The Gym

When you know you should go to the gym but are able to make excuses because there are other things to be done, why is it so hard to get back to the gym????

I watched Mr Z quite a bit last week as my nephew is working and also interviewing with local PDs - which is quite a process.  I know because my ex went through it. 

I finally just smacked the excuses this morning, jumped out of bed, and headed over.  38 minutes and 10 miles on the bike.

So I'm doing my happy dance!  Here was today's motivation: 

When's lunch?????

This is It! Moving Week (2008)

Counted Down - This is It! - Feb 14, 2008

Current mood:cheerful
I started this blog, and then looked at the date... oh gosh, Valentine's Day.  Well, sorry, you're not getting my thoughts on love, romance, or relationships (and everyone says ~whew~).  My mind is crowded with thoughts of a truck, the weather, the long drive ahead, and all the other peripherals of moving day.  YES , its finally here.  Tomorrow, I pick up the truck;  Saturday is loading day, and the start of a long drive. It's been quite a journey getting to this point.  I'm excited - and amazed at how it all fell into place in perfect timing. 

I'm also sad to be leaving Ohio.  This has been my home; in November, it will be 10 years ago that I moved here from California to raise my kids and gain four step-kids [ I love you guys!!].   I leave behind mostly great memories, and a few sad thoughts.  But my time here has come to an end.  People come into our lives: for a reason, for a season, or for a lifetime.  And when I reflect back on moving here in the first place, I know now it was for a reason, and a season.  I wouldn't trade those years for anything ... I loved, and was loved, by my family, and the friends I have made here.  I will miss the people here ...... You know who you are! so you'd better stay in touch! ....  and oddly enough, I will miss the seasons.  Living in Ohio taught me to appreciate the differences in each of the seasons, and to take what comes weather-wise with a smile.  (If you don't like the weather in Ohio... wait 5 minutes, it will change!)

Unless I find some sort of internet-connect along the way....
the next thing posted will be from Arizona! 
Really big HUGS to everyone .....  I love you all !!!

Goodbyes & Beginnings - Feb 15, 2008

Current mood:scared

Today was my last day at work - and I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave my "walmart family". Me and "the girls" (Cathy, Emily and Tammi) went to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. It was good, fun to sit around and talk, dredge up memories. We all started when the store was brand new, did the setup thing from start to finish. Its been a great three years, I'll remember it always. HUGS girls! I love you, and miss you already !! (turn off the waterworks Emmy --- that's catchy! dammit!)

From work, I went to pick up The Truck. OMG. I don't think i can do this. *cries* I got the truck, and it drives like a frickin' truck.  I put the car on the back, you don't wanna know how awful that was. and I drove home with it all. Pulling a car, in all that big truck, is really really bad. I never made it over 45. my leg hurts from the sitting position you're in , as related to the gas pedal. my back hurts, and by the time I got home, the dolly/tow thing had come undone and it was a miracle my car made it all the way home with me . . . . that was 25 miles. How am I ever gonna make it 1,872 miles? I just wanna crawl into bed and cry. .... (Update: I called Penske help line, they told me some tips and what they thought the problem was, and how to correct it ... so , we shall see!)

We loaded the front portion of the truck, got a few things in there, and I'm looking around at all my *stuff* and wondering just how am i gonna get it ALL in there?? what do i leave behind? its all boxed up and not separated for that.... dammit.

I had it in my mind that ... I can do anything I set my mind to .... but this takes the cake. I dunno how I'll stand it. And I'll tell you something else.... I had to have a talking to with my son, Brian. He's moaning about things. "This is hard enough", I told him, "without my having to try to keep your spirits up as well. " To top it off, it was cold tonight, the wind was kicked up, and my ears are frozen and ache.

Well, considering how much we got done, and how long it took ... I'll be lucky to hit the road on time. But... that's what "vacations" are for, right?? hahahhaha

Hugs to everyone ... and cross your fingers, say a prayer, dance in the moonlight if that's something you do ... I sure could use some good thoughts :) 

Finally Arrived! - Feb 22, 2008

Just jotting a few words here to let everyone know that we finally arrived in Arizona on Weds.  It was a long drive, and ... no major mishaps... I'll get some details here soon. It took me two days to get enough boxes unpacked and computer hooked up.  Lots of family is here, and my daughter and granddaughter are staying with me for the weekend, so I've had lots of help with everything. It's great to be here, the weather's been gorgeous so far.... (sorry, Ohioans, but it really IS ! )  HUGGSSS to everyone, and thanks for all the good thoughts !!! 

