Weekly update, 10/28/09

What's New?

Whew! What a week! Mr. Handsome-and-Handy went to Michigan for a family reunion, so I had a solo parenting marathon! (Honestly, give me a triathlon any day...*grin*.) This was made much easier by (1) both kids being in the same school, (2) being able to take two half-days to cover the afternoons, (3) after school center at the kids' school, (4) kids' dance class=mom can squeeze in a workout on Thursday, and (5) lots of local stuff to do over the weekend! Oh, and (6): dining out, dishwasher, and paper plates.

The kids were pretty darn good, although Thing 2 pushed it a bit at times. (*sigh*...I thought non-provoked sibling biting was so done after preschool...) We had a great time playing with Halloween face makeup. I hate the feel of that stuff, it's greasy, but I love the way Thing 2 gets all calm and sings softly to herself while smearing the goop all over my face and drawing grease pencil hearts up and down my arms...thank goodness that I was able to get it out of my Unapologetically Myself shirt! On Saturday, our library sponsored a special "family yoga" event; the instructor teaches at a studio that has kids' and family yoga classes, and there were several kids (including a couple from the kids' school), so she made it fun and very kid-friendly. Although Thing 1 was a bit grumbley at the start, he got into it and partnered up with the instructor for the partner yoga portion. He and Thing 2 liked doing the "lizard on a rock" pose. I especially appreciated the "Kids, scootch over here and I'll read you a yoga story while the grown-ups lay down and relax..." part. Oh, yeah! We also wandered in town, got cookies, got books at Thing 2's schoolmate's parents' new bookstore. On Sunday, we went to both a school carnival and the local lighthouse hostel's Halloween party. I love all the fall festivities.

On a personal note, though, I am really struggling with food lately. I'm just eating too much calorie-dense food, plain and simple. Part of the problem is that I'm not working out quite as intensely as I was pre-tri; I got used to being able to eat more and stay in the same weight range, and I rather liked it. (I guess managing the post-season ups & downs is part of learning to be an athlete.) And then, over the weekend, I found myself stress binging, big time. It's been a loooong time since I've gotten in this mode, and I feel ashamed. Sure, it was non-spiking foods, much of it healthy when taken in reasonable quantities, but it's not so much what I was eating but the quantity and the manner in which I was eating it. It's weird, part of my brain was going, "Um, you're full...you've been full for awhile now...you're belly-aching full now...you know, now might be a good time to stop doing this to yourself..." and yet I wasn't stopping. It's so screwy! Presuming that it stems from feeling anxious and out-of-control, why do I binge and compound the problem? I did make some damage-mitigation choices over the weekend at times (big crock pot of grilled veggie ratatouille, for example; eating only half of a cookie instead of the whole thing; one taco at the festival instead of five--you get the idea). But for the most part, no measuring, no portion control, no writing stuff down. Bleh.

It's not just a blip, either. My monthly measure shows a significant increase in my torso, and my jeans are tight in the waist: it's not muscle. *sigh*...So, guess it's time to buckle down and get back to doing the things I know I need to do. I know what they are. I don't particularly look forward to doing them, but I don't always look forward to a run on the treadmill or flossing my teeth, either. Sometimes I think to myself, when I'm feeling particularly out-of-control, "But what if it doesn't wooooork? What if I regain it all and then some?" To which my Inner Badass responds, "Oh, please. And how will the situation improve on the current course? Just do what you would normally do to be a healthy person. Move around a bunch, eat clean, eat reasonably, drink more tea. Uht! I saw that! Put down those Trader Joe's Marcona rosemary almonds right now, missy, and back away from the package."

On a Positive Note...

I hate ending posts on a negative note. So I have to announce that, as of the Pumpkin Run, I fulfilled my New Year's resolution to do one athletic event per quarter in 2009! Woo hoo! I also registered for two more events: a 5K on 11/8 (World Running Day!) and a stretch event, a local 10K on 11/22 that I found out about through Thing 2's Kindergarten teacher. And that's it for 2009. I'm looking forward to planning my events for 2010...so many possibilities!

Monthly measure

Up .5 inch in the bust, 1 inch in the ribcage and waist, no change in the hips. Bleh.

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 97 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 94 (met goal of less than 120)

Weight goals: +3.4, which just puts me back in the 190s. 'Nuff said.

Food goals:
- Got in at least 6 meatless meals and 0 fish meals. (Met meatless, missed fish by 2)
- Fiber: at least 5/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Well, at least I'm still exercising....
- Wednesday: 60 minutes BodyPump
- Thursday: 40 minute walk (poor dog needed one badly) + 15 minute run (outside, with hills! it felt good.)
- Friday: 60 minutes BodyPump (ooo, twice in one week? love it!)
- Saturday: 60 minutes of family yoga at the library!
- Sunday: Active rest-4 hours of kid-wrangling at festivals.
- Monday: 5 minutes rowing machine, 25 minutes running.
- Tuesday: Rest.

Sleep: I had some <7 hour nights of sleep over the weekend. I'm certain that didn't help with making lucid choices.

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:
- Up the veggies, and make a bunch of cooked ones. For example, make another batch of grilled crockpot ratatouille; that was *good*, but with less oil.
- Rein in the nuts and dark chocolate; pass by some of the "just a taste of this" and "I'll have a dab of that."
- Bring lunch from home 4/5 work days.
- Plan for a little desserty something on Halloween.
- 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 activity 5 days/week. Prepare for the Theta Breakers 5K run on 11/8 and the Pillar Point 10K on 11/22.

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