Weekly update, 8/25/09

What's New?

Whew! We're into the new school year! Yesterday was Thing 1 and Thing 2's first day of school, at a school that's new to both of them. They enjoyed their first day quite a lot, and Thing 2 made her transition into Kindergarten quite smoothly, even though it was a longer day that she used to have in preschool, with after-school center care until her brother gets done with his school day. Thing 1 reconnected with some of his old preschool friends at recess. So far, so good.

I'm glad the anticipation stress is gone. (Miz, you were so right about that: anticipation is often worse than the reality!) But it's a big adjustment for us parents, too, with new routines and people. (And not just the jump-out-of-bed-too-darn-early-and-do-the-get-ready-for-school sprint, but that is one of the biggies.) The school is small, in a remote location, and there's intense parent involvement. Connections form quickly, so that people can form carpools and work on fundraising and school volunteering and the like. Everyone has been friendly and welcoming; I feel a little awkward (socializing in groups is not my forte) but I think I could get used to this.

I'm still figuring out how to fit fitness into the new routine. I figure that my Tuesday-Thursday routine (gym classes, swimming) isn't going to be different, although I won't have the easy leeway to choose something else without planning ahead of time. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do on Mondays and Fridays. I may try to see if anyone from school wants to do a hiking group on one of those days, then I could shower at the gym. The other day could be a gym day, either before I start work or at lunch time. Still deciding.

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 100 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 105 (met goal of less than 120) <-This has been creeping up. I thought it was just eating too late in the evening, but this morning's was higher than normal (but below 120) but I ate at a reasonable time and went to bed with my tummy rumbling a little. (Although it didn't need to, blood glucose meter reading indicated that I'd had enough to eat.) I think it might been the rough night last night.

Weight goal: -3.8 (This has got to be some kind of fluke. The scale reported the same, not-seen-in-over-13-years number three times, but it still *feels* like a fluke. Either that, or the cortisol-stress thing is a real phenomena. It was early in the morning, I could have been having a pre-coffee hallucination. Oh well.)

Food goals:
- Got in 4 meatless meals but no fish meals.
- Getting there with fiber; at least 5/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Well, got in a little something nearly every day. I hit my goals, but not as hard as I would have wanted. Here's what I did...
- Tuesday: 30 minutes on the exercise bike at home.
- Wednesday: 60 minutes - BodyPump class. I pushed harder today and it felt *good*.
- Thursday: 30 minutes swim.
- Friday: 35 minutes run.
- Saturday: Nothing
- Sunday: 30+ minutes active play at the playground with the kids: climbing, chasing, and some dangling from the monkey bars and bench push-ups.
- Monday: 20 minutes strolling at lunch.

Misc. goals: If you count the hours, I'm meeting the sleep goal. We're still getting Thing 2 to stay in her own bed at night, and I've been having bad dreams. Not the most restful nights.

Goals for this week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.

Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of workout 5 days/week, with 1 spin class, 1 BodyPump class, 1 swim, and 1 run.

Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.