11:33 PM

2019 PS:  Eleven years ago, and I still can recall the long unending hours in The Truck.  What I realize now is that I didn't anticipate how difficult some of the things we take for granted would be, like putting on gas. You can't drive an extra tall rig into just any gas station lane!  And some states required us to pull into weigh stations. (ugh)  The biggest lesson learned is that you can't back up when you're towing a car on a dolly!   But all things considered, I amazed myself! 

Blogs from the Early Days (2008)

Waaaay back when, I started to blog in another location.  I recently located these old blogs that I had copied to a Word file.  Now that they're found again, I'm going to post them here .... !

Brand New to me - Oct 02, 2005
Ok, blogging is new to me.  So... where to begin?  I live in Ohio, and have two grown kids and a granddaughter who just turned 3 (Hi Brianna!!)

My car goes into the shop tomorrow, because while driving to work one morning, a deer tried to cross the road... and ran into the side of my car!!  They have ugly teeth when pressed up against the driver's side window!!  Minor damage to the car, only a little post traumatic syndrome --- took a few days to drive comfortably in the dark, that time of morning, on that same road again !!

I Got It ! ! ! ! - Jan 14, 2008

Current mood:excited

I'm sooooo excited! and sooooo scared! all at the same time!  Talk about a "rumbly in my tumbly" feeling!!!!!   I got my transfer arranged, and a start date.  Goodness!! There's so much to do, and I hardly know where to begin!  Let's see, details first.   Its a 10-cent an hour pay cut, that's the bad part, I guess you could say. But, the reverse of it .... my hours will be M-F, 7-4, instead of this rotation thing I'm on, and weekends off.  YAHOO!!  Talk about being able to begin having a more normal life again.  That'll be terrific, and give me time to see my granddaughter on weekends!  I'm sure there'll be more to tell y'all ... just know that for now? I'm grinning from ear to ear !!!     3:51 PM

"Its a Date" & "About luck..." - Jan 15, 2008

Current mood:grateful

It's become official, and the dates are set.  I start in my new store Feb 25th.  My new manager has been very accommodating --- waiting for a month for someone he's never met? and had only one conversation with?  It's either going to be a real ... challenge, or its going to be so very perfect!  Either way, I'm up for it.  A whole new phase in life is just beginning, and it's a scary thing to think about, but it's also .... the most exciting thing !! 

Today, Garth's song came to mind:  "Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers".  In my mind, I was willing --- no, hoping ---  for a transfer to a new store, which meant the new store structure in employee schedules (weekends, late shifts).   And I was so disappointed that things weren't happening--- especially in MY time!  And just when I'd given up and resigned myself to ... whatever would be, that is when it happened.  AND, with a much better schedule, and weekends off -- (I won't know what to do with myself!  Oh wait!  ... visit my granddaughter!)

We don't create our own luck, as much as we change our perceptions.  With that, we take different approaches, different risks, and get different results.    Someone else put it that things change with "prayer, patience, persistence and pluck" !!    Amy Tan says:  "How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterward."  

"When you change your beliefs, you change your behavior.

Change your behavior, change how you make choices.

Change your choices, get more chances.

Get more chances, take more risks.

Take more risks, find more four leaf clovers."

Are you willing? 

Lifestyle, Update

It's been a few days since I took the time to actually write.  I've been in a mode of taking care of myself, mostly working on my lifestyle changes.  I cut back by 250 calories each day, and have managed to finally drop three pounds -- nothing to really write home about, but every inch of progress is a step in the right direction.

My daily walks. .....  and here's Sadie again, scratching at me to pet her.  She hates when I get in a writing mood.  Or maybe she's so spoiled that she thinks all of my waking hours should be *her* time.  lol

Back to daily walks:  I'm walking 37-40 minutes pushing Sadie in her stroller, we cover nearly 2 miles in that time, and it feels really good to have that accomplishment each day!  At the same time, I'm making sure that the foods I eat put me at a good point on the nutrient scale via the Samsung app.   I've cut back my Diet Coke to one a day.  I'm drinking my Plexus Slim Pink Drink.   How long can I keep this up?  It's not easy but I keep telling myself that I'm eating to live, not living to eat.

