Lent, Day 34: How I Do It

OKay… so… I’m down nearly 60 pounds now, and believe it or not, people actually notice!  I’m sure this has to do with the fact that my clothes actually fit now, thanks to Michelle and Lisa, but regardless… Easily the most common reaction I get from people is, “What are you doing?” and, when I tell them, “Wow, how do DO that?”

So this will be the overview post.  It will be redundant, but it’s the sort of ’shop talk’ version of the ADF thing, so it might be interesting even if you’ve been reading awhile.

Here’s what I do:

Lent, Day 32: Sweating the Weigh-In

Yeah, yeah, I know… I always sweat the weigh-ins.  But this week I have actually not cheated  and hopped onto the scale at any point, so I really have no idea what to expect tomorrow.  It’s been a weird week, since as I mentioned yesterday I’m coming down off of a week where I’ve had a pretty healthy appetite following three or four weeks of having NO appetite.  If the no-appetite weeks hurt my metabolism at all, this week will probably be bad.

Lent, Day 19: No Doughnuts For Jen

We went to church last night for Isaac’s baptism, so today we just had Sunday School/Bible Study to worry about.   This was nice, since it meant we could sleep in a little, and there was time to actually eat a real breakfast before we headed up to Zion.   Over the last week or so, I’ve made it a point to eat an egg for breakfast — one prepared Weight-Watchers style, which is actually okay with me.  I’ve never been one that needed eggs to be prepared with cheese or whatever in order to enjoy them.  ‘Course, this is probably just because I like salt too much, but anyway…

Sleep, Day 15: Emotional Impact

Emotions are funny things…

Exercise+, Day 15: Saying Goodbye to Whiny Week

I think I’ve finally left the spectres of last week behind me.  A perfect example of eating and dieting representing as much a psychological situation as a physiological one.  Looking back on the whole week now, I was just plain depressed, and I was taking it out on myself, my diet, the kids’ school, everything.  And as a result, everything suffered.  The kids are behind in school, I struggled every single day to stay on my diet plan, I didn’t accomplish anything for PCG, and the house fell apart around me.

What had me depressed?  Probably everything I mentioned in my posts last week, in one way or another.  Trying to do too much, failing at it, feeling bad about failing at it, missing my younger days when I didn’t have so many responsibilities, resenting said responsibilities in light of my longing to go back to those earlier days, guilt because the resentment suggested bad things about me, whatever.  Those kinds of things tend to be cumulative for me, but when I get like that I can only stand so much of it before I just get sick of myself and decide to knock it off.  I seem to be a tipping-point person in every aspect of my life, from housekeeping to weight loss to hair care to depression.  I tend to let things slide just so far and smack myself back to flying right again.

Exercise+, Day 6: Friends, Gastric Bypass and Thou

Our weekends are filling up quickly.   Tonight is going to be a royal pain in the proverbial tuckus.  We’ve been invited to take part in a Trivia Night to benefit a local youth group, and it’s supposed to open at 6:00, and begin at 7:00.  It’s actually pretty important to get there around opening time, because part of the competition is table decorating, and if we don’t get there pretty quickly we won’t have time to set up properly.

Problem is, we have to be at church from 5-6pm.  Andy is the presiding elder at this service, and I, naturally, have to play Handbells. To make matters worse, Zack’s second basketball game is this afternoon at 3:30, which means it ends around 4:30, and I have to be up at church around 4:15.  So beginning around 3:15 we’re going to be leaping this way and dashing that way and I doubt we’ll be to anyplace we’re supposed to be on time.  If either of us just didn’t HAVE to be at church tonight, I think it would be fine..but as it is, we’re dealing with a lot of meh.

So I’m walking now, to at least get some walking in before the craziness starts.  I’m shooting for at least an hour, which should ideally give me enough time to prepare what needs to be prepared for the Trivia Night and get it loaded into the car.  Then I might actually get to take in some of Zack’s game, which I really don’t want to miss.  There is precisely one sport in this world that I actually enjoy watching, and now that my own SON is playing, I’m all the more determined to be there.  If I end up having to miss it, I’m going to be really upset.

Exercise, Day 19: BLARG!

I was cursing Michelle last night.  Not that she actually did anything to me, but she was the bearer of bad news, so I cursed her anyway. 

Exercise, Day 18: Another World

It’s weird when you realize you’ve been doing the Sour Grapes thing without even realizing it.  Suddenly so many things you’ve rejected as irrelevant or unimportant start becoming interesting to you.  It’s enough to make you feel sort of foolish.

Exercise, Day 17: The Allergy Revolution

I’m proud to say that it’s 10:30 am, and I’m walking.  So, back to a semi-normal schedule now that the kids’ schoolwork is done for last semester and we’re starting out fresh.  The little ones (the younger two, anyway) are contently playing with GeoTrax while the older boys are working on their new schedule of schoolwork.  I’m wishing it was easier to teach while walking, but I really shouldn’t gripe.

Exercise Day 11: First Impressions are Everything

Today involved a visit to the upper-scale grocery store to pick up the things my other store didn’t carry.  Among them: wheat germ, whole wheat flour (which SnS DOES carry; I just forgot to grab some), cranberries and edamame.  I also got some Almond Butter, as per Pangie’s suggestion.  Wow, though… it cost $10 for one jar!  Yikes!

So I guess I add to my weekly total, but at last most of what I got was stuff that will take more than one week — or even one month — to consume, unless I really work at it.  I did also break down and get some of those $1.00 reusable grocery bags.  I am still not sure why, as we make use of the plastic ones to line trash cans around the house.  I almost feel like using these is more wasteful in that way, because we’re still going to use SOMETHING to line the trash cans.