Weekly Update, 9/23/09

What's New?

Happy Fall, Y'all! We're still fog-shrouded in my coastal town, and it's supposed to be the nicest time of the year weather-wise. That's okay, though, it's still my favorite. I see the farms setting out the pumpkin patches during my commute, so I know that we're in the season.

One of the patches was open already. Things 1 & 2 begged Mr. Handsome-and-Handy to stop at Farmer John's, which had opened in honor of the first day of fall yesterday. Fun and Kodak moments ensued. The Things ambushed Mr. H&H in the teepee and pelted him with hay, and we have 3 beautiful pumpkins on our doorstep now. (They even got a tiny pumpkin for each of their teachers! Boy, that Mr. H&H thinks of everything....)



Meanwhile, I got to enjoy my autumn teeth cleaning. It must have been the hygenist's day off, because my dentist cleaned my teeth himself this time. Nice, smooth teeth, but I do wish the man had left a little gum tissue in there.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Mmmmphhh-mmmphh."
"Think of it like a workout," he replied.
Funny, I usually sweat rather than bleed during a spin class. Perhaps I'm not doing it right. (Or perhaps I'm just going to the wrong dentist. :-P)


Shrink for Good Challenge Update:

Well, here's the part where I distract y'all with the saga of the cans. I was back up 2.2 pounds this week. These guys are looking rather lonely. :-(


Meanwhile....

photo credit: Microsoft Office clip art library

Well, the cans aren't the only sassy ones. It's a little scary how easy I've found it to taper this week. Also how my eating hasn't had a corresponding taper. I'm going to go easy on myself and make the best choices possible, while reeling with stress/excitement about the weekend ahead. I can hardly stand waiting!!!

Mantra for the week: "Sugar-free does not mean low calorie."


"And I'd like to thank the Blogcademy..."

Christie O. over at "Baby Tea Leaves" (and of "Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans") had a post today about bloggers who inspire her, and I was one of them! (....Huh? Who, me? That means I really do have to do that triathlon in 3 days, now, doesn't it? ;-) How sweet! And right-back-atcha, because Christie and her blog have inspired me, from the "Hot (or in my case, Halfway) by the Holidays" challenge to our respective triathlon adventures.

She made a nice little bit of what she dubbed "bloggy bling" as an award:


Everyone sing with me now: "Isn't it loooooove-ly! Isn't it wooooon-der-fuuuul!" (Sorry, Stevie W., but that song just popped into my head, and I'm a sucker for the Muse.)

And guess what? I get to share it! Sweeeeet!!! I enjoy reading so many blogs. But I want to thank in particular the following bloggers, both for sharing their life experiences and knowledge through own blogs and for cheering me on as regular commenters here:

Lori of "Finding Radiance," who inspires me not only through her weight loss maintenance, but also her athleticism. She is one of the reasons I felt inspired to "try a tri." (It's supposed to be 100 degrees for mine this weekend...I might not be feeling so fond of Lori on Saturday morning, but I'm sure that will pass. ;-)

Debby of "Debby Weighs In," who inspires me through her long-term weight loss maintenance, her sharing of adventure with food and fitness, and her gorgeous quilts!

Biz of "Biggest Diabetic Loser," who shows people daily that having type 2 diabetes does not mean you have to eat boring food!

Juice, of "All Things Juice," whom I actually met in person! Her delightful blogging has expanded into areas beyond weight loss, and I love that she enjoys making people laugh.

Carla ("MizFit") of MizFitOnline, who generously gives fitness advice and fosters a wonderful community; hers is a blog I read multiple times a day, so that I don't miss any comments.

Lynn of Lynn's Weigh-The Journey Continues, who helped me get started in my journey and continues to guide through sharing her maintenance story.

And lastly, diabetes blogger/writer Jenny Ruhl of Blood Sugar 101, the site that has likely saved my eyesight and limbs, if not my life.

Question: Which blogs inspire you?


Episode 8 of "Fear Factor: The Gym Edition" (or, "Day 288 of Fitness and Fun")

Way back in December 2008, I overcame my fears of going to the gym and gave it a try. It's been great! But as it turns out, there was an unexplored area ripe for a stunt....

MizFit's tale this week regarding "training weak areas", in which Arnold (back in the body building days) cut off his sweats so as to expose (and be aware) of his calves, hit home for me this past week. Albeit inadvertently. I was at the gym, changing for my BodyPump class, and realized that although I had dutifully packed my sports bra, I had forgotten a t-shirt. Whoops. I'd missed the previous week. I didn't really want to miss twice. And given that Charlotte Hilton Andersen was thousands of miles away, I figured I was safe from being cited in any "What Not to Wear: Gym Edition" reprise she had planned. SO...

(Takes deep breath.)

...People, I bared my midriff in BodyPump class.

(Listens for thuds of people falling off their chairs in disbelief. Inserts appropriate legal disclaimers here.)

Yes, that would be my very much work-in-progress, post-2x-preggo-and-laprscopic surgery, fish-belly-pale midriff.

Usually there is at least one Sweet Young Thing (i.e., girl under 40) wearing a sports bra as a top, but not that day. The instructor was a substitute (male...and by the way, is having a Brazilian drill instructor accent a prerequisite for BodyPump instructors?), so class started a little late. I stood there shivering in the A/C and hoping the sports bra would, er, pass the temperature test. (It did. Whew!) Yes, I did feel self-conscious, being a rather zaftig lass up top. It made side planks were rather awkward, that's for sure. (But sports bra also passed the "will my cup overfloweth?" test. Barely.) The class is held in the downstairs room, with 2 walls of windows facing street level and one wall of windows facing a battalion of ellipticals, stair-steppers, and recumbent bikes. A formidable challenge. I have to say it's probably the one day of BodyPump that I did not forget keeping my abs tight for.one.minute.

Naturally, I thought of Roni's "exposure therapy" experience blog post. Like Roni, once I got going with class, I was just another woman (hear-me-roar...*snicker*, couldn't resist) pumping iron, committed to getting a little healthier every day. Yeah! While I did feel like I'd accomplished another milestone in chipping away at my gym modesty, I believe I'm going to keep a spare t-shirt in my trunk from now on...although, if I forget again, well...let's just say the good folks at the gym are just going to have to put on some sunglasses and endure the glare.

Have a good week, everyone! And now for the boring stuff....

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 101 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 97 (met goal of less than 120)
This was somewhat of a fake low average, because I got a bad strip reading Sunday morning. My meter read "39," and displayed a thoughtful little message: "Do you need a snack?" I found this amusing, because were it in fact a real "39," let's just say I'd have needed much more than a snack. I felt absolutely normal, though I retested just to be sure, and it was 103.

Weight goal: +2.2 on the week-to-week, -2.2 since the start of the challenge. Still 6.7 away from breaking into the 170s.

Food goals:
- Got in 0 meatless meals and 0 fish meal.
- Fiber: at least 4/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Tapering this week...
- Wednesday: 60 minutes BodyPump class.
- Thursday: 35 minute swim and walking at lunch
- Friday: Lunchtime stroll
- Saturday: Strolled dog
- Sunday: Utmost sloth
- Monday: 50 minute walk at lunch
- Tuesday: 30 minutes stationary bike (*sigh*...reading and exercising at the same time! Woo hoo!)

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:
Tapering this week. Minimum of 30 minutes of non-strenuous activity 5 days/week. Oh, and finish a triathlon.

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