Weekly Update, 12/2/08 and Post-Holiday Ramble

Overall, I consider last week a success, even though I didn't meet all my goals. Funny, I didn't find Thanksgiving terribly challenging (although I sure found it hard to stop eating bits of the Lacey toffee cookies). It was the days after that were more challenging. We kept pretty busy over the weekend, but Friday? It was hard to not snack. I did pretty well with sticking to lower carb foods, but too often those looked more like nuts and salami vs. carrots and celery. Luckily we were pretty active.

It was also a time of surprises....

Surprise #1: Mr. Handsome-and-Handy went for a run on Saturday. He's been working on losing some weight before starting exercise, due to a knee injury many years ago. But I guess he felt ready, or maybe starting on his birthday felt auspicious, because he announced, "I'm going for a run!" and out he went. He ran, starting cold, the same distance in 15 minutes that it usually takes me about 17 minutes to run...but then his knee went wonky on him and he had to stop. I did tell him that I found doing intervals very effective for me when getting started...*sigh* But it looks like I'll have some competition at the Pumpkin Run next year!

Here's surprise #2: When at our host's place at Thanksgiving, our cookies were in the garage. When I went to fetch them, I had a sudden attack of home gym envy: There was a big ol' punching bag mounted to the ceiling, a weight bench, and weights. I gave the bag a few punches. Should I be disturbed that it felt really satisfying to do that? Then, later that weekend, Mr. Handsome-and-Handy mentioned that our brother and sister-in-law were looking to sell their recumbent exercise bike...were we interested? "Oh, yeah!!!" I exclaimed...then remembered how little space we have in our 960 square foot house. I guess there's always the garage. I think that it would be great, too, for Mr. Handsome-and-Handy and his knee.

Surprise #3: the big burrito. On Saturday evening, I picked up some taqueria food on the way home from the park. Mr. Handsome-and-Handy wasn't feeling so hot by the evening, though; he just picked at his nachos. So I ate most of those (scraped the toppings off most of the chips); my big al pastor burrito (except for about 4 ounces of it) waited for Monday. I plopped it up on the food scale. 19 ounces!!! Oh my. Looks like I wouldn't be knocking off the rest at lunch that day. To think I used to eat the WHOLE THING in one sitting. Wow. So I ended up eating the whole thing...all day long, divided across morning snack, lunch, and dinner. Happily, Mexican food does not spike me, and it was a nice treat. I think next time, though, I'll cut it up and freeze it in portions.

Progress last week:
7-day blood glucose average: 104 (met goal of 120 or lower)
Fasting blood glucose: 6 of the last 7 days were less than 120; average was 110. (missed goal of 100% FBGs below 120, but on average was below 120. No, the exception wasn't the big burrito. I ate a large, just-baked chocolate chip cookie and 1/2 cup of milk on Tuesday evening, which is probably why the a.m. number was up the next morning.)
Weight: -2 pounds (met goal of maintain or lose)
Food: 4 meatless low-fat, 1 fish meal. 6 of 7 meals eaten before 7 p.m., and the one meal was light. (missed fish meal goal by one meal)
Exercise: 30+ minutes cardio 4 days and 15 minutes 1 day, including 3 runs; 2 days of arms and abs strength training (met cardio goals all days except one, and missed by 15 minutes that day; missed arms & abs goal by 1 workout)
Misc: Met sleep goal of 7 or more hours/night all nights except last night. Not that I got to bed earlier, but we did a lot of sleeping in during the holiday.

Goals for this week:
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or lose.
Food goals: 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m.
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night AND talk to the nice folks at Gold's Gym about using the one week free pass they stuck on my car.

Happy December!

Wow, it's December 1st already! I can hardly believe it. What's even more amazing? We mailed nearly all of our holiday cards this morning!!! We still have a little shopping and baking and shipping to do, but it's nice to have the cards out of the way.

I'll give the full status tomorrow, but I feel like I did pretty well during the Thanksgiving holiday. I did loosen up on the weighing and measuring, and I ate a bit more than usual, but we were also much more active than years past. I worked out on Thanksgiving morning during a slow half hour, spent much of Thanksgiving on my feet (playing ping-pong with the kids, chasing balls up and down the deck stairs, standing around and mingling), didn't overdo the main dinner (and relished every bite!), did my usual run on Friday, and took the kids on park outings on Saturday and Sunday.

