Whew! . . . was thinking how much energy I 'used' to have (BMTS) before moving to Sequim. I was out and about so much more in San Diego, true. But 'honestly?' I was also out walking in the middle of the winter in Boston, even when it was below 20 deg.
So first thing this morning, before even a glass of water, I was out the door. Yes, it was a bit chillier but actually refreshing.
Got in a half mile without stopping once.
Goal for this week? To get in 2 miles of walking outside (daily). I will 'hopefully' be breaking this up into 4 segments: 1/2 miles 4 x/day to build up to it all. The overall goal is 5 miles a day.
I also just got off my glider. I'm doing 5 min. increments throughout the day and evening also and my butt HURTS. This means those muscles are being worked and within a month some toning results should start to show.
Mood: POSITIVE !!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
I'm Still Not Hungry . . . Not One Single Bit. HOORAY!
Two years ago I was attending Weight Watchers and did very well on their "Points" system. I recommend it highly. What I learned there has proved most invaluable -- that you can and should eat quite a bit of food during the day -- food that is healthy and has a high fiber content. If you follow the program, you will find that you have trouble fitting all the food in because the fiber keeps you very satisfied.
I don't do fake . . . no artificial sweeteners, no diet sodas, no phony stuff. I looked into those fiber pills, but after reading the side affects decided not to put myself through this. It really is not necessary, an added expense and can cause very uncomfortable and VERY embarrassing movements . . . er moments.
The Doctors Show and Dr. Oz Show have really good information, and there is a lot from Prevention Magazine and other sources that anyone can take notes from. My diet now consists 90% of fresh unprocessed foods. Yes, I'm having to wash a few more things, but it is so worth it.
When the news reports on Haiti come on and I read about the suffering, it really hits me hard. We should all realize just how fortunate we are, here in the US, to be able to purchase wholesome foods of all kinds every month of the year. Imagine this! Kings and queens did not have this huge array available to them not that many years ago. So getting back to basics, more the way the folks in this country ate a century ago should not be a chore nor thought of as unsatisfying.
What if you were starving and no other foods were available? What if there were no (fill in the blanks), but you still could have fresh fruits, whole grains, chicken, fresh vegetables, etc. Wouldn't you be oh so grateful? I keep this in my mind a lot lately.
My desire would be to go vegetarian but I know this won't happen. We do not eat much red meat so I feel that once a week in a small amount won't hurt me at all. The bacon HAS to go away, that's for sure (mostly because of the nitrates). I was eating far too many eggs also and now only have 1 egg, scrambled and poured onto sauteed veggies and onions.
If you saw the huge amount on my plate for breakfast this morning, you'd gack! I was so full afterwards. This carried me for hours too.
My day started with 1/2 a mango, 1/2 cup of coffee and 12 oz. of water. Two hours later I had mega breakast, LOL. This was a LOT of steamed broccoli (no salt, no butter). I love broccoli, so I don't have a need to change/enhance the flavor. Butter used to be added but I'm having either no butter at all, or only a smidge (less than a teaspoon). I sauteed garlic, onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomato pieces in a little olive oil and poured the scrambled egg (with just a little milk scrambled in) over it all in a small omelette pan. I sprinkled shredded cheese on top and ground pepper. The veggies made it huge! So you get all this really good-for-you fiber but also an omelette.
Then I added just a few little pieces of pickled herring and a little of that juice it sits in to pat my broccoli in.
I just drank water all day. For supper Mr.K. made ribs (sans honey or sauce of any kind). I gave him back about 1/3 of my piece and gave Sonia (kitty) some because I wasn't really hungry. I had to force myself to eat the rice pilaf and could not touch my salad. I was that full from hours earlier.
The salad was eaten later instead of a snack -- mixed greens, peppers, mushrooms, tomato, a little Feta cheese, mango salsa and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar and just a tiny drizzle of olive oil.
It is 1:40 am and I'm still stuffed. No thought of extra fruit, no thought of bread or dessert.
This is truly wonderful. The scale is showing very nice progress. Since January 18th I have lost 13 lbs. (18 days)
My biggest challenge? It seems that when the 4 month mark comes up, I tend to start picking on unhealthy choices . . . So that means that come mid-April/beginning of May I will have to see how my mind is operating.
I really need to get some photos up here for "ACCOUNTABILITY."
My hips and backside were a bit achy this morning and all day. So I only walked 1/2 mile. Phooey! But Mr.K. said I should rest my muscles for a day. He brought my glider down from the upstairs closet and set it up in our dining room behind the recliner so that I can use it while watching TV. I was AGHAST that my legs rub together while using this! HORRORS! Even when I had been overweight before, my legs never rubbed together while using my glider.
