Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Weekly Update, 4/21/10

It's been a good week! Thing 2's gymnastics party with her classmates was a success!  I (and several of the adults) were a little envious of the zipline, trampolines, and air track fun.  Preparations went smoothly, and we had so much fun baking her cake.  Because some of her classmates do not like chocolate, she wanted half chocolate, half vanilla.  There were going to be a lot of kids, so we made two 9x13 sheets and put them together.  It looked a *little* funny, but we managed to tie it together with decorations (lots of pink) and pictures of Zhu Zhu Pets, which Mr. Handsome-and-Handy cleverly printed on photo paper and hot glued to toothpicks.  I'm so glad they invented the candles that spell "Happy Birthday," because it's too easy to screw up handwriting on cakes.  The only downside is that they melt very quickly; by the time we walked down the table to place the cake in front of Thing 2, one was completely melted and the others were just about to become wax puddles. (Note to self: seat birthday child at the end of the table closest to the food table.)

Project: Cake.  
If it doesn't scream "kindergarten girl," consult an audiologist.

An Opposite Monday

I went to spin class--yes, the petite spin sergeant's class--and afterward noticed this feeling of mindless joy and contentment which wasn't merely satisfaction at a workout survived.  I think the endorphins were especially pronounced because I hadn't worked out that hard in a few weeks.  (Too bad they don't have treadmill classes, there's something about a guided workout with really loud music that makes me push more than doing stuff on my own.  Classes included in my gym membership to have become my frugal equivalent of having a semi-personal trainer.)  Anyhoo, I walked to my usual level of the parking garage, realized with a "d'oh!" that I'd parked at the lower level, and glided on down to stow my stuff in my auxiliary purse trunk.  When I entered the building, whom did I see coming out of the elevator, to my utter astonishment and delight?  Mr. Handsome-and-Handy!  As if seeing him wasn't treat enough, he'd been to the blood bank and was bringing me a little protein-style (i.e., no bun) cheeseburger with mustard instead of sauce from the In & Out Burger across the street from his errand.


Innocence Lost

I feel sad at Thing 1's loss of soda pop innocence this past week.  His classmates were giving reports, and one person gave a report on Coca Cola, including samples.  Thing 1 had tried soda when he was really small, and thank goodness, didn't like the fizz, so it's been easy (and even truthful!) to tell them they don't like soda when it's offered at family gatherings.  Unfortunately, this time he liked it and thought it tasted like a chocolate drink.  When Mr. H&H told me, I felt rather angry and fearful.  Like we need another thing to worry about nutritionally?  I'd like to keep a "no soda at home" policy going; Mr. H&H was thinking that might drive them to full-HFCS Big Gulps when they reach high school age.  He was thinking some exposure to diet soda (to develop a preference for it rather than the caloric stuff) would be a good preventative measure.  I can kind of see his point; I've had friends who were raised with no processed foods at home who went gonzo over white bread and potato chips at friends' houses.  Then again, said friends reached adulthood and have reverted to the healthy preferences of their childhoods.  Perhaps we're making a bigger deal out of this than we need to (and are no doubt overlooking the girders remarkably shaped like huge donuts sticking out of our eyes...*cough*).


What are your thoughts?  Soda free at home?  Expose to diet soda to develop a taste?  See if they even bother thinking about it?  "Soda" vs. "pop?"


Oddball Tip of the Week

Is a plate of leftover cake just sitting there on the counter, staring you down...nay! Going so far as to make you shave off tiny slices and eat them?  Shove that sassy stuff into your microwave oven and find something else to do for a little while.  Not like you're going to cook it by accident (and would that really be a loss?), and it keeps the cake nice and fresh for others to stumble over and dispose of later.

Progress This Week

7-day blood glucose average: 105 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 100 (met goal of less than 120)

Weight goals: +.6 from 2 weeks ago.

Food goals: Tracked 4/7 days.  I'm trying a mind trick this week:  I reset my goals in the tracking tool I use to calculate a slightly lower calories-per-day allotment.  Maybe I can "trick" myself into eating a little less this way.
Fiber: On days tracked, averaged 43 grams/day.

