Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

It’s been a long, emotional week.  My husband’s birthday party was last weekend – it was a tiki bash in our back yard with lots of good friends and food.  The weather was perfect, everyone seemed to have a really good time, and by the end of it, I was completely exhausted. I was expecting a great massage the next day, but my massage therapist had car trouble.  Boo! So I was tired, with very sore feet…but there was an awesome upside: no swollen ankles! I’m pretty sure the 20 pounds I’d lost and the regimen of half my weight in water consumed each day really has solved that problem.  Big win. Also, I completely stayed in the right calorie range on party day!  Wahoo!

The week following the party has been amazing.  First off, I got into SMALLER JEANS! I woke up on Monday and just felt smaller, so I thought I’d pull out the new jeans and give it a shot. It was such a thrill to have them go on and zip without the exhale/suck-it-in routine…they just fit.  YAY!

As ever, there was more gardening to do this week.  I had to get the bulbs in the ground while they were fresh so that I’ll have flowers in the spring. That took a couple of hours (reminding everyone that gardening burns a ridiculous amount of calories) and I have to say I was pretty sore afterward. I had a ton of work keeping me at my desk, so I really welcomed the gardening break.  My dog had to go for his annual check-up at the vet on Tuesday, so I left an hour before his appointment to walk him around the lake. Are you seeing a trend here? I have finally embraced MOVING every single day no matter what.

My son and husband were doing a project together in the back yard before our son went back to college.  This will be his first year living off campus and I was really touched when he asked me what things he should buy at the grocery store to have on hand. He shops for a meal or for baking, but he’s never stocked his own kitchen.  I took time to write down things I thought would be helpful…and I made a kind of care package to send along. I love that he asked.  He’s just the best. He’s very conscious about the food he eats and he knows that baked goods are his Achilles heel, so he, too, is aware of moving enough each day to keep his body where he wants it.  He’s a good example for me.

On Thursday I spent the day with my son – lunch at his favorite place, some time at the book store, planning dinner and a movie for the evening. We had a great day talking and laughing. Through all of this I embraced my new “cash account” eating/exerting and barely had to think about staying in calorie range.

Today, my son left for school.  I was a little sad, but he’s only 90 minutes away and I’m going to visit next week to see how he’s set up his house. I threw myself into work for several hours after he left for a distraction, then went to the hardware store with my husband to scout prices for a yard project we are doing with his sister on Sunday.  Normally I would dread doing someone else’s yard on top of mine, but hey, we will be helping someone AND gardening burns oodles of calories! Gardening is my new best friend! In the late afternoon today I took the dog for a walk and then my husband and I walked down to have dinner and see a movie at the local theatre. It was really a lovely evening.

Tomorrow is my mother-in-law’s birthday. My husband and I are biking to downtown Berkeley to meet her and two of his sisters for brunch, then biking back (while the rest drive) and having coffee and cake at our house. The afternoon will be spent gathering tools and supplies for the garden project (we’re making a meadow!).  On Sunday the project commences and we have about 10 hours of work to complete. I am hoping to have a beautiful garden for my sister-in-law and a couple of pound loss for the week. I am at 21 now with many, many inches lost.

My anniversary is Monday and my husband has dinner plans for us…I am planning activities for the day so dinner can be a real treat. 

This new way of life is really wonderful.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. ARGH!

Today I was shopping at Trader Joe’s.  A large woman (just bigger than me actually) was shopping near me as I reached for the kale.  (Did I mention in an earlier blog about Kale Chips?  SO delicious and SO easy to make and I thank Robbo for turning me onto them – recipe below.)  She was chatty and was telling me her preference between choices of arugula. I mentioned the kale for kale chips and she said, “Oh, if you had hypothyroidism like me you would have to stay away from kale. It gets in the way of losing weight.**” Not on purpose, that was the very moment I glanced into her shopping cart. Bread, cake, chips…methinks kale is not the thing standing between this woman and weight loss.

Look, I really am in no position to judge anyone regarding their weight, but come on! Self-awareness, people! You can’t load your shopping cart with goodies, your pantry with temptations, your fridge with ice cream, and expect to succeed. If you self-sabotage you will fail.  Again. Then you can fall back on all of those beautifully polished excuses you have used for so very long.  For example:

·         I am genetically programmed to be obese.

·         I can’t lose weight no matter how hard I try!

·         I don’t have time to exercise.

·         It’s harder to lose weight when you’re older.

·         Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…fail.

I am 51. It is no harder for me to lose weight now than it was in my 20s. It’s just a little slower. It takes the same discipline, patience, and dedication.  I log in to www.loseit.com every day without fail to log my food and exercise. I drink half my weight in water each day. I walk where I might have driven or I take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. I have hypothyroidism. I have lost over 20 pounds in 11 weeks. So my excuses are just that: excuses.