After my last checkup, I'm on the borderline of having high blood pressure.  I know that dropping weight, exercise an cutting back on sodium is the answer to keeping it low enough so that I don't have to go on meds. 

So for now I try to remember:    A little progress each day adds up to big results!

Lifestyle Change Day 3

Accountability is a good thing!  But sometimes life gets in the way of actually making the time to fill ya'll in.  Both Tues and Weds were good days:  Tues was 13K steps, but today was only 9k.  Sometimes work is that way, rather than doing, I spent a great deal of my time today having "meaningful conversations" with employees while also doing some training.  Tomorrow is another day for more steps!

I track my food intake on two separate apps, mostly because of the different information I can get with each.  On SparkPeople, which I've used forever, I'm tracking potassium, sodium and Vitamin C.  I also use my Samsung Health app on the phone, and yes, I can get those same numbers - but only if I eat servings in half or full size, and I am sometimes more precise than that. For example, I quarter my potatoes, bake them, and only have 3 quarters in a meal.   The reason that I like the Samsung app for tracking is because it gives me a nutrient quotient as a goal.  The nutrients in foods based on a 100% scale and both Tuesday and Wednesday, I got 85% !!  I was thrilled with that.  What I'm eating is good wholesome foods, not processed stuff, and that's what I need.

I've cut way back on the Diet Coke.  Now, I look forward to my little "treat" at 2pm - which is when I really need a pick-me-up!  But I'm having a harder time kicking sugar's ass off my plate, so to speak.  When things get stressful at work, the first thing I want is chocolate.  Because it's soothing? or have I acclimated myself to that choice?   Probably both.  Yesterday was a walk from my boss's boss's boss's boss.  Yes, 4 levels of bosses making walking around in my area, discussing things that we should be doing.  And the whole time, I'm wishing I had a chocolate.  I didn't, and I survived!  So I'm counting that as a success! 



Since I'm at the age where I don't need to make excuses, just list reasons, the reason I didn't post yesterday as I was behind in a long overdue email to my BFF.  I discovered this because when I got a new phone in December, I didn't realize that I needed to actually set notifications to see phone calls and voice mails.  When I finally figured this out last weekend, I had a voice mail from her! 

Sometimes, I'm really that blonde -- because that sound better than saying I'm that old!! haha

Lifestyle Change Day 1

In my quest for a healthier me, it began today. 
Changes to diet and exercise, and increasing my water intake. 



Accountability report:  Water intake 88 oz.  Goal 100 oz.  Not bad for the first day

Food intake:  No candy, despite the chocolates on the desk in the pretty jar.  Eggs for breakfast, turkey wrap for lunch, broccoli, ground beef patty and baked potato for supper. I also added in a Naked Juice Power-C, to boost up my immune system - lots of colds going 'round.

Exercise:  Stretching for Seniors via YouTube, cute Australian accent on a young, handsome man.  Then some weight lifting for arms while watching the sun set.  11K steps recorded on my FitBit.

Caffeine:  One Diet Coke to break the lull at 2pm, one Diet Coke with dinner.  Didn't need the second one at dinner, water would have done it, except for the massive headache that was building all day.


I started on the Plexus Pink Drink today, as well.  I'm still not sure what it will do my digestive system.  I couldn't handle it full on when I tried it during the summer.  I'm hoping that starting slower will help a bit. 

I don't feel like I was deprived today.  Well, not much.  I sure would have enjoyed a nice sweet chocolate pick-me-up when things got stressful at work, but I powered through the craving.

I'm going to resist stepping on the scale in the morning, because this is more about healthy than it is weight loss.  Ok, I'll be honest, it's about weight loss too, but I don't think that should be the only goal.  Because I could lose weight by not eating, but that puts other systems in jeopardy, and this needs to be about being a healthier me!

So here's to having a successful tomorrow.

Wishful Goals ?

Week after week, I keep telling myself "it's time to get back on track", and each week goes by with no progress made.  Then I caught a cold, our temps dropped, and another five pounds seemed to jump onto my hips and ass! 

On Wednesday, I dropped into the gym to make some time on the treadmill.  30 minutes @ 3.0 incline = 1.4 miles.  While that's not my best effort, and I vowed to do better, but I didn't seem to be able to force myself to head to the gym on Thurs or Friday. 

One of the issues is they have a new locker room cleaning schedule; there's a male cleaning staff and the hours are 9-Noon.  Makes it impossible to be comfortable changing into gym clothes, and I can't exercise in jeans! 

