.0. Yes, I was hauling there for a bit, but it was good. I really wanted to get to the gym today to do something after yesterday’s workout. I do better and feel better if I don’t take a day off. I want to get back to it at that level again.

I came home and made chicken in a raspberry sauce (very good GF recipe I found) with brown rice and spinach. I had blueberries for desert. I did well on my food today all the way around. In fact I think I’m going to self-acknowledge here. I did great today. WTG me. The only thing I would have changed about the day is getting to the gym earlier so I could a full hour in.

Tomorrow I work from home (so I can watch the inauguration primarily). My boss is on sales calls in AZ so he is going to be incommunicado most of the day. I should be able to make calls to clients, work on projects, and weep uncontrollably over change from the comfort of my own living room.

Hugs to all. Have a good night. Ellen

PS:Oh. I forgot to say this - how dopey of me. I am down 5 pounds in 2 weeks. There is both good and bad news there… I was down 5 pounds in the first week. This week I have just stayed the same. I feel a loss coming on this week. I’m going to say 3 lbs. That’s my personal goal for the week (by next Monday.) Wish me luck.

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