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Happy Valentine's Day.

This was my gift from God this morning. Just enough snow to be picturesque. As I get older, I really dislike the cold and winter in general, but I do love the snow. On my drive to work I thought about years ago when Gary and I walked in the moonlight of a snowy night and how romantic it was. I often wish we would have another snow like that to recapture that moment.

This was the card Gary gave me this morning along with some miniture roses. My eyes immediately went to the words "Incredible" and I wondered how am I incredible? I opened the card expecting to see to a list of things that would give me that description but it just repeated his love for me and that was enough. I felt incredibly lucky to have him for my husband.

I took my card to work with me and as I was putting it on my work table, I noticed this sign. I realized that I'm not there yet. I'm doing good to do just enough instead of going the extra mile ... or am I? Going to the gym is something

more than I was doing ... passing on delicious bread is better. I am taking steps to better myself. Maybe that's why I lost two pounds last night.

It Worked!

I was still tired when I got up this morning ... I always am. I'm just not a morning person. I headed downstairs after I showered and got dress to get on the scales to see if I'd be in a better mood this morning. It wasn't what I wanted to see. It wasn't a gain but it wasn't a loss. I felt like I had so many other attempts and even successes at this and maybe this was going to be a time when my body said no ... you had your chance, I'm not budging.

Gary told me to have a good day and cheer up as I headed out the door. My task for the day was to fill my tumbler full of water and continuing replenishing it throughout the day. I did feel bloated so maybe I was holding water and I'd manage a loss some how tonight at TOPS. I'm keeping my hopes alive.

At 5:00, I went downstairs to get on the scales. I knew how much I weighed on them last week unlike the scales at home. It was definitely going to be a loss. I don't know how much and at this point I don't care. I'm headed to my meeting and to get weighed. I'll have something to write about tomorrow.

Mood Swing

It's Sunday night, we're home from our weekend in Illinois and I'm in a mood. I can't pinpoint exactly where it came from but I know that I want it to go away and I know that it can be dangerous in my plan. I don't know if it's because the weekend is drawing to a close or if I feel that I didn't do all that I wanted to do. I had temptations throughout the weekend. Some of which I was the victor. Passing on the bread at dinner, getting a salad for lunch with my sandwich at lunch instead of fries, refraining from ordering something for myself when everyone was ordering dessert at Culver's. Why didn't I revel in those accomplishments. Was it because before dinner I had a couple of beers and got into the pretzels and popcorn or that I had several bites of Gary's Turtle Sundae. I did workout like I had planned ... that was a good thing, right? But something is really bugging me and I don't know what it is. Am I fearful of a bad weigh-in tomorrow, afraid of failing. Maybe a good night sleep will help. I'll face the scale in the morning and maybe there will be another mood swing. I'll get more into it tomorrow. I'll be stronger, I'll be more determined. I'm just tired now.

Dreary Exercise

When I started blogging again this week, my intention was to blog every day. I needed that reminder on what I've set out to do. But just like with everything else in life, there's bumps in the road. Thursday was a routine day, I was doing okay but there was no major announcement, breaking news, or anything that came close to exciting to write about. In fact it was a pretty boring day come to think of it. I wanted a break from the "Smart Ones" dinners I was bringing for lunch at my desk and decided to go out. My choice wasn't the best but what I thought was workable if I stayed in line the rest of the week. Since I knew that I hadn't put anything on the blog, I thought maybe I could get by with putting an article on about bloating. I would still fulfill my goal of blogging everyday. Many things were running through my mind on topics that I could still write about when I got home from the gym after work but by then there was dinner to eat and TV shows to watch and I kind of felt blah ... which was something else I could definitely write about but ...

Yesterday I was off from work but there were plans to fulfill besides blogging. The first one ... to sleep in. I had really had a problem all week getting out of bed, staying there until the last minute, dragging myself into work right at 8:00 with no time to spare, my appearance wasn't something to make me feel good about myself. I mean, I was presentable but just felt dowdy on what I choose to wear and the lack of accessories. which is another topic.

Anyway, Gary and I were going to Illinois this weekend where he and his friend, Eric, were teaching a knot course. We're were going to make a stop at the casino on the way there and have lunch and then get on the interstate and head over. Hmmm, lunch meant the buffet. Buffet usually means all you can eat, and you all know what all you can eat can mean. But I set a plan in my head ahead of time. We wouldn't be shelling out a ton of money because we probably had comp money on our cards, so I wouldn't have to use that warpped reason of getting my money's worth. No, I was just going to have a salad. I've gone to restaurants and ordered a $5 - $10 salad and I told myself this is no different ... just because there are other things there to choose from. I deviated a little by having some minestrone soup, as well but when I left I didn't feel anything but satisfied both in my mind and my stomach.

Moving along ... we got to the hotel and it is one of the chains that have a "Happy Hour" in the evening in addition to the hot breakfast. Everyone, well the other three decided that we would just use their food bar for dinner which meant potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, hot dogs, melted cheese,refried beans, etc., etc., I could have been much better in a restaurant, but I had setout to prove something to myself this weekend. I ended up with a baked potato and a hot dog with no bun. I put some coney sauce over both and it was filling. I wanted to go back ... and I did to get a little salad and some carrots and celery with ranch dressing. I'm sure I could have cut out some of what I ate but I bore no negative feelings toward myself.