What another RUDE AWAKENING !!!!! So I've got to get busy on this too along with the walking. Tune in tomorrow to see if I get a full mile or more in. I'm so gung-ho for getting this extra poundage OFF as soon as it's willing to leave! Sunday will be 3 full weeks.
This is all sooooooooo worth it. :-)
I don't do fake . . . no artificial sweeteners, no diet sodas, no phony stuff. I looked into those fiber pills, but after reading the side affects decided not to put myself through this. It really is not necessary, an added expense and can cause very uncomfortable and VERY embarrassing movements . . . er moments.
The Doctors Show and Dr. Oz Show have really good information, and there is a lot from Prevention Magazine and other sources that anyone can take notes from. My diet now consists 90% of fresh unprocessed foods. Yes, I'm having to wash a few more things, but it is so worth it.
When the news reports on Haiti come on and I read about the suffering, it really hits me hard. We should all realize just how fortunate we are, here in the US, to be able to purchase wholesome foods of all kinds every month of the year. Imagine this! Kings and queens did not have this huge array available to them not that many years ago. So getting back to basics, more the way the folks in this country ate a century ago should not be a chore nor thought of as unsatisfying.
What if you were starving and no other foods were available? What if there were no (fill in the blanks), but you still could have fresh fruits, whole grains, chicken, fresh vegetables, etc. Wouldn't you be oh so grateful? I keep this in my mind a lot lately.
My desire would be to go vegetarian but I know this won't happen. We do not eat much red meat so I feel that once a week in a small amount won't hurt me at all. The bacon HAS to go away, that's for sure (mostly because of the nitrates). I was eating far too many eggs also and now only have 1 egg, scrambled and poured onto sauteed veggies and onions.
If you saw the huge amount on my plate for breakfast this morning, you'd gack! I was so full afterwards. This carried me for hours too.
My day started with 1/2 a mango, 1/2 cup of coffee and 12 oz. of water. Two hours later I had mega breakast, LOL. This was a LOT of steamed broccoli (no salt, no butter). I love broccoli, so I don't have a need to change/enhance the flavor. Butter used to be added but I'm having either no butter at all, or only a smidge (less than a teaspoon). I sauteed garlic, onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomato pieces in a little olive oil and poured the scrambled egg (with just a little milk scrambled in) over it all in a small omelette pan. I sprinkled shredded cheese on top and ground pepper. The veggies made it huge! So you get all this really good-for-you fiber but also an omelette.
Then I added just a few little pieces of pickled herring and a little of that juice it sits in to pat my broccoli in.
I just drank water all day. For supper Mr.K. made ribs (sans honey or sauce of any kind). I gave him back about 1/3 of my piece and gave Sonia (kitty) some because I wasn't really hungry. I had to force myself to eat the rice pilaf and could not touch my salad. I was that full from hours earlier.
The salad was eaten later instead of a snack -- mixed greens, peppers, mushrooms, tomato, a little Feta cheese, mango salsa and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar and just a tiny drizzle of olive oil.
It is 1:40 am and I'm still stuffed. No thought of extra fruit, no thought of bread or dessert.
This is truly wonderful. The scale is showing very nice progress. Since January 18th I have lost 13 lbs. (18 days)
My biggest challenge? It seems that when the 4 month mark comes up, I tend to start picking on unhealthy choices . . . So that means that come mid-April/beginning of May I will have to see how my mind is operating.
I really need to get some photos up here for "ACCOUNTABILITY."
My hips and backside were a bit achy this morning and all day. So I only walked 1/2 mile. Phooey! But Mr.K. said I should rest my muscles for a day. He brought my glider down from the upstairs closet and set it up in our dining room behind the recliner so that I can use it while watching TV. I was AGHAST that my legs rub together while using this! HORRORS! Even when I had been overweight before, my legs never rubbed together while using my glider.
What another RUDE AWAKENING !!!!! So I've got to get busy on this too along with the walking. Tune in tomorrow to see if I get a full mile or more in. I'm so gung-ho for getting this extra poundage OFF as soon as it's willing to leave! Sunday will be 3 full weeks.
This is all sooooooooo worth it. :-)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
February, The Month of My Birth
Ummmmm . . . Getting older is not the scariest thing. The scariest issue for me is getting sicker and not being able to fix it. I was diagnosed with arthritis at 15 and have always had pain in my joints. I've had two very bad car accidents which injured limbs and joints.
The most intelligent thing I can do is take much better care of myself.
Soon I will turn 59. In one very swift year, I will be 60. Will I feel better, be back to a healthy weight and continue in a good walking program? These are the biggest goals. There are smaller ones but these will keep for another time.
First Goal Reached !!!
I got my mile+ in yesterday! It was so depressing that I could only walk a few blocks before having to return home and sit because of the burning in my lower back. Each city block = 1/10th of a mile and last week I had started walking around the block a few times and returning home and going out again after an hour for a repeat. The goal for this week was to walk an entire mile or a bit more each day (even if it had to be broken into 2 or 3 sessions).
