Weekly weigh-in: -52

Yes, oh observant ones, that *is* up a pound from last week. (I knew this accountability business would come back to bite me in the posterior....)

"Okay," I thought to myself. "Monthly measure is here! Let's get a little non-scale victory dancing going on!" Hmmm...1.5 inches off "the girls," but waist and hips were exactly the same as last month.

Well, yes, in fact, that DOES suck. But what messages from the universe have I been getting lately? Mr. Deepak Chopra was saying something just the other day in the CD I was listening to about detachment: be deeply involved in the actions, but let go of the outcome. And that we don't always get what we want right away. Which means, to me, do the right things and trust that the best result will happen in time. I think part of the message, too, was in Lynn Haraldson-Bering's article "The Dichotomy of Snow and Maintenance" over on Refuse to Regain the other day. Weird as it is to think about, I might be nostalgic about this process someday. Even when the process is looking right now something like the Tibetan Plateau. (My, my, my: talk about a coincidence that feels contrived! I had no idea when I Googled "world's largest plateau" that THAT would be the result! ;-)

So: sticking to the plan....

The plan looks like doing strength training at least 2 days per week. I hadn't done any for an entire week and didn't feel like doing any last night...but I did it. I'm still doing at least a half hour of running in the morning, and getting at least 2 lunch walks in per week. I wish it all didn't feel like such a forced march lately, though. As they say in the Dr. Seuss classic "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish":

Here are some
who like to run.
They run for fun
in the hot, hot sun.

Well, it's been really, really dark when I'm running. And damp. And cold. Maybe that cuts into the fun factor a bit. I also need to sign up for another race; this might be post-race letdown. (Seabreeze, is that a myth, or does it really happen?)

On the food front, I need to keep the following in mind: Just because it's good for me, and doesn't spike me, doesn't mean I need to eat a whole bunch. As Lyn said today over on Escape from Obesity, every bite counts. So...Almonds? Pistachios? Other salty seed/nut kindred? Yeah, that's right, I'm talkin' to YOU! You're NOT goin' DOWN! (The hatch, that is...at least not as often. I got some plain walnuts, which don't seem to trigger.)

The plan also looks like is more broth when I'm craving something salty or want to munch after dinner. I love the Better than Bouillon stuff--I just tried the vegan chicken base today and it was really tasty! (No, not affiliated, just love the stuff. Any good broth or bouillon will do. Homemade is easy...maybe this weekend, it's supposed to rain.) Or maybe some pickles. It seems like I really have been craving strong flavors lately...anyone else eat tiny bits of salt-free seasoning straight from the jar? Or dip veggies in wasabi+soy sauce, like I did at lunch today? (Now there was a non-scale victory today: passing hot food bar and lots of yummy-looking and -smelling stuff over at Whole Foods today and getting sashimi and mixed raw veggies to eat with my hummus packet.)

I didn't have a problem meeting my goal of three non-meat, not-saturated-fat meals and two fish meals last week. Same goal this week, and I'm halfway there already (thanks, in-store sushi bar!).

So I guess it's not more new changes, but re-embracing the old changes. I'd love some ideas for helping get the workouts fun again, though. Any "watch instantly" Netflix workout videos you like? Alternative ideas? I'm going to look into horseback riding at this place I've been dreaming of but was always over the weight limit for until recently...Mr. Handsome and Handy (and Frugal) actually suggested it, too, when I swooned over some people riding past our backyard on horseback the other day.