This morning I relished staying in bed and not "having" to get up. My plan was to hit the workout work. One of my bullet points this week was put exercise back in my routine. Three days which meant Tues, Thur. and Saturday. I don't know if I forgot about our trip when I first set out my plan but it didn't matter, Drury Inn has a workout room. That's where I thought about the title of this blog entry ... although it wasn't drury at all. I had the room to myself and completed my 30 minutes. There much to be said about exercising in the morning though, you do it and get it out of the way and don't have a dozen execuses running through you head all day until you do it. I felt I got a good workout because I was glowing (remember women don't sweat) which kind of proved it.

Well, there's my blog entry for today and catching up on the last couple of days. It seems like once you sit down at the keyboard you can just go on and on.

I will be doing some power shopping this afternoon and faced with lunch and dinner choices but I'm feeling pretty positive.

Random Foods That Make You Bloat

You already know it’s a good idea to stay away from salty potato chips when you want to avoid belly bloat. But a new report found that other seemingly innocent foods are tripping you up.

According to the Center For Disease Control’s list of the top 10 sources of sodium, most of us get too much sodium from…bread and rolls. It’s not that they contain more salt than potato chips and junk food—we just eat them more because, until now, we didn’t realize they had so much sodium in them.

According to the report, these top 10 items make up 44 percent of the sodium we eat every day. Here’s the rest of the list:

1. Bread
2. Cold cuts and cured meats
3. Pizza
4. Poultry
5. Soups
6. Fast-food hamburgers and sandwiches
7. Cheese
8. Spaghetti and other pasta dishes
9. Meatloaf and other meat dishes
10. Snacks—potato chips, pretzels, etc.

So, if you're planning to slip into a skintight LBD on Saturday, take a pass on having a pizza night or a burger a few days beforehand. Instead, try a protein-packed salad or a piece of grilled fish.

Back in the Saddle

I went horseback riding a couple of years ago on vacation. I hadn't done that since I was a kid. It was something I wanted to do, something I had planned. What I had envisioned was much different than the real thing. I guess because I'm not a kid (I started to say big woman but I just can't do that) the horse that was chosen for me was good sized. That meant to get my feet in the stirrups I really had to stretch out my thighs. Now I know why those cowboys were bowlegged. Anyway, along the trail ride, one of my feet slipped out of the stirrup and I was fearful (because I thought I was sliding to one side) that I may end of falling. I kept trying to maneuver my foot back. I finished the ride unscathed and was able to mark that adventure off my bucket list.

There is no moral ... I just wanted to say that I'm back in the saddle now and on my first day I didn't get thrown. Looking back the day went pretty much as I had planned. I ate what I had planned and I got to the gym.

This morning I got on the scale and they were down a little, not much but going in the right direction, so life is good.

DOUBLE DARE YA!

Should I even think about making another attempt at blogging? Guess if you continue that means you didn't fail. So, why not. My head is in a better place now, so now may be a good time ... a new beginning, so to say.

There is good and bad in everything, it's just the way you look at it. I am moved to say that 2011 was a bad year, but how can I. A lot of fun and exciting things happened in 2011. Maybe since I'm writing on this blog, I am focused on my weight goals and the success there wasn't so hot. In fact, it was pretty dismal but why focus on the negative ... so I won't.

I normally start out the new year on fire. I feel like I've been given a new lease on life, the slate has been wiped clean and I'm excited about the future. I've had new year streaks that have gone on for weeks without a gain. This year is a bit different. I didn't even really have my first weigh in of the year until mid-January after returning from a vacation which may not be an ideal time to see the numbers you want to see on the scale. But, there has to be a starting point. My second weigh-in of the year showed success of three pounds. Looking back though, I didn't have the well-rounded meals I should have had. I didn't proportion my calories consumption evenly and that may have backfired on me last week when my mind thought I was being a little too restrictive.

While watching my diet most of the week, I did have a few indiscretions, i.e., fries, hot dogs and chocolate which all could be worked into my point allotment probably if there had been one of those every other days but I failed to do the math. That's right I didn't track it on paper, I tracked it in my head which does fuzzy math when it gets the chance. I now realize why I gained a pound even though I felt I walked a marathon on Friday.

I felt pretty defeated that I couldn't even put two weeks in a row at my TOPS meeting last night. I want success but it comes with a price. Am I willing to pay the toll? Am I willing to do what it takes to walk in my weekly weigh-in feeling confident and proud of what I accomplished during the week. It seems like I've had the tendency to say "it's too hard" or "why even bother, just be satisfied with who you are" the last few months.

For right now I'm trying. I've gone back and read some of the entries to this blog when I was determined, motivated and doing well and thought ... I did it then, why is now any different. I making small strides today by knowing how many points I've consumed. I've told Gary that I wanted to go to the gym tonight and I written a couple of my TOPS members of my intentions going forward. I need to be accountable.

Should I count this as Day One or Day 11,001? Whatever it is, I'm moving forward.