Very grateful to my husband, Jim, for walking with me at Robbin Hill Park. I had never stopped there but always wanted to. This is not a place I would feel comfortable walking alone in at all -- very wooded, and until we were back to the car, we did not see a single person. I like the trails a lot. They are well maintained and there are walking-only trails with the horse trails going into separate areas. The earth is soft compared to walking on the sidewalks, and there are some manageable hills, if one chooses them. We did. I did much better than I expected to!
The air smelled so good with all those tall evergreens surrounding us. I took a lot of deep breaths, really appreciating the clean sweet air we are blessed with here on the Olympic Peninsula. What a huge difference from SoCal. I need to keep appreciating the beauty Sequim and surrounds has to offer. Gotta take more advantage of this.
I could start by posting pictures of myself, posting my weight and all that. There are so many things I could say but for now I want to share the joys of the little achievements.
A few years ago, I could never sit in the house. Walking was something that I thoroughly enjoyed and if days were missed, I would actually crave it. Today, I have this craving. What a wonderful craving! Early this afternoon, I'm heading out again. Hopefully I will get in my mile+ again! and will be very grateful for being able to do so!
Each step takes me closer to better health! . . . and feeling better leads to greater happiness!
This is Robin Hill Park, located between Sequim and Port Angeles, WA (Olympic Peninsula)
http://www.clallam.net/CountyParks/html/parks_robinhill.htm
The most intelligent thing I can do is take much better care of myself.
Soon I will turn 59. In one very swift year, I will be 60. Will I feel better, be back to a healthy weight and continue in a good walking program? These are the biggest goals. There are smaller ones but these will keep for another time.
First Goal Reached !!!
I got my mile+ in yesterday! It was so depressing that I could only walk a few blocks before having to return home and sit because of the burning in my lower back. Each city block = 1/10th of a mile and last week I had started walking around the block a few times and returning home and going out again after an hour for a repeat. The goal for this week was to walk an entire mile or a bit more each day (even if it had to be broken into 2 or 3 sessions).
Very grateful to my husband, Jim, for walking with me at Robbin Hill Park. I had never stopped there but always wanted to. This is not a place I would feel comfortable walking alone in at all -- very wooded, and until we were back to the car, we did not see a single person. I like the trails a lot. They are well maintained and there are walking-only trails with the horse trails going into separate areas. The earth is soft compared to walking on the sidewalks, and there are some manageable hills, if one chooses them. We did. I did much better than I expected to!
The air smelled so good with all those tall evergreens surrounding us. I took a lot of deep breaths, really appreciating the clean sweet air we are blessed with here on the Olympic Peninsula. What a huge difference from SoCal. I need to keep appreciating the beauty Sequim and surrounds has to offer. Gotta take more advantage of this.
I could start by posting pictures of myself, posting my weight and all that. There are so many things I could say but for now I want to share the joys of the little achievements.
A few years ago, I could never sit in the house. Walking was something that I thoroughly enjoyed and if days were missed, I would actually crave it. Today, I have this craving. What a wonderful craving! Early this afternoon, I'm heading out again. Hopefully I will get in my mile+ again! and will be very grateful for being able to do so!
Each step takes me closer to better health! . . . and feeling better leads to greater happiness!
This is Robin Hill Park, located between Sequim and Port Angeles, WA (Olympic Peninsula)
http://www.clallam.net/CountyParks/html/parks_robinhill.htm
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The 'Reanimation' of CK
Reanimate: To rouse from a state of inactivity or quiescence. Time to return to the real Me. In the past I was always very active, in good working order, sharp in mind and extremely productive. The last few years have seen the disastrous effects of added poundage and sitting around and eating myself into the grave!
My health is in great need of repair and the weight must come off for good!
I began to ponder about feeling ghastly tired, listless, and with little motivation. Sugar and fat-laden goodies had put my mind in a foggy state, and I no longer had a desire to design and create, clean my house or even cook. My eyes were no longer the windows to the world because the shades kept closing and the lenses were not crisp and clear. Strange sharp headaches woke me from deep sleeps and heaviness pressed down on my chest like a team of pacaderms.
My blood pressure was very high in August and this is unusual for me for I've always had very good readings. The classic symptoms of diabetes are here also. Yes, there have been some personal problems, but only I can allow myself to react in self-destructive ways. What, o what have I done to myself? Time to take care of CK . . . time for reanimation!