Exercise goals: Definitely feeling back on track!  Got back to my gym classes and met all of my goals this week.  Woo hoo!!!  
Total mileage for the week was 32.53 miles.
Wednesday - 70 minutes (.89 mi) - 1 hour of BodyPump class and 10 minute treadmill run.
Thursday - 45 minutes (2 miles) - Lunchtime walk
Friday - Rest day
Saturday - 35 minutes (5 miles) - 25 minutes on stationary bike and arms + abs strength exercises
Sunday - Rest day
Monday - 63 minutes (20 miles) - Spin class
Tuesday - 65 minutes (4.64 miles) - Workout melange today!  I walked 15 minutes at lunch, then hit the gym after work for elliptical, treadmill, and stairmffrfrr--I mean, StairMaster.  I realized that, while it's a good workout that made my legs feel wobbly afterward, I truly detest that machine.  Too much trudging, and even watching the four TVs didn't help much.  (Now, if the Red Wings vs. Coyotes hockey game was on, I might have been suitably distracted!)  I was going to jump off after 15 minutes, but decided to be contrary and stick with it the whole 18 minutes.  Of course, the good part about the StairMaster was that it makes the treadmill feel like frolicking through a grassy meadow with rainbows and puppies and unicorns.  Why did I do it, if I knew I didn't like it?  I taking part in the 60 minute challenge hosted by Tony (The Anti-Jared) and Jen (Prior Fat Girl), and I included a StairMaster segment in their honor.  Sure glad I didn't have to do stairmaster for 99 minutes, though, like they were doing! 

Sleep: Getting 7-8 hours per night.
Hockey Respite for Mr. H&H:  Well, obviously I wasn't going to get home by 3:30 yesterday, but I'm happy to say that I've been good about getting home in time for the 7 p.m. games.  Just as well that Thing 2's gymnastics party conflicted with game 3, since Phoenix won that one.  The series is tied at 2-2!

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:
* Track food intake.
* Track fiber, aiming for at least 30 grams/day average.

Exercise goals:
* 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.
* Spin class at least once per week.  I'd like to shoot for two, since I'm doing the bike portion of the "Tri the Coast" in early June.
* 2 strength sessions (BodyPump + something on my own)

Misc. goals:
7 or more hours sleep/night.
Continued "Hockey Respite" for Mr. H&H:  It's Stanley Cup season - where possible, get home in time for Mr. Handsome-and-Handy to watch the Detroit Red Wings playoff games.  (Go Wings!)

7 comments:

Fattie Fatterton said...

You go on doing the 60 minute challenge. Woot woot!!

Brooke said...

"coke" rather than "soda" or "pop"

my aunt had a no coke rule at her house and the first words from my cousin when he came over were "i'm thirsty"

my mom, however, had a 1 a day rule and now i'm completely okay with just having 1 a week

Lori said...

Glad you are feeling back on track!

I don't know what to say about the soda thing. Personally, I would rather do without than give diet, but that is just me.

Anonymous said...

Just reading your workouts puts anything I have done to shame! Great job!

And it's "Pop" in my neck of the woods. One thing that Tony and I talked about was that we both grew up in homes that banned things, i.e. no pop tarts, snacks, pop, etc. When we did get our hands on it - we went crazy!

Our kids have access to everything, and a box of pop tarts can stay unopened for a month - where if it were in our childhood homes we would have eaten Pop Tarts until they were gone!

I'd say no pop at home (you can come up with some excuse about cost) and let them have some when out with friends are at parties - that's just my opinion though!

Andrea (Off Her Cork) said...

It's totally pop. Soda only comes out if you're talking about club soda. :) Growing up we had a "no pop with meals" rule. Actually you could only have water, milk, or juice with meals and that was it. Pop was for special occasions and things like watching TV or whatever.

What if you made your own "pop"? Buy some flavored seltzer (which contains nothing gross) and add some juice to it?

Anonymous said...

Soda.

And I don't know what to tell you about having it in the house. We didn't have junk food and now I struggle with it. But I suspect that it varies with the individual.

I agree with Andrea, selzter mixed with a little juice is a nice alternative.

josie said...

I am a reformed soda addict...have been soda free for 7 months now. It's one of the best things I've ever done for myself. I actually just got done reading Andrew's post before reading this. Did you see it?

http://www.andrewisgettingfit.com/2010/04/29/dont-drink-soda/

I'm in a hard situation because my kids have been drinking soda for years. We were a HUGE soda drinking family before I decided to lose weight and stopped. I keep trying to encourage them to stop and drink other stuff, but it's hard when I've allowed them to have it all this time. I'm slowly trying to wean them and it's hard. So my advice would be to keep doing what you've been doing by not having it around, even in diet form. I wish I didn't for all those years and maybe now my kids wouldn't be so addicted to the stuff. I'm just being honest here...it's hard for me to admit that I gave my own kids soda for so long. (not when they were babies or toddlers though, don't get me wrong)

Even if you do decide to keep some around, you're making so many healthy choices that they are now used to...which they will carry with them for the rest of their lives!