Weekly Update, 3/17/10 - St. Patrick's Day Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

As I wrote last year, "Family lore maintains that part of my mutt-ley heritage is Irish, so my people have always celebrated St. Patrick's Day with the time-honored wearin' o' the green and sendin' o' the cards. (And the occasional eatin' o' the chocolates masquerading as shamrocks or gold coins.)" Our Kindergarten teachers do a fine job of covering an array of cultural holidays, and I have them to thank for clarifying that St. Patrick's Day is not about a big pink starfish, but rather, mischievous Irish fairies who leave green glitter and tiny footprints in their wake. ;-)

Ah, 'tis the day of the pitter-patter of tiny green feet on a leprechaun trap!

How we're celebrating today:

• Mr. Handsome-and-Handy forgot about the wearin' o' the green and felt the pinchin' o' the Thing 1 fingers this morning. (He promptly changed into a green shirt. Drat.)

• The rest of us donned our green apparel. There was lots of green at school this morning!

• The Kindergarten class had set their homemade leprechaun traps last night. They had some visitors who left *tons* of glitter, shiny green coins, tiny green footprints all over the classroom, and two notes! (One of which said they'd also left a shoe, but no one had found it yet when I left.)

How did the little green men wield such a big green marker?

• The Kindergarten teacher was covered with green glitter when she came out of her classroom, and the kids bubbled with excitement. (On the other hand, the Kinders are pretty much that way every day...it's a great age!)
  

• I had the privilege of reading "Lucky O'Leprechaun at School" to my daughter's very excited Kindergarten class this morning. It made my day.
  
  
• Mr Handsome-and-Handy is making corned beef and cabbage for dinner tonight. I think we will be the only ones having the privilege of eating it. (I'm flattered that he's making it for us, because St. Patrick's day wasn't a big deal in his family, and it's not a food he particularly likes.)
  

Progress This Week

7-day blood glucose average: 104 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 105 (met goal of less than 120)

Weight goals: +3.6 pounds. :-P

Food goals: I'm still taking time off tracking, but without corresponding portion control on certain things (nuts, meats), I'm not sure that's such a good thing. I went to Trader Joes and my Inner Squirrel seemed to think that it was preparing for winter. (*blush*)

Fiber: Not tracked. Eating pretty much the same things as usual, so I'm probably averaging about 25-30 grams/day.

Exercise goals: I did 5 days of at least 30 minutes/day. I did not meet goal of 2 strength sessions, nor did I log 20+ miles. I did a lot of walking this week, so it was low intensity. Sometimes there are aspects of exercise that are more important than the calorie burn: an opportunity to be with loved ones, to get some much-needed sunshine, to recover. It doesn't take high intensity to help regulate blood glucose levels, as duly noted on the "Big Blue Test" day, but I have to remind myself of that sometimes, especially when I compare my workouts to my pals on Daily Mile. I am pleased to have gotten in a long (for me) run on Sunday morning and to have gotten on the exercise bike last night when I really would rather have gone to bed. (Which meant only 6 hours of sleep, but oh well.)
Total mileage for the week was 15.98 miles.
Wednesday - 60 minutes, BodyPump class
Thursday - 40 minutes total (1.29 miles), two walks
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 52 minutes run in the morning (4.38 miles) and a 60 minutes stroll with my family in the evening (1.4 miles)
Monday - 40 minutes (1.91 miles) walk at lunchtime
Tuesday - 34 minutes (7 miles) stationary bike at home, at night

Sleep: Came up short last night. Hopefully earlier to bed tonight!

Goals for Next Week

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

Food goals:
Do another week of intuitive eating, but with modified habits:
- Measure to ensure reasonable portion sizes this time!
- Make dinner my last food of the day. (I tend to get snacky after dinner, but it's not hunger.)
- Have a cup of broth with dinner.
- Brush my teeth immediately after dinner.
- Have a cup of tea for dessert. Mr. Handsome and Handy has started the wonderful habit of running hot water for tea through the coffee pot, so it's super convenient to make a cup of tea.

Track fiber. Eat the usual suspects (veggies, chia, dry roasted edamame, nuts) and go for a minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* 20 miles minimum distance.
* 2 strength sessions (BodyPump + something on my own)

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