The stage was set on January 18th of this year and after two full weeks of 'behaving,' I'm ready to start blogging my progress. It took 12 days to start feeling better. I am not dieting, but changing my lifestyle . . . making wise choices and taking a few vitamins and supplements. My goal is to return to walking 5 miles a day, 4 to 5 days a week. I used to do this in 2-1/2 mile segments before and after work when I lived in San Diego. Yes, I have arthritis and pain, but it is time to find solutions and work with what I've got before I lose all flexibility and strength.
My butter-slathering days are over. The loaves of Italian bread will remain in the market. No longer will my oven be pumping out brownies and cookies by the dozen. Milk will last for many more days now. *This doesn't mean that I will 'never' 'ever' . . . it means that these will be put in their place . . . as small desserts for a couple of days a week -- a sharp contrast to starting the day eating two or three brownies with a couple glasses of milk or waking in the middle of the night looking for 'something!'
I've done copious amounts of reading about nutrition, etc. My plan is set.
I will not count calories, nor grams of fat. Fat is desirable and essential in its proper form (derived from plants instead of animals). I will not let the scale depress me (for building muscle is necessary for fitness and calorie burning and muscle weighs more than fat).
There is no set date, no finish line. This has to be it -- a return to the basics . . . fresh produce, lean cuts and eating to live rather than living to eat. The food industry in this country is killing us and I refuse to continue eating fake fat-inducing products.
Follow my blog and see the changes as I reanimate. I will post a picture of my current self. The numbers are not as important as the overall change . . . how trim I become, how active I become and how the reanimation affects my productivity. I need to work with a clear head and with inspiration. I will get back the old Me which was a much better Me!
. . . by the way . . . in the last 2 weeks, I have NOT been hungry at all and I've been eating plenty but already losing weight. My goal is to lose a minimum of 90 pounds and to fit back into my size 10 jeans! Cheer me on!!! Any suggestions will be welcomed!
I also look forward to sharing my projects as I regain my edge and start producing again.
My life's work has been in graphic design, jewelry design and photography and I'm eager to get going again. Let's see how things start to turn around for me. Perhaps you will be inspired and encouraged by my efforts.
My health is in great need of repair and the weight must come off for good!
I began to ponder about feeling ghastly tired, listless, and with little motivation. Sugar and fat-laden goodies had put my mind in a foggy state, and I no longer had a desire to design and create, clean my house or even cook. My eyes were no longer the windows to the world because the shades kept closing and the lenses were not crisp and clear. Strange sharp headaches woke me from deep sleeps and heaviness pressed down on my chest like a team of pacaderms.
My blood pressure was very high in August and this is unusual for me for I've always had very good readings. The classic symptoms of diabetes are here also. Yes, there have been some personal problems, but only I can allow myself to react in self-destructive ways. What, o what have I done to myself? Time to take care of CK . . . time for reanimation!
The stage was set on January 18th of this year and after two full weeks of 'behaving,' I'm ready to start blogging my progress. It took 12 days to start feeling better. I am not dieting, but changing my lifestyle . . . making wise choices and taking a few vitamins and supplements. My goal is to return to walking 5 miles a day, 4 to 5 days a week. I used to do this in 2-1/2 mile segments before and after work when I lived in San Diego. Yes, I have arthritis and pain, but it is time to find solutions and work with what I've got before I lose all flexibility and strength.
My butter-slathering days are over. The loaves of Italian bread will remain in the market. No longer will my oven be pumping out brownies and cookies by the dozen. Milk will last for many more days now. *This doesn't mean that I will 'never' 'ever' . . . it means that these will be put in their place . . . as small desserts for a couple of days a week -- a sharp contrast to starting the day eating two or three brownies with a couple glasses of milk or waking in the middle of the night looking for 'something!'
I've done copious amounts of reading about nutrition, etc. My plan is set.
I will not count calories, nor grams of fat. Fat is desirable and essential in its proper form (derived from plants instead of animals). I will not let the scale depress me (for building muscle is necessary for fitness and calorie burning and muscle weighs more than fat).
There is no set date, no finish line. This has to be it -- a return to the basics . . . fresh produce, lean cuts and eating to live rather than living to eat. The food industry in this country is killing us and I refuse to continue eating fake fat-inducing products.
Follow my blog and see the changes as I reanimate. I will post a picture of my current self. The numbers are not as important as the overall change . . . how trim I become, how active I become and how the reanimation affects my productivity. I need to work with a clear head and with inspiration. I will get back the old Me which was a much better Me!
. . . by the way . . . in the last 2 weeks, I have NOT been hungry at all and I've been eating plenty but already losing weight. My goal is to lose a minimum of 90 pounds and to fit back into my size 10 jeans! Cheer me on!!! Any suggestions will be welcomed!
I also look forward to sharing my projects as I regain my edge and start producing again.
My life's work has been in graphic design, jewelry design and photography and I'm eager to get going again. Let's see how things start to turn around for me. Perhaps you will be inspired and encouraged by my efforts.
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