This week, I get blood drawn for the usual check up, so my commitment needs to be on increasing my water intake, making sure I get 30 minutes of walking, either at the gym, or pushing Sadie in her stroller, and watching what I eat, including keeping my sodium down. 



Back in 2013, I worked very hard and lost 40 pounds -- and over the course of time, it's all come back.  Mostly because I stopped going to the gym. 

There are folks who start with "counting calories", but for me, I don't think all calories are the same.  If they were, the keto diet wouldn't be so successful.  So with the info I've gathered, I think I have two issues (not including my age):  insulin resistance and a hormonal imbalance.  I've tried the Plexus TriPlex but my system doesn't handle all of it in such large doses.  This is the week where I'm going to try to increase some of.  I have been able to get up to taking two ProBio5 each evening; now it's deciding if I can handle the BioCleanse or the Pink Drink.  We'll have to see how Monday goes!

I'm recording all of this here to use it as my accountability. 
And when I'm successful, maybe it will be an inspiration to someone else!!

Busy Monday

What a busy Monday!

Four hours into my shift at my BigBox store, it's time for lunch.  But I don't stop to eat, I head to the gym and hit the elliptical trainer for 33 minutes.   Back to work and boogie through the rest of my day to get it over with quick.  When my shift is up, it's back to the gym for another 33 minutes on the elliptical trainer.






Once home, it's time to cook up meals for the week.  I grilled 4 burgers, boiled a dozen eggs, and then fixed up my salad with chicken breast on it.  Kind of boring, but ... it gets the job done.


I'm anticipating a good week, even busy ones can be good!  I'm back and forth on the progress of weight loss, but I'm not slacking in my calorie counting or in my exercise routine.

Now I'm ready to watch some Longmire, then Antiques Roadshow!

My thought for the day:

Small Achievements

Weigh In Weds.  The thought brings a shudder to me, because I'm never certain if I've done enough work to reach a goal.   Truthfully, we could all make a bugger effort when it comes to achieving our goals.  But some progress is better than no progress!  And this week was a good week for me.

I've lost 6.5 lbs in 3 weeks.  That's pretty much on track for my goal of 2 lbs a week.  But I can honestly say that it feels like slow progress.   My trainer didn't work me quite as hard as last week (thank goodness!)  but he doesn't let me slack either.  It was "arms" day, and I'm sure by tomorrow I will be feeling the effects.  In a good way  :)

I've increased my steps to over 12k a day; it helps to have cooler temps and I can walk Sadie around the block before bedtime!   I'm actually looking forward to my workouts and the progress I can make in the next week.  :)

Progress!

 Another day of progress:

over 12K steps, and my 2-mile time today was 28:52



They say the way to reach a goal is to make a plan,
get to work, stick to it, and you will get there.

It's true, it works!

I'm doing the *HaPpY dAnCe*

but only for the moment.....

tomorrow is weigh-in weds! 

Be Active

Here it is, Monday again.  and my self weigh-in was discouraging this morning.  I know that I didn't amp up the activities over the weekend, but at my age, toting laundry to and fro, digging up dead cacti in the garden and painting the trim on the back of the house was active!

What I find hardest in all of this "road to better health" (because calling it a *diet* sounds temporary!) is finding my balance between eating, work and exercising vs the things I enjoy doing, like photography, trivia games and genealogy research.

Being balanced is necessary, otherwise I will get bored with the "better health" part.  And letting loose with fav foods and no exercise would not be a good thing!   So I struggle from day to day finding ways to do the little things I enjoy, along with the other things I need to do.   I've found that breaking up my exercise routine, dashing next door to 24-Hour fitness on my lunch hour to get in a 30-minute cardio session breaks up my day.  I force myself to stop back in after work because I leave my gym back in the locker.  hahaha  But once I get there and changed, it's not so bad.  I can work on extra cardio, or split it up with some cardio and strength training.


I had higher hopes of the weight just melting off as I increased my activity, but I think I'm building some muscle, and that weighs more than fat.  *sigh*  I know its only a couple of pounds, but it's still making me a little crazy.





However, I broke another record today!

According to FitBit, I earned an

Urban Foot Badge = 15,000 steps+

Sweeeeeet!   Personal Best!






Thank goodness it's Monday = Antiques Roadshow .....
Is it bedtime yet?????  I'm ready!!!  lol )