I am well-aware that there are special circumstances.  Some medications have a side-effect of weight gain, but I know many who manage that just fine through careful diet and exercise. Some people have mobility issues and can’t walk or move easily – but I know people who exercise from a chair or get in a local pool to combat this. For every pound lost there is a reduction of force on your joints. Has anyone ever noticed how your shoes get looser as you lose weight? Partially it’s weight loss, and partially the splay of your feet reduces. I have “skinny” shoes in my wardrobe!  I guess what I am suggesting is that maybe you don’t have a problem losing weight – maybe you have a problem seeing what you are doing to stop yourself from losing weight.

Here’s where I am right now: I bought salt and vinegar potato chips – something I discovered and immediately loved 33 years ago on a trip with my friend Ruth. I looked at the label and a bag the size I would previously enjoyed as a single serving had 7 servings at 150 calories each (yeah, that’s 1,050 per bag, my friends). I ate 3 chips (12 is a serving) and then I went and logged it online. I have to admit that is a bit obsessive, but it is the reason I am now losing weight.  Accountability and awareness. I have this in most aspects of my life, but in diet I have always borrowed and lied with regard to calories.  No more. How about you?

 

Kale Chips:

·         Bag/bunch of kale.

·         Clean it, dry it, peel it away from the stem into leafy chip-sized pieces.

·         Put it in a bowl.

·         Drizzle some olive oil (I used 2 tbsp on 2 bags of Trader Joe’s kale) over it and toss it until the leaves look like they all have a bit of oil on them.  Over-oiling defeats the purpose and diminishes the crispness, btw.

·         Shake in some salt and pepper and toss some more.

·         Add any other seasoning you like – I suggest making a salt and pepper batch first to see what you think and then experimenting afterward.  My favorite is salt, pepper, and turmeric.

·         Bake on a cookie sheet (I put parchment paper underneath) for 25-35 minutes at 325 degrees.

·         Take them out, let them cool, and OMG.  Tasty! (Thank you, Robbo!)

 

(**For those of you who are wondering, “Why is kale bad for those with hypothyroidism?”…well, it isn’t! It’s just advised that you not eat raw kale in excess because it inhibits iodine absorption which is a factor in hypothyroidism. Besides, kale chips are baked until crispy.)

Although this has nothing to do with weight loss or kale chips, I thought you might like to see a squishy bulldog photo...MinBo...master of squishiness!

 

 

 

Successful pain

Great friends from Italy came to visit us this past Labor Day weekend. We accomplished all of the home improvements we intended to do before their arrival and I reached 20 pounds lost that day. (Yay!) One of the reasons I wanted to lose that much by then was so that I could hike with everyone and not be the one who was lagging. 

The hike started out well.  Although I was out of breath after the first hill, I regained my equilibrium quickly and began to enjoy myself.  My husband and I identified the route we would take on the map, so I knew what to expect.  Unfortunately, he deviated from that route which made a 2.5 mile hike a 5 mile hike and, about a half mile before the end I could no longer manage the trek.  My calves were cramping, I was beet red, I was dripping perspiration, and I was beginning to feel like I might cry. Although I felt really betrayed by my husband – because we agreed beforehand and he knew I wasn’t ready for a 5 mile hike – I was trying to remain in good spirits. I didn’t get angry. I did almost cry.  But mostly, I was embarrassed because the other three people were merrily hiking along and I could not finish the hike. Finally, the men went ahead to get the car while my friend and I waited for them.  When we got back to the house I still was hosting a dinner for these friends and I did not want to be a whiner.

Back at the house we had a great time eating and drinking – because I had literally hiked my ass off I felt free to pick and choose my food. However, before I made the menu I calculated the best tasting food with the best calorie counts.  This is something I have gotten into the habit of doing. I made a cheesecake – my first – and it came out great, but I still only had 1/3 of a slice.  Somehow I ended up way below the calorie count I should have eaten and I know that is not a good practice.

Monday morning was a nightmare. I woke up with leg muscles cramped and tight. I was so wiped out that I decided to decline the two lovely invitations we received from other close friends and just stay in bed. I slept, watched television, read, and snuggled with the dog.  As I lie there aching I thought about the previous day and the positive side of everything.

·         I hiked 4.5 of 5 miles

·         I burned enough calories so I didn’t have to think about what I ate (although I did)

·         For the most part I was not lagging

·         My husband – although thoughtless – believed in my ability to hike again

·         Our friends had a great time

·         I was lucky enough to be able to stay in bed all day Monday

Today I am still sore, but I took the dog for a long walk this afternoon and I think things are getting looser again.  I am down another half pound. Ten weeks, 20.5 pounds.  I’m in this for the long haul.