So...Christmas in "one"derland? Looking more possible every day....

P.S.

I entered the Mary Lou's Weigh Platform Giveaway!

Check out Roni’s Weight Loss Blog for more information.

P.P.S. New month, new photo. No mai tai in hand or lei around the neck...but still lots of great stuff to smile about!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Just wanted to wish anyone cruising by the blog a very Happy Thanksgiving!

My blogroll is the "virtual" portion of my gratitude board. I'm truly grateful for the accountability and inspiration I receive daily from the fitness/weight loss and diabetes blogging communities. I receive this from both the bloggers and commenters on the blogs I follow and the people who offer comments and encouragement on my own. THANK YOU!

Shout out for "Astronomy Picture of the Day"

Don't know how many of you follow the exceedingly cool "Astronomy Picture of the Day" site, but today's is thrilling: "Fireball over Edmonton". We read about it over the weekend, but this footage...wow!

Kind of makes me think twice about going outside to view the Geminids this year....

Weekly Update & Monthly Measure

First of all, a hearty WOO HOO for passing the halfway-to-goal-weight milestone!

I'm also happy that the pants I bought the other week that were just a wee too tight are now fitting well. Snug, but in a good way. They'll be a good reminder to take it easy on Turkey Day.

The last Tuesday in the month is my "monthly measure" day. After last month's yawner, I'm happy to report some progress:
Bust (cross the "girls"): -0.5" (-7.5" total)
Bust (cross the ribcage): -1" (-7" total)
Waist: -0.5" (-5.5" total)
Hips: -1.5" (-6" total)
Thighs: No change (-1" total)
It's interesting that results from my little experiment are holding up over time as well, including the corollary in the comments....

Progress this week:
7-day blood glucose average: 106 (met goal of 120 or lower)
Fasting blood glucose: 6 of the last 7 days were less than 120; average was 115. (missed goal of 100% FBGs below 120, but on average was below 120)
Weight: -3 pounds (met goal of maintain or lose)
Food: 8 meatless low-fat, 3 fish meals. (met goal)
Exercise: 30+ minutes cardio 5 days, including 3 runs; 2 days of arms and abs strength training (met cardio goals; missed abs on one of the strength workouts)
Misc: Met sleep goal of 7 or more hours/night all nights except last night. (yawn!)

Goals for next week:
7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or lose.
Food goals: 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals. Lighter eating if dinner is after 7 p.m.
Exercise goals: At least 30 minutes of cardio 5 days; 3 days of arms & abs strength training workouts; do at least 3 runs (weather-permitting).
Misc. goals: 7 or more hours sleep/night.

Mind games and superstitions

The weight loss mind games are difficult. Why does it always seem harder when you get close to a "decade" number or a milestone number? After reading MizFit today ("What the (bleep) do we know?"), I'm thinking that maybe even thinking that thought is leading to some sort of self-sabbotage. Not to be overly dramatic about it. *cough* Not me. ;-)

And then there are the superstitions. Mine seem to center around clothes. Am I finally achieving success because I got rid of the last of all my old clothes last summer? When do I "give up" my loose clothes? Did my buying slightly-too-tight pants to wear for Thanksgiving as a reminder to not overdo things cause me to bob around my halfway point vs. surging down the scale?

I must say, just writing that helped me realize how bizzaro this line of thinking can be! ;-) I have not ruled out the possibility that this is PMS-thinking and can be recognized as such and then gently let go.

What superstitions about weight loss do you have, if any? How do you overcome them?

Quotable Friday: Annoyingly Cheerful Quotes

Well, it's Friday again, and I've neglected the usual feature for long enough. Today is about annoyingly cheerful quotes...ones that I like, anyway. Do you have any to share? Please, do!

Actually, I couldn't find very many off the top of my head. Here's the one from my Good Earth tea bag that made me think of looking for annoyingly cheerful quotes:

"A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck." ~ James Garfield

This sounded kind of funny-but-painful to me. I guess I do have a mean streak after all...

"Optimism is the cheerful frame of mind that enables a teakettle to sing, though in hot water up to its nose." ~unknown

And finally, this one might just be plain annoying, since true; for some reason I kept it around in a folder full of old Dilbert clippings. Applicable for both running and writing:

"Never mistake a clear view for a short distance." ~ unknown

Have a nice weekend!